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 with 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 players. We have only one or two experienced players, and the rest are young. After the Brazilian futsal players left and were not allowed to return, and no new legionnaires came to replace them, we are mainly continuing with local youth. Therefore, the middle generation has almost disappeared," he said in an interview with 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 Joze 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 quite strong, but this process is not easy. Especially games with 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 high-quality players in a few years. The support of sponsors is also important for this. 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 actually 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 strengthened a bit, good legionnaires have been brought in, and Azerbaijani youth have also been involved. They are currently fighting for the championship. They won one of their matches against Araz-Nakhchivan and lost the other. The Nakhchivan club currently has 7-8 legionnaires, and the rest are young Azerbaijani players, about 20 years old. There are experienced goalkeepers 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 held two days later, the Azerbaijani team won 4:2.
