Azerbaijan does not produce high-level footballers. It is not possible to see promising footballers in the lower categories of the clubs that competed in the national championship, later in the squads of the big clubs. Although certain steps have been taken over the years on the path of development, no major changes have yet been seen.
To clarify the causes of the problem, “Report” appealed to the coordinators of the football academies of the clubs playing in the national Premier League.
Aftandil Hajiyev (“Karabakh”): “We still cannot produce high-level football players. There are many reasons for this. But one of the main reasons is the lack of enough football fields and infrastructure in our country. Lack of competition The leagues where younger players play also have a negative impact on this issue. We need to change our approach towards children’s football and I think the problems will disappear in some parts. If things are done, they can be sent to older leagues. level. However, the approach to children’s football should be the same for everyone.
Ulfat Madatov (“Turan Tovuz”): “It is impossible to say something briefly about this, it is a question that requires a long discussion. There are many reasons. The small number of teams in the Premier League, the weak infrastructure in the regions, the lack of international experience of children’s and youth teams, the education and experience of coaches, the number of measures to be taken to increase the number of measures to be taken, the length of military service of talented footballers in the transition period , insufficient investment of funds in children’s football or proper direction We have new leadership at AFFA I hope that all the reasons for our delay will be included in the development strategy that will be prepared soon.
As Turan Tovuz football academy, we have made progress in a short time. We have started certain projects. More than 500 children and adolescents are members of our academy. Thanks to the selection, we select talented footballers from all regions of our country and add them to our ranks. Our branches operate in the regions near Tovuz: Gazakh, Aghstafa, Shamkir. We focus on the mass. We focus on all the talented children in the region. We have planned to create groups in the most remote villages of Tovuz and have started working. Additionally, we are starting a school project. Our coaches periodically make selections in schools and supervise talented children. We sent about 10 children to national teams. “We believe that in the near future, among them, worthy players will join our main team and the national team.”
Sakit Rzayev (“Araz-Nakhchivan”): “This is a question that the football community has been asking for many years. I would like to emphasize one issue in particular. It would be more appropriate if we replaced the word “rising up” with “development” in your question. Because before training, development. We have to do it. There are so many problems that I don’t know where to start or where to end. Explain. There is no club or team. They propose the correct criteria, but they cannot implement them. If we want a high-level football education, we must approach all the details from a scientific point of view. Think of the footballer as a chemical laboratory. If a sudden explosion occurs, the processes. “Instead of making football players the object of criticism, we should develop each of them on a correct scientific basis.”
Adino Mustedanagich (“Sabah”): “It is impossible to give a short answer to this question, but I will try to summarize it. One of the main factors influencing this is the environment. I think that in Azerbaijan there are many talented children. In fact, we have witnessed this at “Sabah”. Most of the children we sent to “Dinamo” Zagreb were appreciated by the coaches there, if some documentation issues allowed, they would have kept them there. What would it be like if they were in a. different environment?
Children, like plants, just want to grow. Plants can only grow as much as they are allowed. If you provide it with a small amount of light and water, it will grow less and become weaker. The same goes for Azerbaijani children who want to be footballers. They grow and adapt to the conditions we create for them. I’m not saying it should be easier for them here, but they can adapt to higher quality football in a more competitive environment. It is not only up to clubs and coaches to offer these conditions. Because they mostly adapt to the current football environment in Azerbaijan. This issue applies to all people who shape and create the football environment for children in Azerbaijan.
There are many talented children in Azerbaijan. They are successful in other sports such as wrestling. The people of Azerbaijan love football and more and more people are interested in this sport and follow it. They deserve better football, which is only possible with better local players… To become heroes for future generations. “Perhaps this issue should not be related to the lack of quality players in the country, but rather to the lack of existing conditions for it.”
Zaur Hashimov (“Zira”): “As a country, we are not prepared to train high-level football players. The reason is the lack of infrastructure and the small number of properly trained children’s coaches. Little attention is paid to children with special talents Sometimes they are not provided with a high level of nutrition. They are not given psychological support or little attention is paid to their health. Another reason is that the child reaches the age of adolescence and military service is the. most important part Of course, this situation has a serious impact on their careers. Our clubs playing in the Premier League are striving to enter the ranks of the winners, the sooner young players have the opportunity to play in the main championship. The more likely they are to go to Europe. We can show it to Jalal Huseynov, a student at the “Zira” academy, who currently lives as a legionnaire. Georgia benefits most from the practice I mentioned. Khvicha Kvaratzhelia, who currently plays for the Italian club Napoli, was 16 years old when he made his debut for Dinamo (Tbilisi). A few days ago, 17-year-old Vakhtang Saliyani signed a contract with the English team Newcastle. Most Georgian footballers go to European clubs at a young age. We should like each other.
In total, we should have had at least 1 or 2 footballers living a high-level legionary life, but we hardly do. Because we can’t do it mentally. Sometimes parents do not allow young footballers to travel abroad. The seniors do not allow players who have the opportunity to go to another country. The factors I listed above prevent us from developing European-level players. Sometimes there are cases in which a young player has to end his career due to disability or moves to the I and II League. Of course, this also prevents him from developing. The way out is to start from scratch. Soccer children should stay in the team academies, eat there, study and think only about soccer.
Veli Gasimov (“Shamakhi”): “Shamakhi” has a new football tradition. There is interest in football and there is a lot of demand for signings in lower categories. Footballers train in our lower age groups, training takes place every day. The result of all this can be seen in 3-4 years. I am sure that someone from the “Shamakhi” academy will be invited to our national team. “The Football Academy has just opened, so it needs some time.”
Fakhreddin Hasanov (“Sumgayit”): “Actually, you touched on a very good and broad topic. We can discuss this for hours. Let’s first clarify who we mean when we say a high-level player. If we are talking about a world-class player class, in Azerbaijan there are generally no such players. But if we talk about footballers of the Azerbaijani level, today there are players who play in various Premier League clubs, as well as in “Sumgait” itself. the “Sumgayit” Football Academy, for example, Tural Bayramli and Khayal Najafovu, who currently play in “Turan Tovuz”, Bakhtiyar Hasanalizadeni from “Araz-Nakhchivan”, Süleyman Ahmadov and Rufat Abdullazadeni, who play in “Sabail”, members of our team. Examples include Abdullazade, Nihat Ahmadzade, Sanan Muradli, Khayal Farzullayev.
In general, for a child to grow as a football player, his entire lifestyle, his environment, his family, his friends and his life must develop in this direction. It is not possible to become a footballer simply by saying that I came, trained for 2 hours and left. If you think about it, although some talented players are noticed in lower age groups, for example, up to 16-17 years old, most of them are lost in the subsequent development process. The reason for this is the factors I listed above. From food to sleep, from daily rhythm to habits, from friends to family, many factors play a decisive role in this.
“To summarize, as the “Sumgait” Football Academy we try as much as possible to ensure that our children, adolescents and young people who train in different age groups are worthy players of Azerbaijani football.”
Jamal Bulbul (“Neftchi”): “Actually, in Azerbaijan there are talented children. But the question is how to train them. All football fields must be in the same conditions for the development of high-level players. Of course, as long as The level of the grass layer is satisfactory for teaching football; this is also an important factor in this sense, the number of trained coaches in the country must be increased and specialists must be open to innovations. “They have grown in the Premier League. I can name Rza Jafarov, Murad Mammadov, Farid Yusifli and Ismayil Zulfiqarli, who left the team at the beginning of the current season. As an academy, we have shared decisions with the management.”
Mirbagir Isayev (“Sabail”): “On this issue I think differently. The biggest problem in the underdevelopment of a football player lies with the coaches. First of all, we must look for the root of the problem here. We can talk about it. A lot about other nuances. Why do the players from “Sabail” not develop? I do not agree with this question, if we take last year, in most clubs there are players from “Sabail”, and only Sadiq I can give as an example Mammadzadeh, the goalkeeper, who was a student of our academy for 7 years, was transferred to “Qarabag” at the beginning of the season. He currently plays in the main team of the Aghdam club.
Vasif Valiyev (“Kapez”): “You have touched on a very good topic. Although the topic is broad, I can briefly say that the development strategy for children’s football must be drawn up and included in the state program, the football academy must be fully , it is necessary to increase the number of training camps. Since football is constantly evolving in the world, it is imperative that coaches improve their knowledge and skills throughout the year.
