Sport24.az
After the match between "Shamakhi" and "Sabah" (1:2) in the second round of the Misli Premier League, the head coach of the visiting team, Valdas Dambrauskas, answered journalists' questions. Sport24.az reports that the specialist first shared his thoughts on the match...
– I would like to congratulate the "Sabah" family, its management, the fans who came on the long trip, and my players. We hadn't been able to win here for almost four years. This was nice for me. We saw what we wanted to see on the field. The opponent is a very, very difficult team. All the teams that come here will see a stubborn, well-organized opponent if they don't give 100 percent, and it will be difficult to win. "Shamakhi" defends well. We started the game well. We worked on this during the week. But we could have used different types of passes and had the ball in the penalty area more often. It was difficult to find gaps after the break. The weather may have also had an effect. The opponent distinguished himself with a great shot and I really liked our reaction after the goal. We released new, energetic players onto the field. We felt that if we didn't make big mistakes, we would return from here with a victory. Now we have to forget these and focus on the next matches. We have training tomorrow. All teams started the competition with positive motivation. The three points won away are satisfying.
– You played your first game in the Premier League after the European Cups. What feature of our championship caught your attention?
– It is never easy to focus on the local championship after a European Cup game. It is not known how the players will react. In such cases, the main point is discipline. If you have this discipline, you can achieve a lot. We have played 6 games in Europe and are used to the rhythm of the game. After saying goodbye to the Conference League, there was a 10-day break and we partially lost our rhythm. I have watched the Azerbaijan championship. There is no favorite here. Top teams – those who play against "Qarabağ", "Neftçi" also appear on the field stubbornly. Each club has its own specific game plan. We have to grow together with all clubs.
– How would you comment on the episode where Mikels and Nogeyra argued?
– We are not happy to see such cases. The main reason for the argument there was that they wanted to play better. Everything is over and they hugged each other after the game.
– How many more legionnaires do you need to achieve your goal?
– I watch how my players train, their approach. I don't look at their nationality when choosing the squad. I pay attention to who works how.
– There will be no legionnaire football player transfer?
– We are thinking about transfers. We don't look at his passport when bringing a player. If there is an Azerbaijani player and he is suitable for the position we want, I will take him to the team. We do not transfer a football player for the sake of transfer. I am satisfied with our staff. I've been here for two months. I try, I think that there has not been enough time to fully know the staff.
– "Qarabağ" appears in the Azerbaijan championship with almost the second team. Do you think you can compete for the championship in this background?
– I can't comment on this. I would not like to talk about which squad "Qarabağ" will play with. For me, there will be no concept of main or reserve squad. We are trying to always improve. I can't say what will happen at the end of the season. We will return to Baku and start preparing for the next game. Next week there will be an important game against "Imishli".
