“Qarabag” will face “Ajax” in the VI round of the main stage of the UEFA Champions League, Apasport.az reports.
At the press conference held before the game, the head coach of the Aghdam club Gurban Gurbanov answered the questions of journalists:
"It is a very important game. There was not much time to prepare. We would like to have a few more days. We are playing against a team that uses different rotations during the game. We must be very careful. There is a team that wants to win in front of us. They will want their first victory. When we look at the program of “Ajax”, we will see that they will come to the match very seriously. They will train in another place. It seems that they are preparing for this match with all their might. We will try to play our desired game again. We would like to be more creative in this game. But the opponent is a team that likes to play one-on-one, uses different rotations. We will work to please the fans and achieve a successful result."
- Many people look at Ajax with the eyes of 3 points. Does this have a positive or negative effect on the team?
- The most dangerous thing is this approach. Any team can have a lot of points or not. When we got to the League stage, when we knew our opponents, there were certain opinions against us that we might have few points. But now we have a lot of points. It is dangerous to expect 3 points from us by approaching Ajax like this. But it is better to wait with confidence. We must not pay attention to outside opinions and focus our attention completely on the game. We must work hard and play correctly and with discipline. We have Ajax in front of us.
- The Dutch press considers "Qarabag" superior...
-As an Azerbaijani, I can be pleased about that. If “Qarabag” is being evaluated this way, it’s something to be happy about. It means we have earned it through our performance, our results, and our consistent play. This opinion has formed not only because of today, but over the course of many years. It should not affect the flow of the match. We can see it as recognition of our work. It means they appreciate us, trust us, and value us. It’s good news.
- You said that there are changes in the Ajax system. How did you prepare for this?
- They make changes to the system during the game. They can do this from the very first minute. They set up a different system in the attacking line. My players need to be very careful during the game. We want to play more active football, put pressure on the opponent. If there is a change in the system, my players should feel it immediately. Thoughts should not be wrong. If it is, there could be danger in front of our goal.
- "Qarabag" was also considered a favorite in the match against "Napoli" in Türkiye. What percentage of your goals did you achieve?
- It's hard to say whether we achieved the result we thought of or not. We won our first victory in the League stage in the match against "Benfica". We took it as a novelty. Then there was the 2nd victory. A draw was also recorded in the match against "Chelsea". Overall, it's very good, a great result. But we don't want to stop. If we have a chance, we want to go further, to be confident. To achieve great success in big football, what you do is not enough. You have to keep the minimum and do more. I am very satisfied with the game so far, the result, and my players. To become a bigger and better team, we need to produce more results.
- What differences do you see when comparing Ajax last season with the current team?
- When it comes to football, Ajax has always been at the forefront. Their playing system, game philosophy, and especially their children's academy have always been recognized. When we say Ajax, we think of Johan Cruyff. He is the founder of today's beautiful football. If it is the team of such a genius football player and coach, the coaches can change here, but the system will always remain. Some small details are always in the course of the game. We never have to think about them and prepare for the game. We are playing against Ajax. We have a very serious team in front of us.
- After every game of "Qarabag" in the Champions League, there is a lot of coverage in the world press, transfer rumors appear. Will "Qarabag" keep the squad in the winter, or do you plan to sell players?
- Problems always arise at the end of the year. Several of our players are injured and tired. As the season approaches the end, problems are observed in any big team. We are always in favor of having better, more quality players in our squad. Work is underway on this. If we want to enter the world market, these conditions must be in place. If good clubs offer our players, we can think about entering this market. We have made several transfers so far. We ourselves need to bring additional players to the team. This is the course of events. There is no such thing as this player will not go anywhere, he will stay with the team. We want them to go to higher leagues. In such a case, we will not say no to this. As much as possible, we want to bring in a few players during the winter transfer window so that our team becomes even stronger and higher in quality.
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