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 Azerbaijan Futsal Federation's coach for selection, while evaluating the national team's friendly matches with the Danish national team and the team's current situation.
He stated that the situation in the national team is currently a bit difficult.
"Our team mainly consists of young players. We only have one or two experienced players, the rest are young people. After the Brazilian futsal players left and were not allowed to return, and no new legionnaires came to replace them, we are mainly continuing our journey with local youth. Therefore, the middle generation has practically disappeared," he said in a statement to AZERTAC.
The expert 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 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 against teams like Denmark are always difficult. We lost the match at home and won the away match. 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 in 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. Sponsorship support 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 practically like the Baku championship. There are practically no teams in other regions."
The selection coach also touched upon the situation in the national championship:
"Neftchi has become a bit 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, about 20 years old. Among the goalkeepers, there are experienced Rovshan Huseynli and Emin Kurdov. But unfortunately, the 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.
