Idman.biz
"Our futsal is currently weaker compared to teams like Denmark. Our youth are talented, they just need time."
These words were said by Agatahir Azimov, the coach for selection at the Azerbaijan Futsal Federation, while evaluating the friendly matches of the national team against the Danish national team and the current state of the team.
He stated that the situation in the national team is currently a bit difficult.
"Our team mainly consists of young football players. We have only one or two experienced players, the rest are young. After the Brazilian futsal players left and were not allowed back, and no new legionnaires came to replace them, we continue our journey mainly with local youth. For this reason, the middle generation has almost disappeared," he said in a statement to AZERTAC.
The specialist noted that in previous periods, Azerbaijani futsal players did not gain enough game experience, so today young people come directly to the main national team:
"During Jose Alesio's time, local football players played little and could not develop. Now, children coming from U-19 are directly involved in the main national team. They are talented, but still very young and inexperienced. The potential is strong enough, but this process is not easy. Especially games against teams like Denmark are always difficult. We lost the match at home and won the match away. Compared to teams like Denmark, our futsal is currently weak, and it will be very difficult to face stronger opponents in future games."
Agatahir Azimov emphasized the role of children's football schools for the development of futsal: "If we do the right work in children's schools, we can train more conscious and quality players in a few years. For this, the support of sponsors is also important. Children's schools should be opened in the regions. Currently, we are calling children who mainly play in Baku to the national team. Because the championship is practically like the Baku championship. There are almost no teams in other regions."
The coach for selection also touched upon the situation in the national championship:
"Neftchi has become a little stronger, good legionnaires have been brought in, and Azerbaijani youth have also been involved. They are currently fighting for the championship. They won one of the matches against Araz-Nakhchivan and lost the other. The Nakhchivan club currently has 7-8 legionnaires, and the rest are young Azerbaijani players, around 20 years old. Among the goalkeepers, there are experienced Rovshan Huseynli and Emin Kurdov. But unfortunately, other games are uninteresting because the competition is weak."
It should be noted that in the match against the Danish national team on January 22, the opponent won 4:1, and in the match that took place two days later, the Azerbaijani team won 4:2.
