Raul Hajiyev, who was born in Georgia and currently plays in the country, spoke to Sportal.az about his career and his future with the Azerbaijani national team.
According to Idman.biz, there was a time when the Azerbaijan Football Federation (AFFA) tried to nationalize Hajiyev and call him up to the U19 national team, but his debut never materialized due to documentation issues.
Recently, however, it looks like there may be a chance for Raul, currently playing for the Georgian club Spaeri in a lower division, to represent Azerbaijan at the senior level. He discussed the situation, saying:
“Due to documentation issues, I couldn’t play in the European Championship qualifiers with the U19 team. Right now, AFFA and the national team coaches are working to resolve these issues. If I get an Azerbaijani passport, it will not affect my ability to play in Georgia. However, I would love to play in Azerbaijan. At one point, I was torn between the U-19 teams of Georgia and Azerbaijan, but in the end, I chose Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, because of the paperwork, I couldn’t contribute to my national team, but I am hopeful that the document issues will be sorted out by the time the U-21 team comes around, and I’ll be able to play for my country.”
Raul also expressed his desire to play in the Azerbaijan Premier League: “Even though I am in Georgia, I still watch the matches of the Azerbaijan championship. When I was part of the U-19 team, the passport issue was already on the agenda, and there were talks with 2-3 clubs. At this stage, there’s no news yet. Everything depends on the passport. I would love to play in the Premier League. We’ll see how things unfold over time.”
Raul, originally from Azerbaijan, was born in Rustavi, Georgia. Last year, he was called up to the U19 national team but couldn’t play because he had not received a local passport.
Idman.biz
