Former Azerbaijan national team player Vidadi Rzayev has expressed his deep concern over the team's struggles, especially after their 0-2 defeat to Belarus.
Speaking to Idman.biz, Rzayev criticized the tactics used by Fernando Santos, saying: "They played defensively, giving up control of the midfield, which made it easy for the opponents to attack. Even counterattacks didn’t work because we don’t have the right players for that style. There is a serious shortage of quality players, and our youth teams are also struggling. Except for the U21 team’s recent games, the situation is far from promising."
The veteran footballer also discussed Santos’ squad selection: Yes, young players got a chance. But are they really promising? If you believe these youngsters will be stars in two years, you’re dreaming. Look at Rufat Abdullazada —one of the best left-footed players in our league—he wasn’t even in the squad! Musa Gurbanlı was benched despite his experience. And what about Aghadadash Salyanski? Let him play! Santos seems unsure of what he’s doing, and by relying on young players, he’s just trying to protect himself from criticism."
Rzayev also reacted to Santos' comparison between Azerbaijan and Portugal: "Everyone knows that Portugal and Azerbaijan cannot be compared. In fact, right now, we can’t even compare ourselves to Georgia! If you see no future here, then why stay? Signing a contract is the easy part, but we were told that Santos would lead us to Euro 2028. Looking at our situation, that sounds like a dream. The removal of the foreign player limit has also made it harder for the national team to develop. Our football is in a miserable state."
Notably, under Fernando Santos, Azerbaijan is yet to win a single match.
Aytaj Sahed
Idman.biz
