The veteran goalkeeper of the Azerbaijan national team, Nadir Shukurov, gave an interview to the Sportal.az website.
Shukurov, who guarded the gates of such clubs as Kepaz, Erzurumspor, Qarabag, MKT-Araz, Gabala and Karvan during his career and currently works as a goalkeeper coach, also spoke about the current goalkeepers of our national team, Idman.biz reports.
- You have been unemployed for a long time. What do you attribute to being unemployed at the moment?
- Yes, I have been unemployed for 1.6 years. Well, I had a suggestion. When Asghar Abdullayev was appointed head coach of Imishli, he sent an offer. I thank him too. I was not advised to go there due to certain matters. But now I have no suggestion. Let's see how it will be. It will probably be the team that sends the proposal. I'm waiting.
- Kepaz is your home team. How do you evaluate their situation this season? Do you think they can stay in the Premier League?
- Yes, I played in Kepaz for a long time. I have also achieved achievements in the Azerbaijan championship, we have had successes. Kepaz is a long-established team in Azerbaijan. The fact that Kepaz is in the last stages is not pleasant not only for the young fans, but also for the fans in other regions of Azerbaijan. Kepaz is the gate of Azerbaijani football, along with Neftchi it is one of the first foundations. Today's situation of Kepaz does not satisfy any football experts in Azerbaijan.
When it comes to staying in the Premier League, it's a bit hard to say. They should try to improve the team with transfers and conditions and keep them in the league. We worked there with Tarlan Ahmadov. I'm not saying that because I left there...I'm not going against Ilgar Nadiri either. He has proven himself what kind of leader he is, what kind of football player he is. Needless to say. Kepaz often needs to change not the head coach, but the head of the club.
- In general, do you think that the fact that Kepaz plays in Tovuz affects the results?
- There is no field, nothing, it must be like that. A good stadium is being built in Ganja by the state of Azerbaijan. It is said that it will be ready by the yeast. God willing, Kepaz will keep its place in the Premier League. From the new season, they will form a club, not a good team, in a new stadium. Kepaz is currently not only a club, but not even a team. I believe that if Kepaz stays in the Premier League from the new season, they will form a good club. Playing home games outside of Ganja is not a problem. We also played several games in Gabala during Tarlan Ahmadov's time, we had both successes and failures. A football player must be ready for all of these.
- How do you assess the situation of Azerbaijani goalkeepers? Which goalkeeper catches your attention in the Premier League?
- Azerbaijani clubs have good, talented goalkeepers. Today we have 10 teams playing in the Premier League, let's see how many of them are legionaries? There are even some clubs whose two goalkeepers are legionnaires. Considering these, it affects the chances of local goalkeepers to play. We have well-educated, good goalkeeper coaches. At AFFA, we have educated people such as goalkeeper instructors Uzeyir Ibrahimli and Faig Azizli. They are really educated, they teach very well in the courses. You have to believe in the local goalkeepers.
- The main goalkeeper of our national team was Shahruddin Mahammadaliyev. However, he was injured and later Mehdi Jannatov became the main goalkeeper. However, in the last matches, the goal of our national team was assigned to Rza Jafarov. Do you think Jafarov will be number one in the national team?
- Rza Jafarov stood against Sweden. Bad did not stop. True, he conceded goals. But it was not Rza's fault that our team lost. I wish Rza success in his future work. But overall, after Kamran Agayev, Shahruddin Mahammadaliyev stood well at the goal in the national team. I wish him to recover his form soon and help the national team. Yusif Imanov is also a good, promising goalkeeper. If he works on himself, he can become "number one" for the national team. I would also mention Aydın Bayramov. Zire head coach Rashad Sadigov gives him a chance. I also appreciate his performance. Bayramov can also be the main goalkeeper of the national team. He plays games in a very careful and calm manner, he has a share in the success of Zire.
Idman.biz