Interview of Yashar Vahabzade, a member of the AFFA Coaches Committee, to Futbolinfo.az
– After Fernando Santos was sent off, our national team played against Ukraine under the leadership of Aykhan Abbasov and won 1 point. Were you satisfied with the character and struggle of our players in the match against Ukraine (1:1)?
– Of course, I was satisfied. After Aykhan muallim's arrival, there was a great spirit in the team. The players showed determination and character in the match against Ukraine. Although Aykhan muallim had little time to prepare the team for this game, he was able to build a good defense. Our team also tried to make good use of counterattacks.
– Do you think that keeping Aykhan Abbasov in the post of head coach of the national team would be the right decision? Or do you consider another coach to be a more worthy candidate?
– I think that it is necessary to create conditions for Aykhan muallim until the end of the cycle so that he can continue his work. It is possible to return to the issue of the head coach after the end of the qualifying round. There are good specialists among our local coaches who can train the national team.
– As a former head coach of U-21, your opinion is interesting. How do you assess the performance of our U-21 team consisting of football players up to 21 years old in the matches against Portugal (0:5) and Bulgaria (1:1)?
– Despite the big defeat, our players did their best in the match against Portugal. But the level of skill had its say. The quality and level of the Portuguese players was obvious. It was possible to take points in the match against Bulgaria. It should also be noted that most of the players in our team remain on the reserve in their clubs. This also affects the performance of the national team.
– Do you think that U-21 will be able to collect the most points in its history in this qualifying round?
– Portugal and Czech Republic are the favorites in the group our team is in. In games against other teams, it is possible to fight head-to-head and increase our point reserve. Why not?! It is possible to show a decent game against Gibraltar, Bulgaria and Scotland and earn points.
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