We witnessed another unsuccessful match played by the Azerbaijan national team. Unable to break the resistance of Estonia in Gabala, the future fate of our team in the League C of the League of Nations was called into question.
Playing without teeth for 90 minutes, Azerbaijan national team could not find a way to the opponent's goal. The Estonians, who played reliably in defense, returned from Azerbaijan with a good result. Fernando Santos's team deserves criticism once again. The team, which failed in the first 4 matches in the league, was not remembered for anything this time.
The selections of the Portuguese specialist regarding the team cannot be accepted unambiguously. The Portuguese, who entrusted the goal to Mehdi Jannetov in the previous matches, generally refused him this time. After returning to Neftchi, Ramil Sheydayev, who was looking for his past days with a lamp, was one of the weakest of the season, but he was in the main team. It is impossible to find any explanation for the "unable to deliver" football player staying on the field for 90 minutes. Ramil, who lost all the fights on the left wing and was "distinguished" by his inaccurate passes, was not on his day. True, it was understandable that Santus put hope in Sheydayev in the absence of the injured Renat Dadashov and Mahir Emreli, who received a red card, but...
Musa Gurbanli, who was on the field for only 75 minutes in the last month, was not far behind Ramil. The fact that Gurban Gurbanli, who went to the rotation after the European game in the last round of the Azerbaijan championship, gave his son a chance seemed to remind Musa of Santus. It was naïve to hope that Gurbanli, who stood out in the match against Zire and did not play any role in the 4-0 victory, will be the savior of the national team in the match against Estonia. Toral Bayramov, Ozan Can Kokchu, Aleksey Isayev, Abbas Huseynov can also be added to this list...
If we pay attention to the players in the starting team in general, only goalkeeper Rza Jafarli (Neftchi) and defender Rahil Mammadov (Radomyak) stand out for their stable performance in the clubs. Even Joshgun Diniyev, one of the best in the game with Estonia, can stay on the field for 60-70 minutes in the 1st League of Turkey. Toral Bayramov, Emin Jafarguliyev, and Abbas Huseynov are always victims of the rotations of the coaching staff of Qarabag and it is impossible to see them stable on the field. One of the main missing aspects in the team is that the players do not play for their clubs or rarely get a chance. Although Estonia is a suitable opponent for us and we can gain a noticeable advantage in the match because 1 point is enough for the opponent, the problems related to the successful conclusion of the attacks have not been solved even with Santus.
It is well known that the Estonian national team has preferred athletic football for years. So, why did Azerbaijani players try to find a way to the opponent's goal with more air passes in the match against such an opponent. It seems that either the coaching staff did not analyze the opponent, or the players are not able to perform the assigned tasks. Another issue is related to physical fitness. It is not easy to control the ball for 90 minutes and keep the opponent under pressure. As a result, the team pinned its last hope on aerial balls, which was the opponent's most desirable option.
Yesterday, Azerbaijan U-19 team lost 0:4 to Ireland (0:2 to Iceland in the first game), and U-17 lost to Greece 0:3 (0:4 to Hungary in the first game). What hope for the future can be given by the failure of our 3 teams to score 1 goal? The junior national team is waiting for the last games in the group, and the main team of the country will appear in Sweden. Considering all this, it is clear as day that Azerbaijani football will end the year on a pessimistic note.
AFFA is still waiting for the strategy that will determine the future of Azerbaijani football from Double Pass and McKinsey & Company. Although months have passed, the unfinished project raises a big question: when will it be approved and start, and after how many years will it have an effect? But doubts have increased that the new head of the association, Rovshan Najaf and his team, who started working on April 2, will be able to find a solution to the problems of the country's football. Azerbaijani football is taking a step back every day.
Idman.biz
