“All or nothing.” The main test for Qarabag
Sabah has already given Azerbaijan a historic evening, reaching the group stage of the Champions League for the first time after beating Hapoel on aggregate. Now Qarabag can pick up the successful baton.
After Sabah's achievement, the question is no longer only whether the Aghdam club can go through, but whether this week can be turned into one of the most successful weeks for Azerbaijani football on the European stage. The Aghdam side faces the return leg of the Conference League qualifying play-off round against Twente. At the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Gurban Gurbanov's charges need to hold on to the advantage they earned away from home. “Hold on” — not in the literal sense of the word. It is unlikely that the Aghdam side will play to preserve the score, because at home they always show attacking football, and therefore the advantage can also be extended. At the same time, they must be very attentive in defense. When your opponent has tall forwards in attack, one of whom is Wout Weghorst, you inevitably begin to think about how not to allow the opponent to launch attacks in the air. The Dutch side comes into this match in a very serious mood, having arrived in the capital of Azerbaijan even earlier than usual.
JOHN VAN DEN BROM
HEAD COACH OF FC TWENTE
We arrived a day earlier than usual. This helps the team adapt better. We analyzed the first match and we have to attack more. Although it is difficult to play well against Qarabag. Right now we are behind them.
In the first match Qarabag had very few chances to score. The key stretch of the first meeting was the first half of the second period, when Jaly Mouaddib first put Kady into a shooting position, and he hit the post, and then passed the ball to Musa Gurbanly, who delivered it to the very same Kady. On the second attempt the Brazilian was accurate, scoring the winning goal. Nothing else worked out for the Aghdam side in attack in that match, but the team did manage to hold on to the score.
The main problem for the “Horsemen” is their lack of squad depth, given the large number of losses the team has faced at the very start of the season. First the Swede Savo was injured, then Cephas, and now we learn that a hamstring injury will keep Elvin Jafarguliyev out of action for about three months.
Instead of Elvin, Bruno Langa will appear on the pitch, and in the center of defense we will most likely see, without any experiments, Bence Varkonyi and Badavi Huseynov. Matheus Silva will play on the right. As for the goalkeeper, in recent matches the Bosnian Martin Zlomislic has performed well, creating clear competition for Mateusz Kochalski. There is a chance that we will see the first of those mentioned between the posts. Pedro Bicalho has recovered from injury, with Lobato having played in his place in the first match. Alongside Pedro in the holding role will be Marko Jankovic. In the center behind the forward Kady will operate, and Mouaddib will be on the left. At first we got used to seeing him in the position on the right in place of the departed Leandro Andrade, but after Abdellah Zoubir left the team, Jaly can also play in the position on the left. In such a scenario, Aleksey Kashchuk will not start in attack but will appear on the right, leaving the spot up front to Musa Gurbanly. Musa's passing was somewhat off in the match in the Netherlands, but in the end it was he who provided the assist.
GURBAN GURBANOV
HEAD COACH OF FC QARABAG
It is difficult to compare these teams. In such matches I look more at the preparation of my own squad. We have quite a few injured players in the side. We face a match in which anything can happen. We are focused on the game, we must be attentive. The opponent's attacking potential is very high.
The opponent's attacking potential really does need to be contained, and Twente must not be allowed to have much possession of the ball or to press high. It would be very useful for the Aghdam side to score an early goal, and therefore Qarabag will go on the attack from the very first minutes. Taking this into account, they must not create much free space for Twente — let us recall their attacking line once again. At the pre-match press conference Gurban Gurbanov noted that his team had made mistakes in the first match that need to be eliminated. Along with preparations for the decisive match, news flashed in the press that Qarabag is preparing to sign the Nigerian winger Taofeek Ismaheel, who played for the Polish club Gornik.
In the current situation he would be very useful for Qarabag. Useful both in the country's championship and on the European stage. However, in order to get there, one last step remains to be taken today. This week's European cup story has not yet been written to the end. Sabah has already left its mark on it, and now it is Qarabag's turn, having been given the opportunity to put an equally bright finishing touch on it. And if everything works out well, Azerbaijani fans will remember this week for a very long time to come.
EMIN AHMADOV
