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"We are extremely proud of today's victory."
Idman.biz reports with reference to the club's press service that this was said by Tahir Gozel, the president of "Qarabag", while talking about the team's determined victory (3:1) over "Ferencvaros" in Hungary in the play-off stage of the UEFA Champions League.
Gozel, who watched the match live from the stadium, said that he was impressed by the determination of the Aghdam representative to continue the fight for a place in the league stage of the tournament this season: "You know that we started the fight in the Champions League from the second qualifying round. The 28 teams that will participate in the league stage are already known. 5 of the other 8 places will be determined after the competition of the clubs competing for the Champions Path. We are already in the play-off. This means that we are among the last 10 teams on the way to the league stage and we are one of the candidates for 5 places. As always, I was with my team today. We are extremely proud of today's victory. We are very happy to give our people such feelings of joy as a team."
The president of the club thanked the Azerbaijani fans who traveled to Hungary from different countries and supported the team at the "Ferencvaros" stadium: "Our fans from the USA, Czech Republic, and many European countries were supporting us. Although their number was 500, they were not inferior to the local fans in the 22,000-seat stadium, and sometimes even surpassed them, inspiring our team to victory. Despite falling behind in the first half, their support gave our players strength again. The loyalty and spirit of our fans is always an additional motivation for "Qarabag"."
He said that it is very important for the team to win with a superior game: "It is more important how to achieve it than victory. What makes me most happy is that we showed a superior game, we had more possession of the ball. Especially, we performed brilliantly in the second half. Although we conceded an unlucky goal in the first half, we deservedly won. The opponent tried to respond to our tactical advantage with long passes. Because they could not cope with our players in one-on-one fights. Winning in the play-off stage is not only uplifting for the players, but also a historical event."
Tahir Gozel added that he was especially pleased with Musa Gurbanli's goal, which put the final point in the match: "One of the things that made me happy was Musa Gurbanli's beautiful goal. Because this will give him extra motivation. His goal excited and delighted me very much, not only as a president, but also as a fan. In addition, I was proud that Toral Bayramov's goal against "Budo/Glimt" in the league stage of the Europa League was among the 10 most beautiful goals of the tournament last season. That goal was watched by more than 3 million people on UEFA's YouTube page."
Despite "Qarabag"'s 3:1 away victory, the club president thinks it is too early to be complacent. He emphasized that the support of the fans will be very important in the return match to be held on August 27 at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium: "Now we have the last 90 minutes left. The fate of the pair is not yet clear. We have a combative, very strong and dangerous opponent ahead of us. We must be as careful as possible. The technical staff knows this well. I ask our fans to show great support to our team. Because fan support can play a decisive role in the return match. Unfortunately, I will be watching the return match in Baku on August 27 on television because I will be on a business trip. I believe that our team will advance to the league stage of this tournament. I will be with my team and support them in the matches of that stage."
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