In the last round of the European League group stage, “Garabagh” defeated “Hekken” in Baku with a score of 2:1 and qualified for the play-off stage of the tournament.
Publika.az informs that. After the historical success, the head coach of the Agdam team, Gurban Gurbanov, answered the journalists’ questions at the press conference:
– I congratulate my players. I thank them. I congratulate our fans. We have had such a chance for many years, but we have not been able to use it. We could have succeeded even in the last seconds, he ran away. Thank God, today everything ended beautifully. The long-awaited success, the result was achieved. Which not only we, but our people were waiting for. I am very happy for them. Achieving such a success will give a great impetus to our football and will give great confidence to our players. The arrival of big teams in Baku, playing games for results in such tournaments can only benefit Azerbaijani football. I’m glad about that.
– We remember the game against “Inter” in Baku nine years ago. Then you said that we will continue on our way. How difficult was it to achieve over the years?
– Such a situation happened. Sometimes, for teams like us, such chances are very rare. When he misses a chance, it affects the team, management, collective. And you are waiting for when such a chance will come. It happened many times. In my opinion, it is not necessary to go back to the goal that the referee did not count. Why? Because it is not a good thing to remember those days again. But believe me, maybe that game, that goal not being counted was more beneficial for us than it was harmful. I say for sure. Yes, we would have been on that list 9 years ago. Even Mr. President valued us. As if the club has become stronger, our responsibility has increased. Attention was paid directly by the head of the country. That game was useful for our better formation. There were matches where we lost our chances in the last seconds. Sometimes there were games where we beat PAOK at home and away. But they beat “Fiorentina” away. There were times when it was more effective. But today everything ended very well. Maybe it will taste better. When you wait for the result for years, when your suffering does not stop, when you achieve success, maybe the success will be more durable. Give more benefits to the club and our players. These situations were inevitable. In order to grow, we have to be cool, we have to accept it as normal so that it doesn’t affect us. We don’t have to hold on to the excuse that it happened at that time, that’s why we lost. I think it did more good than bad.
– Potential competitors have been identified. Who would you like to meet?
– Each of them are teams to play in the Champions League. Even among those clubs, there were those who set themselves the goal of winning the CL. All are serious competitors. It wouldn’t be true if I said what I thought about. Whoever the opponent is, we will prepare very seriously for those matches in order to play decently.
– You were talking on the phone after the match. Who did you get the first congratulations from?
– He was the executive head of Zagatala. He is a big fan. He is one of the first callers after every game. It is even the first.
– There were many criticisms after the game with “Rakuv”. There were players who left the team. We’d love to know what challenges you’ve faced this season…
– Difficulties are not so difficult for me. Because I’m in the middle of things. Sometimes I see what are the shortcomings of the team. We think about how we can eliminate them. There has been criticism every year. We have not had a year without criticism. It’s normal. Such is the general course of football. Fans criticize, media criticizes, maybe management, maybe people we don’t know or think about. But sometimes every mother needs to look real. We were worried about difficulties and shortcomings. Suddenly key players left the team, some players were out of shape… It was not up to them. There was a shortage. Even if we lost to “Rakuv”, we had no serious problems in terms of the game. It just lacked quality. This was due to the lack of healthy players. We have to be ready for developments. I trusted my team. Because there were players who would improve to a better level after 3 and 10 games. When someone criticizes, we get angry and resentful. We are human. But believe me, I will not be offended by anyone. I am not offended by my fellow Azerbaijanis. I love you all so much. Criticism may have an effect at that moment, but we begin to work more responsibly and work with quality when we understand you. Maybe it’s our thoughts against you, the fans, that God has given us such a victory. We play in groups, we go to the playoffs. It is a very good result for a club to stand, to remain stable. The club, the players, we all have to grow up like this. If there are no difficulties, what is there to work and live?
– Marko Vesovic was punished with a red card. How will you compensate for his absence?
– We still have time. During that time, we don’t know what the situation will be like in the team, who will be the opponent, what will be the general level of preparation of my players. When Marko Veshovic was injured in previous matches, we played Mateus and Toral. I don’t see a serious problem. But I want to always have such players on the field. Veshovic is experienced, one of those who suffer, maintains discipline in training. I want them to be in such big games. If not, we will use other options.
– You lost leading players after reaching the playoffs in the Conference League. This season, we reached the play-off stage of the Europa League. Doesn’t it bother you that you can’t keep the staff?
– It is an interesting question. Yes, when there are such successes, there are offers to players. In big games, they can monitor the potential of the football player more correctly. Some of our players are interested. We have always wanted to protect our players. But sometimes there are reasons beyond our control, we cannot say “no”. After the departures, players in the team decreased. But as a club we won in another area. We entered the European market. They began to be more interested in “Karabakh”. Not only because of the results, but as a club, in the direction of improving the potential of the players here. Sometimes players come, where they reveal their potential. We entered this market. But even today, if there is an interesting, big offer, we will look at it. We will use other options. In any case, if these players deserve it, we want them to be with us until the end. At least until the end of the tournament. But this will be our additional energy loss. If there is an offer, of course. We don’t know whether it will be or not. If there are offers, we will consider them deeply.
– Before Marko Veshovic received a red card, were you thinking of replacing him?
– Before getting red, yes. When I got yellow, I thought about changing it. Because I was worried that he would get a second yellow. But the referee did not allow it, he showed a red card (laughs).
– Can Kadi Borges return to “Karabakh” again?
– We have not had any conversation with him. We have told all the football players leaving here that the door of “Karabakh” is always open for you. Let me say that I hope he will come back and not go straight. He set himself a goal to grow even more. Everything was good for him in “Karabakh”. If there is such an option, we will not say no. But now he has a contract, and it’s a big one. The future will show.
– After Veshovic received a red card, the team sat on defense. Was it due to pressure from Hekken?
– Although we were in defense, we had good counter-attacks. The opponent forced us. I’m glad to have such situations in such games. Recently, players have started thinking that we should play more offensively. But our demands are that we can defend in attack. In games at this level, when it is in the minority, if the player is properly defended, this is one of the important parts of great football. There is no opponent in front of us that we can attack for 90 minutes. It is one of the most important factors for the result.
– Musa Gurbanli is probably very happy. Do you think he regrets that he would have stayed in “Karabakh” and shared this joy with you?
– Musa is a football player with a slightly different character, he is a human being. He likes the legionary life more. He has a goal to be abroad all the time. It doesn’t matter which league it is, at least the middle league. This satisfies him today. I do not believe that he is sorry. On the contrary, he is very happy about the success of “Karabakh” and me. If he has such an idea, he cannot go forward. As if everything will end for him. It can prevent its goals.
– What would Azerbaijani football do without Gurban Gurbanov?
– You put me under a heavy burden. Thank you very much for such value. I will not be able to answer about myself. Whether I am in football or in any other field, if we are children of the country, we should be responsible in our work. If I were in another field, I would still work responsibly.
– Is there a player in “Hekken” team that you are interested in?
– There were several players, but I won’t say their names. Even after the first game.
– After the game, Juninho shared his joy of victory with you. How do you earn this love?
– We are a family. I want each one very much. As a person gradually gets to know someone, their past, what paths they have taken, how they have grown up, I inevitably become more sensitive and strict with them. Because Juninho is a completely different character. He has a solid sportsman character. It is not yet its full potential. We had some conversation with him. He had a different mentality, he played different football. The title of champion is very important for every athlete. If he does not earn the name, he does not grow. In such tournaments, if he plays such games and does not call the stage, the player does not consider himself a great player. Juninho played in Portugal and faced big clubs. But he never had the responsibility here. I always asked him for it. Gradually, he began to understand me better, and his love for football increased. We have interesting conversations. We talk, sometimes we joke. He also sees that we are a very responsible club. Maybe his thoughts about football, which he had not thought about, were awakened here. Maybe that’s why it’s different for me. I myself like hard football players. We will ask a lot more from him.
– What motivates you?
– Sometimes you look for a formula in each area, how you can improve it. It is best to look for the simplest one. I have said many times that my own requirement is that I must be responsible in my work no matter what. If we are the children of this country, if we will be responsible in our work, the result will come. Thinking about this, I go to work, I go to games, I demand from my players, I prepare for games. I have taken this path and I take steps thinking about it.
– Can you go to a foreign club? If they want players, chances are they want you too…
– I dont know. At some point, we won’t be anyway. We don’t know what will happen to us tomorrow. But I’m not thinking about going anywhere today. I am very attached to “Karabakh”. As long as this club exists, as long as the name Karabakh exists, I would very much like to stay here and achieve results. There have been changes even in the biggest clubs. Sometimes the management leaves the club, sometimes the financial level drops. I don’t think of leaving “Karabakh” yet. Unless something major happens, I’m still here.
– You will play in the playoffs for the third time in a row. What will be important in terms of approach this time?
– I think experience will play a big role. Today, my players have a lot of experience. The game against “Bayer” gave us a lot in football. We felt the strength of the teams at that level. Whichever opponent it is, we may analyze the opponent further. Our championship will start in January. We may have to make some changes in our preparation to peak by then. A lot depends on the opponent. It happens that no matter how prepared we are, the opponent overtakes us. We have a lot of experience. We had some games this year where we got the opportunity to play in bigger matches.
– Are you interested in Anton Krivotsyuk?
– No, we didn’t talk.
Heybet Mammadov
#Gurban #Gurbanov #options
