ScottT! Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 From uefa.com Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA)Founded: 1992 UEFA affiliation: 1994 FIFA affiliation: 1994 Football in Azerbaijan can be traced back to 1911, having been introduced by British workers during the industrial boom of the late 19th century. The game caught on in the capital Baku and the provincial cities of Tovuz and Shamkir, inspiring such passions that neutral referees were drafted in from neighbouring Georgia to supervise big matches. By the 1920s there was a regional championship in Baku, before the 1930s saw Azerbaijani clubs represent the country in Soviet leagues. A breakthrough came after World War Two when PFC Neftçi, Soviet Cup debutants in 1944, competed in the Supreme Soviet League. Neftçi finished third in the Soviet top flight in 1966, and a player from the Baku club, Anatoliy Banishevskiy, starred for the USSR at the FIFA World Cup in England. The collapse of the USSR in the early 1990s sparked a sporting decline. However, the republic's independence, completed in October 1991, prompted the formation of a national football association and, from there, a redevelopment of the game. The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (Azärbaycan Futbol Federasiyalari Assosiasiyasi or AFFA) was founded in 1992, and joined UEFA two years later. UEFA membership had a beneficial effect. UEFA's desire to help new associations emerging from the break-up of the USSR led to the creation of the East European Assistance Bureau (EEAB), which gave significant support. Azerbaijan's national football team have established themselves over successive UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup qualifying campaigns, starting with EURO 96. Since kicking off with a 3-0 defeat in Romania in September 1994, the team have improved sufficiently to record several notable results. Victories over Switzerland (1998 World Cup Quals), Slovakia (2002 World Cup Quals), Serbia and Montenegro (UEFA EURO 2004 Quals) and Finland (UEFA EURO 2008 Quals) preceded a creditable 1-1 draw with Russia and 2-0 win at Liechtenstein in 2010 World Cup qualifying. Records First International - Georgia 6-3 Azerbaijan - Gurjaani, Sept 17th 1992) Highest Win - Azerbaijan 4-0 Liechtenstein - Baku, June 5th 1999) Highest Defeat - France 10-0 Azerbaijan - Auxerre, Sept 6th 1995) Most Capped # Player Career period Caps Goals 1 Aslan Kerimov 1994–2007 75 0 2 Tarlan Akhmedov 1992–2005 73 0 3 Mahmud Gurbanov 1994–2008 69 1 4 Emin Agaev 1994–2005 65 1 5 Gurban Gurbanov 1992–2005 65 12 Overall International Record Played - 155 Won - 25 Lost - 91 Drawn - 39 For - 98 Against - 279 *So, first story for me. Game notes. Loaded Russia, England, Scotland, Turkey and Ukraine as well as all players from Azerbaijan. No particular reason on the league choices. Started in Russia, which means the game starts in January 2010. International record includes all games played up until the end of the WC '10 qualifying period, including friendlies. So, yeh. Enjoy. Feedback welcomed! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 from World Soccer Magazine: Q. Congratulations on your appointment as the new manager of the Azerbaijan national team. Naturally, you wanted the job. Would it be too much to say this is your dream job?A. Well, first of all, thank you. To say it’s my dream isn’t far off, to be fair. Being in charge of the national side is something that every manager aspires to and I’m no different in that respect. I’m certainly pleased that I’ve been given the chance to work here and I hope to continue the work Berti [Vogts] did. The team is progressing nicely and I will look to continue that in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Q. Have you had chance to think about what sort of tactical approach you might take? A. I have one or two ideas in mind but I haven’t settled on a certain formation as yet. In any case, I want my players to be comfortable playing two or three formations so we can adapt to the different situations and sides we will invariably find ourselves up against in qualifying. I know Mr. Vogts liked to use a sort of 4-5-1 formation with three rather advanced midfielders. I don’t think I’ll be using that exact formation, although the attack-mindedness is something I very much want my sides to have. At the end of the day, like the majority of everyone who works in the game, I want the side to be playing attractive, successful football. Q. Even here, where your success depends as much on the performances as the results, there will be a lot of pressure on you to, shall we say, hit the ground running and to produce results from the off. How confident are you that you’ll be able to get a good start as the manager of Azerbaijan? A. Of course they’ll always be pressure to succeed and get results, perhaps even more so this campaign after the draw with Russia at the end of the last qualifying campaign. It’s natural for any fan to want their country to do well. From our point of view, we’re all working towards, and certainly hoping for, a good start. We’re going to the draw for the Euro 2012 qualifying groups in a month’s time and we’ll look to get some friendlies in place that will hopefully set us up nicely to tackle the teams we end up being drawn against. Q. Alongside the enormous fan pressure that invariably comes with management at international level, the inevitable media presence in and around the camp will bring pressures of its own. Do you think you’ll be able to handle the heat? A. For sure. I understand the pressures of the job. After all, I’m a fan myself, so I know what the expectancy is. We all want the same thing and we all need to work together to be able to achieve the success we desire. I’m hoping that the pressures that come will be a help rather than a hindrance and I think the players, and myself, will thrive under them. Q. It has been said that Berti Vogts, like many other international mangers, selected his squads based upon the reputation of certain players. Is this going to be your train of thought when it comes to selection? A. Yes and no. Obviously I’d be a fool to ignore those players that have forged themselves a reputation in the game but, at the same time, I’m not going to ignore those that deserve a chance. I will select those who deserve to play, simple as that. Club form, reputation, how they handle themselves off the pitch; these are just a few of the factors that I’ll be looking at when I chose my squads. Q. Just a quick word on your staff as well. You’ve currently got an assistant in Aqşin Quliyev and then Arif Äsädov in charge of the Under-21 side. Do you think that you are looking a little on the light side in terms of backroom help? Will you be doing anything to address this? A. Aqşin and Arif have been doing fine jobs and I see no reason why they shouldn’t continue to do so for the foreseeable future. I will, however, be looking to bring in a couple more to help those guys out, perhaps someone to take charge of the Under 19 side and a couple of guys to help me watch the players for their club side. Other than that, not much will change. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenthreeleader Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Welcome to the forum! Happy to see an international management story from a different nation. Will be following along - good luck in your game and your writing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 *Thanks a lot tenthreeleader! Hope you enjoy following along. - European Championships 2012 Qualifying Draw (Number in brackets denote Countries official FIFA Ranking as of 13.1.10) Not only were we drawn in the first group, but we were the first team to be drawn altogether. Unfortunately, we've been drawn in a very tough group. Germany will be favourites to qualify automatically with Turkey and Belgium most likely to battle it out for second. We'll be looking at fifth as a bare minimum and anything above that will be a bonus. Group A P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Austria (69) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- AZERBAIJAN (140) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Belgium (67) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Germany (5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kazakhstan (139) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Turkey (29) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------------- | | AUS | AZE | BEL | GER | KAZ | TUR | ----------------------------------------- | AUS | | 8/6 | 9/10| 26/3|12/10| 7/9 | ----------------------------------------- | AZE | 8/9 | | 7/9 |12/10| 3/9 | 26/3| ----------------------------------------- | BEL | 3/9 |13/10| | 8/9 | 8/10|12/10| ----------------------------------------- | GER | 8/10| 4/6 | 8/6 | |13/10| 9/10| ----------------------------------------- | KAZ | 4/6 | 9/10| 26/3| 7/9 | | 8/6 | ----------------------------------------- | TUR |13/10| 8/10| 4/6 | 3/9 | 8/9 | | ----------------------------------------- Another group with seemingly clear favourites, Russia will be expected to finish top of the pile. Ireland may well have something to say about this, as might Slovakia. Macedonia will be expected to be solid whilst Andorra will almost certainly prop up the table. Group B P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Andorra (197) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Armenia (131) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 FYR Macedonia (55) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ireland (44) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Russia (9) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Slovakia (43) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------------- | | AND | ARM | FYM | IRE | RUS | SVK | ----------------------------------------- | AND | | 8/10| 3/9 |12/10|13/10| 8/9 | ----------------------------------------- | ARM | 4/6 | | 8/9 | 3/9 |12/10|13/10| ----------------------------------------- | FYM | 9/10| 8/6 | |13/10| 4/6 |12/10| ----------------------------------------- | IRE | 26/3| 9/10| 7/9 | | 8/6 | 4/6 | ----------------------------------------- | RUS | 7/9 | 26/3| 8/10| 8/9 | | 3/9 | ----------------------------------------- | SVK | 8/6 | 7/9 | 26/3| 8/10| 9/10| | ----------------------------------------- If Italy fail to top the group then the Azzurri fans will see it as a failure. Serbia are their most likely rivals for the number one spot, whilst Slovenia and Northern Ireland will be hard pushed to break into the top two. Group C P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Estonia (116) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Faroe Isl. (163) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Italy (6) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N. Ireland (32) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Serbia (15) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Slovenia (46) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------------- | | EST | FAR | ITA | N.I | SER | SVN | ----------------------------------------- | EST | | 4/6 |13/10| 26/3| 8/6 | 7/9 | ----------------------------------------- | FAR |12/10| | 8/6 |13/10| 7/9 | 26/3| ----------------------------------------- | ITA | 3/9 | 9/10| | 7/9 | 26/3|12/10| ----------------------------------------- | N.I | 8/10| 3/9 | 8/9 | |12/10| 9/10| ----------------------------------------- | SER | 9/10| 8/9 | 8/10| 4/6 | | 3/9 | ----------------------------------------- | SVN | 8/9 | 8/10| 4/6 | 8/6 |13/10| | ----------------------------------------- Like Italy, France will be expected to come out on top of the group. Romania will push them all the way and Bosnia may feel they might be able to come in second. Luxembourg are unlikely to avoid bottom spot. Group D P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Albania (95) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Belarus (78) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Bosnia (53) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 France (7) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Luxembourg (117) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Romania (28) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------------- | | ALB | BEL | BOS | FRA | LUX | ROM | ----------------------------------------- | ALB | |12/10| 8/10| 7/9 | 8/9 | 9/10| ----------------------------------------- | BEL | 4/6 | | 9/10| 8/10| 7/9 | 8/9 | ----------------------------------------- | BOS |13/10| 8/6 | | 8/9 | 4/6 | 7/9 | ----------------------------------------- | FRA | 26/3|13/10| 3/9 | | 8/6 | 4/6 | ----------------------------------------- | LUX | 3/9 | 26/3|12/10| 9/10| | 8/10| ----------------------------------------- | ROM | 8/6 | 3/9 | 26/3|12/10|13/10| | ----------------------------------------- This group will be about the battle for second as Holland shouldn't have any trouble wrapping up top spot. Come the end of the campaign both Sweden and Hungary will be hoping they have won the battle for second with Finland unlikely to challenge as well. Group E P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Finland (62) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Holland (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hungary (47) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Moldova (87) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 San Marino (207) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sweden (40) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------------- | | FIN | HOL | HUN | MOL | SAN | SWE | ----------------------------------------- | FIN | | 26/3| 4/6 |13/10| 7/9 | 8/6 | ----------------------------------------- | HOL | 8/10| | 3/9 | 8/9 | 9/10|12/10| ----------------------------------------- | HUN |12/10|13/10| | 8/6 | 26/3| 7/9 | ----------------------------------------- | MOL | 3/9 | 7/9 | 9/10| |12/10| 26/3| ----------------------------------------- | SAN | 8/9 | 8/6 | 8/10| 4/6 | |13/10| ----------------------------------------- | SWE | 9/10| 4/6 | 8/9 | 8/10| 3/9 | | ----------------------------------------- Croatia, Greece and potentially even Israel will all feel they could end up topping the group come the end of the final game. It's difficult to see past these three for the top three in the group although Latvia are capable of getting results. Group F P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Croatia (10) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Georgia (112) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Greece (14) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Israel (25) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Latvia (57) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Malta (141) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------------- | | CRO | GEO | GRE | ISR | LAT | MAL | ----------------------------------------- | CRO | | 8/10| 3/9 |12/10|13/10| 8/9 | ----------------------------------------- | GEO | 4/6 | | 8/9 | 3/9 |12/10|13/10| ----------------------------------------- | GRE | 9/10| 8/6 | |13/10| 4/6 |12/10| ----------------------------------------- | ISR | 26/3| 9/10| 7/9 | | 8/6 | 4/6 | ----------------------------------------- | LAT | 7/9 | 26/3| 8/10| 8/9 | | 3/9 | ----------------------------------------- | MAL | 8/6 | 7/9 | 26/3| 8/10| 9/10| | ----------------------------------------- The first group of five is one of the most difficult groups. England will be expected to finish top but Switzerland will almost certainly have something to say about that. Bulgaria and wales will be hoping to profit should either England or Switzerland slip up. Group G P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Bulgaria (23) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- England (8) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Montenegro (91) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Switzerland (17) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wales (66) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------- | | BUL | ENG | MON | SWI | WAL | ----------------------------------- | BUL | | 26/3| 7/9 | 9/10| 8/6 | ----------------------------------- | ENG | 8/10| | 9/10| 8/6 | 4/6 | ----------------------------------- | MON |13/10| 3/9 | | 4/6 | 8/10| ----------------------------------- | SWI | 3/9 | 8/9 |12/10| |13/10| ----------------------------------- | WAL | 8/9 |12/10| 26/3| 7/9 | | ----------------------------------- Portugal and Denmark should secure the top two places in this group with only Norway likely to be the team who changes that. Who finishes top will most likely depend on who picks up the better results in tricky away ties at Cyprus and Iceland. Group H P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Cyprus (77) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Denmark (19) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Iceland (98) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Norway (42) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Portugal (11) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------- | | CYP | DEN | ICE | NOR | POR | ----------------------------------- | CYP | | 8/10| 3/9 | 8/9 |13/10| ----------------------------------- | DEN | 26/3| | 8/9 |12/10| 3/9 | ----------------------------------- | ICE | 9/10| 8/6 | | 7/9 | 4/6 | ----------------------------------- | NOR | 8/6 | 4/6 |13/10| | 8/10| ----------------------------------- | POR | 7/9 | 9/10|12/10| 26/3| | ----------------------------------- Spain are the highest ranked team within Europe and will be expected to finish on top. The Czech Republic will press them hard but it's likely to be a losing battle. Scotland will be hoping to snatch second spot. Group I P w D L F A PTS ---------------------------------------------- Czech Rep. (22) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---------------------------------------------- Liechtenstein (153)0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lithuania (63) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scotland (30) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Spain (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ----------------------------------- | | CZE | LIE | LIT | SCO | SPA | ----------------------------------- | CZE | | 26/3| 9/10| 8/6 | 3/9 | ----------------------------------- | LIE | 7/9 | | 8/6 | 4/6 | 9/10| ----------------------------------- | LIT | 8/10| 8/9 | |13/10|12/10| ----------------------------------- | SCO | 8/9 |12/10| 3/9 | | 26/3| ----------------------------------- | SPA |13/10| 8/10| 4/6 | 7/9 | | ----------------------------------- Qualifying Schedule: Wed, 8.9.2010 - Grp Stage Sat, 9.10.2010 - Grp Stage Wed, 13.10.2010 - Grp Stage Sat, 26.3.2011 - Grp Stage Sat, 4.6.2011 - Grp Stage Wed, 8.6.2011 - Grp Stage Sat, 3.9.2011 - Grp Stage Wed, 7.9.2011 - Grp Stage Sat, 8.10.2011 - Grp Stage Wed, 12.10.2011 - Grp Stage Sat, 12.11.2011 - Playoff 1st Leg Wed, 16.11.2011 - Playoff 2nd Leg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 FIFA World Rankings These selections are taken from the official FIFA World Rankings as of 13.1.10 FIFA World Top Ten European Top Ten Teams Ranked 135-44 ------------------ ---------------- --------------------- 1 - Brazil (--) 1 - Spain (2) 135 - Madagascar - (-4) 2 - Spain (--) 2 - Holland (3) 136 - Botswana - (-4) 3 - Holland (--) 3 - Germany (5) 137 - Niger - (-2) 4 - Argentina (+4) 4 - Italy (6) 138 - Ethiopia - (-2) 5 - Germany (-1) 5 - France (7) 139 - Kazakhstan - (-2) 6 - Italy (-1) 6 - England (8) 140 - AZERBAIJAN - (-2) 7 - France (+3) 7 - Russia (9) 141 - Malta - (-1) 8 - England (-1) 8 - Croatia (10) 142 - Malaysia - (+10) 9 - Russia (-3) 9 - Portugal(11) 143 - Nicaragua - (-2) 10- Croatia (-1) 10 - Greece (14) 144 - Solomon Is.- (+19) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenArsenal Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Nice. I always like international management more than club management, so will follow this with interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 *Glad to have you on board Ben!* - World Cup 2010 Group Stage Report Group A – Italy, Paraguay, Slovenia, Tunisia Italy begun their defence of the World Cup with a convincing 2-0 win over Slovenia. A 1-1 draw between Paraguay and Tunisia gave Italy some breathing space at the top of the group and they secured passage to the next round by beating Tunisia 3-1 in their next game. Slovenia coasted past a poor Paraguay side 3-0, sending the South Americans out of the tournament and setting up a winner-takes-all match between Slovenia and Tunisia. A winner three minutes from time by Issam Jemaa sent the African side through at the expense of their European counterparts. Italy defeated Paraguay 3-0 in their final group to finish the group stage with a 100% record and to end Paraguay's dismal tournament. Group B – Argentina, Mexico, North Korea, Serbia As one of the pre-tournaments favourites, Argentina wasted no time in backing up this label by beating minnows North Korea in the first game 5-0. Serbia defeated Mexico 2-0 in the other game which left the Mexicans with it all to do if they were to qualify. In the next round of games, as expected, Mexico defeated North Korea (4-1) and Argentina squeaked past Serbia by a goal to nil. This left Argentina top of the group and Mexico and Serbia level on three points. In the final game Mexico surprised many by easily defeating Argentina 3-1. This meant that Serbia only needed to beat North Korea by 2 goals in order to secure second place. The Asian side defended manfully however, and Serbia could only win 1-0, meaning both the South American sides progressed. Group C – Germany, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine The first game in this group was an excellent encounter and ended up with Ukraine getting the better of Saudi Arabia by the odd goal in five. Ghana then produced one of the shock results of the group stage by surprising Germany by a one goal to nil. They lost their next game however, to Ukraine, and Germany restored normality by defeating the Saudi's 3-1. In a similar situation to Group B, this meant going into the final round of games any two from Ukraine, Germany and Ghana could still qualify. Germany defeated Ukraine 1-0 but it was Ghana who were the unlucky side of the three as they laboured to a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia and therefore failed to progress. Group D – Brazil, Japan, Switzerland, USA In one of the lower scoring groups, Brazil and Switzerland both opened with one goal wins over Japan and the USA respectively. Two goalless draw between the teams in the next set of games meant that, going into the final round, all four teams could still mathematically advance. Brazil secured their place with a 1-1 draw against America and this left the door open for Japan to shock Switzerland by two goals to nil and to snatch the second qualifying place. Group E – Cameroon, Holland, Portugal, South Korea In a group that the two European team were expected to dominate, there were no opening game surprises as both Portugal (1-0 v Cameroon) and Holland (3-0 v South Korea) opened with victories. The second round of matches saw Portugal come out as 3-1 victors when the two sides met and in the other game Cameroon and South Korea battled out a goalless draw. Two more draws in the final round of games meant that, as many predicted, Portugal and Holland advanced to the Round of 16. Group F – Australia, France, Uruguay, South Africa The host nation of South Africa were handed a difficult draw and opened with an unlucky 2-1 defeat to Uruguay. Australia shocked the French by a goal to nil and then the two victors from the opening round met in the next game. They stayed locked in a 1-1 draw and France recovered from their earlier set-back to scrape past the hosts 1-0. In the last set of games, 2-0 victories from both Australia and France assured their progression at the expense of an unfortunate Uruguay side. Group G – Algeria, Chile, England, Slovakia Algeria were the surprise table-toppers after the opening round of games as, with England scraping a late equaliser against Slovakia, they defeated Chile 1-0. England stepped up their game however and rose to the top with a 3-0 win over Algeria, whilst a 3-2 defeat by Slovakia meant that Chile were going home. In the last round of games Algeria defeated Slovakia 1-0 to go through to the next round and England sealed top of the group by defeating Chile 2-0. Group H – Denmark, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Spain Many people's favourites Spain had little trouble in finishing top of the group as they sailed through with a record a three wins, eight goals and just one conceded. It was the game between the Ivory Coast and Denmark in the final round of matches that was the talking point as the victor would join Spain in the next round. In a tense affair Denmark came from behind, thanks to two Nicklas Bendtner goals, and booked their place in the last 16. Last 16: Italy Argentina v v Mexico Tunisia ------- ------- v v ------- ------- Brazil Germany v v Ukraine Japan ------- v ------- Holland Portugal v v Australia France ------- ------- v v ------- ------- Denmark Spain v v England Algeria Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 World Cup 2010 Round of 16 Report Italy v Mexico Italy had qualified from their group in style, albeit with little resistance, and had shrugged off the notion that their ageing squad would struggle this summer. Mexico were coming into this game high on confidence after beating Argentina and it was they who found themselves opening the scoring. Carlos Vela got the goal, in the seventh minute, latching onto a long ball over the top and placing a delicate chip into the back of the net. It stayed that way until half-time but Iaquinta wasted no time in restoring parity after the break, taking just 28 seconds to level affairs, after some good work out wide by Camoranesi. Italy continued to attack and had a multitude of chances but Mexican stopper Corona simply couldn't be beaten. Indeed he kept them in the game until a quick break from the Mexicans led to Omar Bravo giving them the lead. Joy turned to despair ten minutes later for the striker as he was given his marching orders but his side still managed to hold on for a surprise win. Argentina v Tunisia Argentina had, as expected, reached this stage of the competition but they perhaps hadn't performed as well as many people expected. Tunisia, on the other hand, had performed admirably and had done remarkably well just to reach this stage. They refused to be over-awed by their more illustrious opponents and more than matched Messi and co in and surprisingly end-to-end game. In the end it was settled by a sole strike from Sergio Agüero just before the break, but the Tunisians were roundly applauded off the pitch having won many and admirer for the way they battled throughout the game. Brazil v Ukraine The Brazilians had been far from impressive in the group stage and, some suggested, had been lucky to qualify for this game at all. It was felt, however, that had just been warming to their task and now they had reached the knockout stages they would play the way for which they are famous. Ukraine were the team who stood in their way and a combination of superb defending, from Vyacheslav Shevchuk in particular and poor finishing from the Samba boys meant that the sides couldn't be separated after 90 minutes. The first extra-time period of the World Cup failed to produce a game-changing moment and this meant it was down to the lottery of penalties. Brazil was the side that held their nerve and, as with their South American rivals Argentina, scraped through to the quarter-final. Germany v Japan Japan had qualified for the second round for the first time on foreign soil, to many people's surprise. It would seem as though they wouldn't be going much further though as they now faced the extremely difficult task of overcoming a German side that were getting better the further they went. Indeed it was the Germans who took an early lead but, entirely against the run of play, Japan managed to level the score just before half-time. The second half played out similarly to the first with Germany throwing everything at the Japanese but they held firm to take the game to extra-time. During the first half of this 30 minute period, Lukas Podolski managed to smash through the resilient back line of the Japanese and score what would turn out to be the decisive goal. Holland v Australia Australia had surprised many by finishing top of their group but their reward for this was not much of a reward at all. Holland waited for them in Pretoria and two goals from Klaas-Jan Huntelaar either side of half-time gave the Dutch a commanding, and entirely deserved, lead. Australia though, perhaps remembering the performance they had given in a victory over the French, came back into the match thanks to a Scott McDonald goal and threatened to take the tie to extra-time. Unfortunately for the Aussies, Holland stood firm at the back and secured safe passage. Portugal v France Easily the biggest tie of the round, one of the European giants would be heading home after it. France had recovered from a shock opening defeat to progress whilst Portugal had been impressive in the group stage. Despite the final statistics showing that both teams had had about the same of it, the game was effectively over inside the first ten minutes as two goals from Gourcuff and one from Henry had given the French an unbelievable start. Portugal pulled one back but Gourcuff completed his hat-trick before half-time to seal victory. One more goal each after half-time followed and France had pulled off a remarkable victory and laid down a marker to the other teams in the tournament. Spain v Algeria Spain had caused no surprise in reaching this phase whilst their opponents, Algeria, had probably raised more eyebrows than most. Unfortunately the African side let themselves down now they were here. Whether they were tired after their efforts to make it this far, or whether they were over-awed by their Spanish counterparts, is anyone’s guess but a poor performance meant that Spain cruised to victory. It took just a single strike from Andrés Iniesta but Algeria never threatened to respond and Spain sailed through. Denmark v England In a re-run of the second round from Korea/Japan in 2002, Denmark and England met for a place in the quarter final. Just like eight years ago, England looked the much better side and finished 3-0 victors. Steven Gerrard scored before half-time and then added two more goals himself, the goals sandwiching the dismissal of Poulsen, to complete his hat-trick and pave the way to the quarter-final. Italy 1 1 Argentina v v Mexico 2 0 Tunisia Mexico Argentina v v Brazil Germany Brazil 0p 2e Germany v v Ukraine 0 Final 1 Japan ------- ------- ------- v v V ------- ------- ------- Holland 2 2 Portugal v v Australia 1 5 France Holland France v v England Spain Denmark 0 1 Spain v v England 3 0 Algeria Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 World Cup 2010 Quarter Final Report Argentina v Germany In the first of four mouth-watering quarter final ties, old rivalries were renewed as Argentina and Germany met in Cape Town. It was just four years since the battle they had waged in the German's own World Cup and the memories were still fresh, and sore, for some. The game sprung immediately into life with a first minute goal, practically from kick-off, from Esteban Cambiasso. Agüero played the ball out wide to Di Maria, Schweinsteiger missed a tackle, and the ball was cut back for Cambiasso who, holding off the advances of German captain Michael Ballack, finished with aplomb. The Germans were stung, but stung into action, as they poured forward themselves looking for an equaliser. Sergio Agüero made their task even harder when he struck just before the half-hour mark and, with Messi influential, Argentina threatened to run away with the game. It was end-to-end stuff and just before half-time Germany got the goal they deserved as Mario Gómez turned in Ballack's centre. The second half continued in the same vain as the first had as both teams continued to press, Germany looking for an equaliser and Argentina looked to extend their lead. Despite numerous chances, neither side managed to convert one into a goal and the final whistle brought down the curtain on Germanys hopes of reaching the semi-final for the third successive tournament. Mexico v Brazil A tie made in the Americas, Mexico and Brazil did battle in a game that was equally as exciting as the game it followed. The Johannesburg public were treated to a great game of defence v attack as Mexico looked to contain a Brazil side that were playing the only way they knew how. An early goal from Adriano had the watching masses expecting to see a rout but was followed was equally enthralling as the Mexican's put everything on the line in order to keep a foothold in the game. In the last ten minutes, with Brazil still not having been able to add to their tally, Efraín Juárez got a leveller than was more than deserved and, much to the delight of the crowd (bar the Brazilians), we would have a further 30 minutes. The game was settled just 6 minutes from penalties when Elano scored a goal that deserved to win any game. As it was, it was the goal that secured Brazil's semi-final place and sent the brave Mexican's out of the tournament. Holland v England The pressure on both these sides from their national public and media was massive and neither wanted to disappoint this early. Fabio Capello looked to take a tactical risk when he played Rooney up front on his own with Michael Owen in a wide right position of a three-man supporting cast. The gamble seemed to be working; the Dutch were stifled as they had to concentrate more on the defensive side of things, and when Ashley Young replaced Owen at half-time, things got better for Capello and the Three Lions. Joe Cole scored the only goal of the game but England were good value for their win and the English media are the ones who are hailing the performance of their team going into the semi-finals. Spain v France Durban played host to the last of the quarter final ties and with just one spot left in the semi final line up, both France and Spain knew what lay ahead of them. In truth it was a dire game, neither team willing to push that extra bit for fear of suffering a decisive blow, but if the French finishing had been better they would have cruised to victory. Chances came and went, Thierry Henry the main culprit, as France failed to put the game beyond Spain. Spain, however, seemed unusually bereft of ideas and couldn't make France pay for their profligacy. The game would eventually be settled by penalties where the French blues got even worse. Three penalties taken and three missed. Spain couldn't believe their luck, missing just one of their own, as they found themselves going through. Italy 1 1 Argentina v v Mexico 2 0 Tunisia Mexico 1 2 Argentina v v Brazil 2e 1 Germany Brazil 0p 2e Germany v v Ukraine 0 Final 1 Japan Brazil ------- Argentina v v V England ------- Spain Holland 2 2 Portugal v v Australia 1 5 France Holland 0 0 France v v England 1 0 Spain Denmark 0 1 Spain v v England 3 0 Algeria Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Good start, Scott. I'll be reading along. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark wilson27 Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Love International stories and will be a keen follower of this one...keep it up mate Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 *Welcome along to you both!* - World Cup 2010 Semi Final Report Brazil v England Either of these semi final ties would have made a worthy final and the watching world was fit to burst at the prospect of two great games. First up was Brazil, perhaps the finest side in the world over the years, against England, who had been playing some superb football of their own this summer. Capello chose to stick with the same formation that had worked so successfully against previous opponents Holland whilst Brazil saw no reason to change things either. After a cagey opening ten minutes England came to life and talisman Wayne Rooney struck a sweet volley to give them the lead. They were then dealt a blow in losing Steven Gerrad to injury, but this was a minor blip in an otherwise great first half for the Englishmen. The second half begun as the first half had and everyone sat back and waited to Brazil to unleash the response they surely had in them. England though, owing to a superb defensive display, kept the Brazilians frustrated and subdued and closed out the game with relative ease. England had reached their first final since they won in 1966 and Brazil would have to wait, at least, until the tournament was in their own back yard in four years time. Argentina v Spain Spain, reigning European champions, were looking to go one step further and become the best team in the world. Never before had they reached this stage of a World Cup competition whereas their Argentinian had plenty of previous experience from which they could draw. Anticipation was high, as it had been for Brazil and England, but the game, as is often the case in these types of matches, was a cagey, nervous, mistake-riddled affair with neither team ready to commit men forward in the hope of getting on the scoreboard. It played like that straight through 120 minutes until the two teams found themselves ready for a penalty shoot-out. Carlos Tevez saw his effort, the first penalty of the shoot-out, saved and every single one after that went in, meaning Spain set up an all-European final. Argentina, perhaps, victims of their own cautiousness were left to think 'what if?' as they watched the Spanish celebrate the prospect of their final World Cup Final appearance. Italy 1 1 Argentina v v Mexico 2 0 Tunisia Mexico 1 2 Argentina v v Brazil 2e 1 Germany Brazil 0p 2e Germany v v Ukraine 0 Final 1 Japan Brazil 0 England 0 Argentina v v V England 1 Spain 0p Spain Holland 2 2 Portugal v v Australia 1 5 France Holland 0 0 France v v England 1 0 Spain Denmark 0 1 Spain v v England 3 0 Algeria Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 18, 2010 Author Share Posted July 18, 2010 World Cup 2010 Final Report England - (4-2-3-1) - Foster; A. Cole, Brown, Ferdinand, G. Johnson; Carrick, Lampard; Barry, J. Cole, Lennon; Rooney Spain - (4-1-4-1) - Casillas; Capdevila, Puyol, Piqué, Arbeloa, Alonso, Riera, Fábregas, Xavi, Navas, Villa England had been this far once, Spain never before. It was a final that everyone was looking forward to. Argentina had beaten Brazil 1-0 to secure third place the night before but everyone knew that this was the one that mattered. Wes Brown kept his place in the centre of the English defence as John Terry failed in his race to be fit. England were also robbed of Steven Gerrard who would cruelly miss out after his injury in the semi-final. Manuel Almunia sat on the bench for England, not getting in ahead of Ben Foster, and he must have been feeling rather odd inside. Spain had one injury of their own to contend with, right-back Ramos still not fit, Arbeloa a ready made replacemet. With a bench containing Iniesta, Torres and the legendary Raúl, the Spaniards has plently of fire power in reserve should they need it. The first half got underway and, like the two semi-finals before it, started out with both teams playing very cautious football. In a half of few chances Ben Foster in the England goal had more to do than his Spanish opposite but, even then, he was virtually a spectator. You were just waiting for something to spark the game into life and, early in the second half, something did. Who else but Wayne Rooney to produce a bit of magic. Picking the ball up on the edge of the area after good work by Ashley Cole, Rooney turned on a six-pence past Albiol, on for the injured Puyol, took a couple of touches and fired the ball low past the diving, despairing Casillas. Spain knew they had to lift their game in order to get back into the match but they never looked to the bench to do so, instead putting faith in the men they had on the pitch. La Furia Roja looked like it, firing passes around the park, trying to find a way through the strong English back line. The few opportunities they did manage to carve out were repelled by the excellent Ben Foster, whos deserved man-of-the-match award epitomised the English resilience that had shown through-out the knock-out stages of the tournament. And so that was it. England were crowned World Champions for the second time and Spain were left with the that bitter taste of a final defeat in their mouth. Italy 1 1 Argentina v v Mexico 2 0 Tunisia Mexico 1 2 Argentina v v Brazil 2e 1 Germany Brazil 0p 2e Germany v v Ukraine 0 Final 1 Japan Brazil 0 England 1 0 Argentina v v V England 1 Spain 0 0p Spain Holland 2 2 Portugal v v Australia 1 5 France Holland 0 0 France v v England 1 0 Spain Denmark 0 1 Spain v v England 3 0 Algeria Awards World Cup Best Player 1st - Steven Gerrard (30, AMC, ENG) - Played 6; Scored 4; Assists 3; Av. Rating 7.57 2nd - Nicolas Anelka (31, ST, FRA) - Played 3; Scored 2; Assists 3; Av. Rating 7.57 3rd - Fernando Torres (26, ST, SPA) - Played 4; Scored 3; Assists 1; Av. Rating 7.40 Best Goalkeeper 1st - Ben Foster - (27, ENG) - Played 7; Conceded 1; Av. Rating 7.09 2nd - Iker Casillas - (29, SPA) - Played 7; Conceded 2; Av. Rating 6.80 3rd - Júlio César - (30, BRA) - Played 6; Conceded 3; Av. Rating 6.82 Dream Team (4-4-2) GK - Ben Foster - ENG RB - Maicon - BRA CB - Rio Ferdinand - ENG CB - Gerard Piqué - SPA LB - Ashley Cole - ENG RM - Aaron Lennon - ENG CM - Steven Gerrard - ENG CM - Michael Carrick - ENG LM - Gareth Barry - ENG ST - Vincenzo Iaquinta - ITA ST - Nicolas Anelka - FRA Golden Boot 1st - Vincenzo Iaquinta (ITA) - 4 goals, 4 games 2nd - Raúl (SPA) - 4 goals, 4 games 3rd - Steven Gerrard (ENG) - 4 goals, 6 games Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenArsenal Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 England winning the World Cup, again?! FM10 has a bug, I tell you. A bug! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 *Maybe Ben...maybe! - 2.9.10Azerbaijan Squad Announced Tysoe names first Azerbaijan squad since taking charge. Azerbaijan manager Scott Tysoe has named his squad for the first of ten European Championship qualifying games. Azerbaijan will kick off their campaign with a home tie against Austria and are hoping for a good start to qualifying. Qarabağ Ağdam right-back Maxim Medvedev has been in fine form for his club so far this season and this has prompted Tysoe to promote him from the Under-21 squad. He is now in line to win his first international cap, along with a number of other players, including Aqil Mämmädov, Ruslan Abişov, Maxim Medvedev, Elnur Allahverdiyev, Sasha Yunisoglu, Samir Abbasov, Tural Cälilov, Ramal Hüseynov and Işref Mähämmädov. Brazilian striker Marcos Ferreira, who is eligible for Azerbaijan having qualified for dual nationality status, is named in the squad for the first time, along with Russian Igor Borozdin. The young midfielder, who helped club side Avangard Kansk to promotion in Russia last year, qualifies through parentage and is yet to represent Azerbaijan, or Russia, at any level. Both will be competing for the chance to represent Azerbaijan in the Austria game. Squad v Austria (ECQ)(Numbers denote caps/goals) Cahangir Häsänzadä - GK - 28/0 Ruslan Medjidov - GK - 1/0 Aqil Mämmädov - GK - 0/0 Räşad F. Sadiqov - SW, DC - 36/3 Ruslan Abişov - DRC - 0/0 Maxim Medvedev - DR - 0/0 Ruslan Abbasov - DLC - 10/0 Zaur Häşimov - DL - 12/0 Elnur Allahverdiyev - DL - 0/0 Ernani - DC - 9/0 Rail Malikov - DC - 7/0 Sasha Yunisoglu - DC - 0/0 Ernin Quliyev - DC, DM, MC - 42/3 Alexandr Certoqanov - DM, MRC - 6/0 Räşad A. Sadiqov - DM, MC - 3/0 Samir Abbasov - DM, MC - 0/0 Tural Cälilov - ML - 0/0 Igor Borozdin - MC - 0/0 Ramal Hüseynov - AMRL - 0/0 Ramim - AMLC - 9/3 Ilqar Qurbanov - AML, FC - 29/1 Vagif Javadov - AML, ST - 24/4 Işref Mähämmädov - ST - 0/0 Vüqar Nadirov - ST - 9/0 Anatoly Ponomarev - ST - 12/0 Marcos Ferreira - ST - 0/0 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 from World Soccer Magazine: Q. It looks like it will be an uphill struggle for you to get Azerbaijan to compete in the European Championship Qualifiers. What are your chances of success?A. Well, in truth, we have to be realistic with our prospects. Anyone expecting us to qualify is probably going to be disappointed come the end of the campaign. We’ve never qualified for a major tournament finals before but the progression from the first campaign in ’96 is there for all to see. What we’ll be looking to do is continue that progression. We’ve got a difficult group but we’ll be looking for make it as difficult as possible for our opposition and, with that, we’ll hopefully pick up a few points along the way. Q. Austria has called up Steffen Hofmann for the first time and he expected to be the biggest threat to your defence in the forthcoming match. Would you agree with that assessment? A. There is no doubt that Hofmann is going to be a real danger to us. He is great with the ball at his feet and put in some dangerous crosses, as well as possessing a superb repertoire of set-pieces. Having said that, I wouldn’t just focus one player and I’ll be telling my players to do the same. If we concentrate on Hofmann too much, that will leave space for the likes of Maierhofer and Ivanschitz to exploit us. Q. Maxim Medvedev could win his first international cap after your decision to call him up. It’s a huge moment in any footballer’s career so how do you think he will handle the pressure? A. Maxim has made a superb start to the season and, as I said when I took over, anyone who deserves a place in the side will get the chance. He has earned the right to be part of the squad and, should he got on the pitch come match-day, he’ll have earned that too. It’s bound to be a big confidence boost for the lad and I’m under no doubt that he’ll cope with any pressure. Q. When you released you squad, it was noted that there were 12 changes to the last squad picked by Berti Vogts. This number surprised many people. Are you confident that your players will be able to perform after such an upheaval? A. Whilst I was picking the squad it was in the back of my mind that I was making changes, but that wasn’t going to stop me from doing so. I’m a different person to Berti and I that means things are bound to change. That’s not to say that I’ve changed things for the sake of change. Every single player I have picked has been picked on merit and I wouldn’t have picked them if I didn’t think they were good enough. They will have to continue to play well domestically if they want to continue being part of my squads. Q. The selection of Marcos Ferreira – born in Rio de Janeiro – has caused some debate among fellow footballers. What are the chances of his selection causing something of an identity crisis among Azeri footballers? A. Marcos has been in Azerbaijan for a number of years now, playing for Karvan and, as such, has qualified to play for the national team. Many of the players in my squad already know him through playing with, and against, him domestically and they have no issue with my selection. We’ve got another couple of Brazilian born players in the squad [Ernani and Ramim] and there was no issue when they won their first caps and I don’t see one here either. As far as I’m concerned, if the player is good enough they’ll be called up, regardless of where they were born. Q. You have decided to include Samir Abbasov in your squad despite his injury. What are the chances he will feature? A. Samir’s injury was only a minor bruise on his shin that he picked up in his last match for club side Xäzär. We were assured by their medical staff that he would be fit to play and that is why I added him to the squad. He is fit and raring to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 The media are reporting that Azerbaijan will have to perform to the best of their ability when they take on Austria in the opening European Championship qualifying game. Both teams will be looking for a good start which could be crucial to their chances of future success in the campaign.The Austrian team are firm favourites to take the match and Azerbaijan will only have a chance if their key players are firing on all cylinders. One such player is Vagif Javadov, who has made a great start to his season with FC Twente of Holland, with 3 goals in 3 games (two in the league, one in Europe). As one of the seven players in Tysoe’s squad who isn’t domestically based in Azerbaijan, pressure may fall on his shoulder’s to provide a match winning spark. Another key player Räşad F. Sadiqov, who is based in Turkey with Denizlispor, has declared himself ‘in an optimistic mood’ ahead of the game on Wednesday. Sadiqov told World Soccer Magazine that ‘they players would be showing Austria plenty of respect but they would not fear them and that they were certainly beatable.’ In terms of players to watch on the Austrian side, FC RB Salzburg striker Marc Janko is a proven match winner whilst Steffen Hofmann will look to dominate proceedings in the middle of the park. Previous meetings with Austria: Pld 2, Won 0, Drn 1, Lst 1, For 0, Ags 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Wednesday, 9th September 2010 Azerbaijan v Austria Tofik Bahramov Republican Stadium European Championship Qualifiers Group A - Match 1 Line-Ups (* denotes key player) Azerbaijan (5-3-2) Austria (3-5-2) V Javadov Marcos Ferreira M Janko E Hoffer * 0 0 0 0 Ramim A Ivanschitz D Alaba S Hofmann 0 0 0 0 0 P Scharner C Leitgeb R Sadiqov 0 0 A certoqanov E Allahverdiyev M Medvedev 0 0 0 0 0 * 0 Ernani S Yunisoglu E Pogatetz M Stranzl S Prödl 0 R Sadiqov 0 0 A Mämmädov M Gspurning Milestones > Aqil Mämmädov is set to make his debut | > Steffan Hofmann is set to make his debut > Sasha Yunisoglu is set to make his debut | > Andreas Ivanschitz needs three more goals to > Ernani is set to win his 10th cap | reach 10 international goals > Maxim Medvedev is set to make his debut | > Marc Janko needs three more goals to reach > Elnur Allahverdiyev is set to make his debut | 10 international goals > Marcos Ferreira is set to make his debut | > Marko Arnautovic will win his 10th cap if > Ramim is set to win his 10th cap | brought on > Vagif Javadov is set to win his 25th cap | > Samir Abbasov will make his debut if he comes | off the bench | > Ruslan Abişov will make his debut if he comes | off the bench | > Igor Borozdin will make his debut if he comes | off the bench | > Ilqar Qurbanov will win his 30th cap if | brought on | > Işref Mähämmädov will make his debut if he | comes off the bench | Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 Despite not having had the chance to get the squad together for any friendlies, I had seen them all in action domestically and was quietly confident or our chances of getting a result. There was, however, no doubting that Austria were a good side with a lot of quality in their attack. I decided to combat this by employing both a sweeper and two defensive midfielders. I wanted to draw our opponents onto us before getting the ball forward quickly and counter-attacking. We kicked off in front of a full house at the Tofik Bahramov Republican Stadium and the qualifying campaign, and my first game in charge, was underway. A nervous couple of minutes ensued, with both teams taking their time to feel their opponents out. Austria, of course, had played in the last European Championships due to co-hosting the tournament with Switzerland and the experience had no doubt given them the desire to qualify this time around. Indeed, it was the visitors who had the first meaningful attack of the game. Emanuel Pogatetz, Austria’s captain for the game, laid he ball forward to Ivanschitz who was allowed to carry it forward unopposed. He had time, too much time, to pick a cross out into the six-yard box and it was Hoffer, who had stolen ahead of Ernani, who headed the ball towards goal. It looked as though it was headed into the top corner but, fortunately for us, it crept just over the bar. If that was a warning sign, we failed to see it and a few minutes later it was Hofmann, on the opposite flank, causing the problems. Stranzl carried the ball out of the defence before setting Hofmann away down the right hand side. The Austrian winger, who was making his international debut, carried the ball forward and tried to slip in fellow midfielder David Alaba. Alaba managed to get the ball but, harried all the way by Ramim who was tracking back, couldn’t quite get it out of his feet and his shot tamely sailed wide of the mark. Sensing that the game, and perhaps even the occasion, might be getting the better of us, Austria changed their tactics slightly to give themselves more options in the final third. They wanted the opening goal, to perhaps relax them more than anything, and they had decided to commit more men forward in order to find it. On the twenty-five minute mark we were forced to make a change of our own as left-back Elnur Allahverdiyev picked up a knock, in a seemingly innocuous challenge with Paul Scharner, and was forced to go off. Ruslan Abişov was the man brought on to replace him, the right-back finding himself playing on the opposite side of defence, and the game continued. As the half-hour mark approached, you could see the nerves were wearing off our players and they were starting to thread a few passes together. Ramim, playing in the role just behind the two strikers, was starting to become a prominent player in the game and it was he who forced our first corner of the game. Yunisoglu had made a run all the way from centre-back and Ramim played a raking ball over the top looking for him. Marc Janko, the Austrian striker, had followed our wandering centre-back all the way and got above him, just, in order to force the ball behind. Unfortunately the corner led to nothing and, four minutes later, after Ramim had played an excellent ball into Marcos Ferreira, who had lost his man expertly, another corner was won and then subsequently wasted. This spell of pressure couldn’t be sustained for much longer however and it was the Austrians turn to attack. Ivanschitz tried to carry the ball into the area but captain Räşad F. Sadiqov, who was playing in the sweeper role, removed the danger with a look of ease. He was looking motivated and committed and it seemed to be rubbing off on the rest of the team as they all looked fired up, perhaps buoyed by the spell we’d just had at the other end. Not long after, Abişov was forced to put the ball behind his own goal as Austria won a corner of their own. Hofmann took it short to Scharner who brought the ball to the area before slipping a pass into the feet of Erwin Hoffer. Hoffer took one, two touches before hitting it toward goal but Aqil Mämmädov, one of five debutants in the side after his promotion from the under-21 side, was more than equal to the shot and held the ball well. Half-time was now fast approaching and we were into the two minutes of added time before the next action of the game. First, Sebastian Prödl held back Javadov, who had dropped deep to pick the ball up, and was booked for persistent fouls. It had been coming, and Prödl may have felt a little unlucky to be the first Austrian to go into the book as it could have been any one of about five of the visitors. We followed this up, though, with a yellow card of our own as Räşad A. Sadiqov tugged onto the shirt of Ivanschitz as he tried to power past him in the middle of the park. No sooner had he taken his name did he referee blow up for half-time and we went in all square and goalless. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 It had been a good half for us and the tactic was working well, stifling the opposition when they had the ball and knocking it around confidently when we had it. It came as a bit of a surprise that we had had nearly 65% of possession and I wondered whether the second half would play out similarly. Austria, obviously frustrated, took off Steffen Hofmann at half-time for right-back György Garics. Hofmann had been touted in the media, before the game, as being one of the biggest threats in the Austrian side so it was nice to see the back of him and the introduction of Garics led to another change in formation from the away side. Having gotten better as the first half had progressed, we went out into the second trying to build up some pressure. After just five minutes of the restart we managed to create our first real chance of the game. It all started from our own back line as substitute Abişov first played a one-two with Räşad F. Sadiqov before carrying the ball forward. Ivanschitz fouled him as he advanced over the half-way line and, after Ramim took the free-kick long into the area, it was Ivanschitz again who got in the way, heading the ball behind for a corner. Ramim floated the ball towards Ernani who managed to knock the ball down before toe-ending it towards the Austrian goal. Only a despairing dive by Gspurning in goal prevented us from taking the lead and confidence was growing. Three substitutions followed this chance, one per side; one enforced, one voluntary and one a mixture of the two. Austria, obviously unhappy with their start to the half, chose to withdraw Sebastian Prödl and replaced him with Andreas Ibertsberger. Ours, unfortunately, was enforced as another of our players succumbed to injury. Räşad A. Sadiqov was the player coming off and on in his place went Samir Abbasov, a like-for-like replacement. The final change was my decision to bring on Işref Mähämmädov. Marcos Ferreira had picked up a slight knock and, despite wanting desperately to continue, I decided to withdraw him as I didn’t want his injury to get any worse. These substitutions, unfortunately, broke up the flow of the game and it returned to a somewhat cagey affair. We had the better of possession, as in the first half, but we were knocking it around the back and in the middle of the park, not really getting much in the way of attacking chances. Austria, on the other hand, seemed shaken by the chance we had had earlier in the half and were somewhat reluctant to venture forward should we create more chances of a similar ilk. Eventually though, the visitors grew back into the game and started to turn the screw. They forced a succession of corners and with Wolves striker Stefan Maierhofer having entered the fray as the final Austria substitute; these were more dangerous than ever. Standing at just over two metres tall, Maierhofer posed us problems from all four of the corners Austria forced in quick succession. The defence just didn’t seem to know what to do with him and in the end, keeper Mämmädov was forced to come and collect one more than one occasion. He did so well and, after saving well at the feet of Leitgeb after the Austrian got onto a knock-down by that man Maierhofer, the pressure eased off slightly. Another break in play allowed us to regroup although it came at a price. Scharner had been putting himself about again, he was lucky not to have picked up a card, and Işref Mähämmädov, who hadn’t been on the pitch for long, was feeling the full force of one of Scharner’s tackles. These injuries, along with the substitutions from both sides, led to the fourth official indicating that there would be four additional minutes to play at the end of the ninety. Both teams, us probably more so than the Austrians, looked happy to settle for the draw but the game continued along. Ibertsberger and Marc Janko combined at the end of a lovely flowing move from the Austrians, forcing Mämmädov to pull off another good stop. His clearance found Abişov who, in turn, played the ball on to Abbasov. Leitgeb managed to force a mistake out of him and took the ball on, knocking it square to Janko. The defence rushed out as Janko slid a superb ball through to Maierhofer who was now in behind the defence. His run, along with Janko’s fine pass, had given all the space in the world and the striker showed his quality by calmly slotting the ball past Mämmädov and into the back of the net. As the Austrians celebrated what surely would be a winning goal a number of our players raced over to the far side linesman who, they thought, should have raised his flag. There was a suspicion of offside but it was a difficult decision. Sasha Yunisoglu was incensed and was lucky not to have his name taken. Instead he was given a stern telling off before the game resumed again. There were now only seconds left and the referee’s whistle came not long after he had restarted the game. We had lost, cruelly, in injury time despite probably have the better of the games, if not of the chances. I was pleased with the performance but couldn’t help feeling a little bit disappointed at the same time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share Posted July 19, 2010 AZERBAIJAN DEFEATEDAzerbaijan 0-1 Austria (ECQ Group A) No one gave them a chance before the game and, despite numerous positive performances, the majority were proven correct. Despite battling hard Azerbaijan were unable to prevent an, in the end, superior Austria side from coming away Tofik Bahramov Republican Stadium with a 1-0 victory. With the game nearing an end, an end that would have brought a deserved point for the home side, it was substitute Stefan Maierhofer who scored a close range effort to give Austria the lead on the stroke of the 90th minute. There were a few calls for offside but the goal stood and, after four minutes of added time were played out, the game was over. It was a stop-start affair and Azerbaijan were often prevented from playing as they wanted due to the number of fouls committed by they often over-enthusiastic opponents. Attendance: 28815 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |No.|Name | Inf |Rat|G/C|No.|Name | Inf |Rat|G/C| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1.|Aqil Mämmädov | |6.8| | 1.|Michael Gspurning | |6.8| | | 2.|Sasha Yunisoglu | |5.5| | 2.|Sebastian Prödl |sub. 53|5.9|1 Y| | 3.|Räşad F. Sadiqov (C)| |6.9| | 3.|Martin Stranzl | |6.9| | | 4.|Ernani | |5.6| | 4.|Emanuel Pogatetz (C)| |7.0| | | 5.|Maxim Medvedev | |5.7| | 5.|Steffen Hofmann |sub. 45|6.7| | | 6.|Elnur Allahverdiyev |inj. 27|6.9| | 6.|Andreas Ivanschitz | |6.8| | | 7.|Alexandr Certoqanov | |6.8| | 7.|Christoph Leitgeb | |6.9| | | 8.|Räşad A. Sadiqov |inj. 57|6.9|1 Y| 8.|David Alaba | |6.8| | | 9.|Marcos Ferreira |sub. 63|6.8| | 9.|Paul Scharner | |6.7| | |10.|Ramim | |6.7| |10.|Erwin Hoffer |sub. 62|6.5| | |11.|Vagif Javadov | |6.5| |11.|*MARC JANKO | |7.6| | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |12.|Cahangir Häsänzadä | | | |12.|Ramazan Özcan | | | | |14.|Samir Abbasov | on 57|6.6| |13.|Stefan Maierhofer |sub. 62|7.1|1 G| |15.|Ruslan Abişov | on 27|6.7| |14.|Christian Fuchs | | | | |16.|Igor Borozdin | | | |15.|György Garics | on 45|6.9| | |17.|Ilqar Qurbanov | | | |16.|Marko Arnautovic | | | | |18.|Işref Mähämmädov | on 63|6.6| |17.|Ümit Korkmaz | | | | |19.|Anatoly Ponomarev | | | |18.|Andreas Ibertsberger| on 53|6.8| | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 20, 2010 Author Share Posted July 20, 2010 SADIQOV DISAPPOINTED WITH INEVITABLE LOSSAfter Azerbaijan slipped to a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Austria, albeit in in potentially controversial circumstances, sweeper Räşad F. Sadiqov spoke of mixed within the camp. The 28 year-old told World Soccer Magazine that 'ordinarily a defeat to a team like Austria would probably be expected, even with the expectations being raised slightly with the new boss coming in. However we're all pretty disappointed in the manner in which we lost the game. The keep the scores level for so long and to ultimately end up with nothing is hard for many of us to swallow.' --------- AUSTRIA RESULTS 'DISAPPOINTS' FANSSupporter spokesman Vasif Abişov has reported that 'fans are disappointed' with Azerbaijan's 1-0 European Championship Qualifying Group A deafat against Austria. Vasif has spoken of fans being 'despondant that the team ended up coming away with nothing when it seemed certain a draw was more than within their grasp.' It is believed Ernani, Sasha Yunisoglu and Vagif Javadov have all been mentioned in regards to under-performing by certain fan groups. ---------- Q. A spirited defeat against an Austria team you were expected to lose heavily to. What are your thoughts having taken charge of your first match?A. It was a proud moment when I finally led the team out for my first game in charge. It’s been pretty frustrating that I wasn’t able to schedule any friendlies before this game to take a look at the team. I have seen a lot of them in action domestically though, and we worked well in training, and I was confident that the team were capable of doing what I wanted them to. They all worked hard, ran themselves into the group and, to a man, performed admirably. It’s a performance that the fans should be proud of, having seen some of the score-lines predicted before the game, and a performance on which we can build. There are always moments like conceding last minute goals in football and it was just our turn to be on the unfortunate side of it. Q. Elnur Allahverdiyev picked up an injury today and could be out for some time. How important is his injury in relation with your ambitions for the national side? A. Unfortunately for Elnur, he has broken a bone in his arm and will have to sit out for a couple of months. It’s not the way he will imagined his debut going but I’m sure he’s still happy to have won his first cap. It’s definitely a blow, probably more to his club side that to us at the moment, but it’s not the end of the world. If he isn’t fit for the next game, which is a definite possibility, then it will give someone else the chance to play. If he gets back fit and playing like he has been, he’ll be back in the squad in no time. Q. Işref Mähämmädov came on with just under thirty minutes left and still managed to pick up a knock. Is it as serious as Allahverdiyev’s injury and could you estimate a time-frame for his injury? A. Fortunately Işref hasn’t done as much damage to himself as Elnur, but he’ll still find himself sidelined for a month. It looks like a groin strain and, although that’s not a hundred percent confirmed, it’s definitely looking better than first feared. Q. To stay on the topic of Işref Mähämmädov, many consider him one of the central figures for Azerbaijan. Will his injury affect the team’s chances going into the next match against Kazakhstan? A. On his day Işref is a top player and it’s obviously going to be a big loss to us. It’ll be touch and go for him to make the Kazakhstan and Belgium but there are plenty of others out there who are capable of stepping up to fill his spot. We’ll do our best to get by without him if necessary. Q. Marc Janko had a great game today for Austria, ending with him picking up the Man of the Match award. What did you make of his performance? A. Unfortunately for us, Marc had a good solid game. He played Ernani and Sasha [Yunisoglu] well and practically won everything in the air, which helped bring the Austrian midfielders into play. It was also his ball that set up Maierhofer for the goal so, in the end, he played a big part in our defeat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 20, 2010 Share Posted July 20, 2010 Great work, Scott. Your story format really seems to have taken advantage of the new skin on these boards and the written content is top-notch as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGoldman Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Loving it, Scott. Funny seeing Foster pick up the Yashin Award Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suggy33 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Yeah, nice read Scott. I was surprised you didn't include Araz Abdullayev who, along with Yunisoglu, are probably the 2 best Azeri talents on the game, I always pick them up on my own Eastern European saves. I'll be coming back to read more, and hopefully no more cruel defeats. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 24, 2010 Author Share Posted July 24, 2010 Thanks Spav! The new board layout seems to have come at just the right time for me!. MGoldman, I couldn't agree more. Not for one minute I'm saying he isn't good enough...maybe! And Suggy, I didn't actually leave Abdullayev out, he was unfortunately injured. He is indeed a talent and is in the squad where is belongs. Many thanks for the comments guys! - 4.10.10Azerbaijan Squad Announced Azerbaijan manager Scott Tysoe has named his squad for the upcoming European Championship double-header. Azerbaijan faces two games away from home as they take on Kazakhstan before travelling to Belgium. Simurq left midfielder Tural Cälilov could be in line to make his first appearance for Azerbaijan, along with a number of other members of the squad. Volodymyr Levin, Araz Abdullayev, Ramal Hüseynov and Rauf Äliyev are the other players in line for their first games. Tysoe was forced to make four changes to the squad due a number of injuries picked up since the last game. One such change was a recall for left-back Nodar Mämmädov, who comes in as a straight swap for the injured Elnur Allahverdiyev. Squad v Kazakhstan/Belgium (ECQ) (Numbers denote caps/goals) Cahangir Häsänzadä - GK - 28/0 Ruslan Medjidov - GK - 1/0 Aqil Mämmädov - GK - 1/0 Räşad F. Sadiqov - SW, DC - 37/3 Ruslan Abişov - DRC - 1/0 Maxim Medvedev - DR - 1/0 Ruslan Abbasov - DLC - 10/0 Zaur Häşimov - DL - 12/0 Nodar Mämmädov - DL - 1/0 Ernani - DC - 10/0 Sasha Yunisoglu - DC - 1/0 Ernin Quliyev - DC, DM, MC - 42/3 Volodymyr Levin - DC, DM, MC - 0/0 Alexandr Certoqanov - DM, MRC - 7/0 Samir Abbasov - DM, MC - 1/0 Tural Cälilov - ML - 0/0 Igor Borozdin - MC - 0/0 Ramal Hüseynov - AMRL - 0/0 Ramim - AMLC - 10/3 Araz Abdullayev - AML - 0/0 Ilqar Qurbanov - AML, FC - 29/1 Vagif Javadov - AML, ST - 25/4 Işref Mähämmädov - ST - 1/0 Vüqar Nadirov - ST - 9/0 Marcos Ferreira - ST - 1/0 Rauf Äliyev - ST - 0/0 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 24, 2010 Author Share Posted July 24, 2010 Two days after the naming of the squad, Rauf Äliyev dislocated his shoulder and was forced to pull out of the squad. I asked Ceyhun Sultanov to join up with the squad but he rejected the opportunity. After this, I decided to stick with the group we already had. SULTANOV REJECTS AZERBAIJAN CALL-UPXäzär attacking midfielder Ceyhan Sultanov has turned down the chance to play for Azerbaijan, commenting that 'he was not prepared to play second fiddle to anyone.' 31 year old Sultanov, who has ten caps to his name plus an international goal, said 'it's an honour playing for my country but he [Tysoe] had wanted me to play, he would have picked me in his original squad.' ---------- from World Soccer Magazine: Q. Heading into this match it has been suggested that you may be adopting a defensive approach in order to avoid defeat. How will you approach this game?A. Obviously, we will want to make sure we're responsible defensively but, as far as adopting a defensive approach is concerned, we won't be allowing all of our focus to fall on that. Kazakhstan started as we did, with a defeat, and we will both be looking to get our first points secured. I believe the best way to do this will be to play and open, free-flowing attacking game. This might see a slight alteration to the tactic from the Austria game. Q. Lokomotiv Astana striker Roman Pakholyuk has been pinpointed as a possible threat to the Azerbaijan defence in the forthcoming match. Do you agree with that assessment? A. Definitely. He is one of a couple of players that we will be wary of going into the game. Our scouting has shown us that. He's made a good start to the season and he'll be looking to carry that on going into these next couple of games, starting with us. Q. Who do you intend to use to counter the threat of Pakholyuk? A. We could choose from a number of players but, if I only had to pick one, I'd probably pick Sasha [Yunisoglu]. He's good in the air, a good tackler of the ball and will be difficult to be beaten for pace. He should be able to cope more than adequately. Q. Ceyhun Sultanov's somewhat petulant decision to reject your Azerbaijan call-up has caused some friction between you. What is the relationship like between you and Sultanov? A. He wasn't in my original squad but he was always earmarked as a backup should anything bad happen. Injury, unfortunately, occurred and he was invited to join up with the squad. He rejected that chance and he'll be a long way from my mind for future squads after the way he handled it. I certainly won't be going out of my way to talk to him from now on. Q. Tural Cälilov could win his first Azerbaijan cap after your decision to call him up. How do you think he will handle the pressure? A. Tural was part of the squad for the Austria game and that experience will have done him a world of good coming into these two games. He knows what it's all about now and all that is left for him to do is pull on the shirt. He's absolutely raring to go and I'm not worried about his ability to handle pressure should he be called upon. Q. The selection of Igor Borozdin - born in Kursk in Russia - has caused more debate among fellow footballers. What are the chances of Borozdin's selection causing something of an identity crisis for Azeri footballers? A. We had this issue last time with Marcos Ferreira and I dealt with it then. I would think that you'd see that the 'problem', as some people are putting it, is non-existent. He has Azeri parentage and, if selected, will deserve to play as much as anyone else. As I've said before, if a player is good enough they will be called up, regardless of where they were born. Q. You have decided to include Alexandr Certoqanov in your Azerbaijan squad despite his injury. What are the chances he will feature? A. He was actually given the all clear the day after the squad was announced and, should he be called upon, he will be ready to play. ---------- A former Azerbaijan international has said that Azerbaijan's key players will be vital when the national team take on Kazakhstan in their crucial European Championship Qualifying game on Saturday.The former international said that, although Kazakhstan would provide a tough test, if players like Vagif Javadov can perform on the day then Azerbaijan will win through. He admits, however, that Kazakhstan will almost certainly be thinking the same and he has pinpointed Sivasspor's Ruslan Baltiev as one player Azerbaijan will certainly have to keep their eye on. The mood in the camp, according to Maxim Medvedev, is optimistic ahead of the game. Medvedev told worldsoccer.com that he felt 'we have the players capable of winning this match and I hope we can give the fans something to cheer about by securing a victory.' Previous meetings with Kazakhstan: P6, W1, D4, L1, F6, A6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 Saturday, 9th October 2010 Kazakhstan v Azerbaijan Central, Almaty European Championship Qualifiers Group A - Match 2 Line-Ups (* denotes key player) Kazakhstan (4-4-2) Azerbaijan (4-5-1) T Danylyuk G Alekperzade V Javadov 0 0 * 0 Ramim R Baltiev N Shabaev 0 0 0 * 0 0 0 V Likhobabenko A Karpovich T Cälilov I Borozdin A Certoqanov 0 E Quliyev S Ditkovskyi S Yunisoglu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 D Lyapkin B Polyakov A Familtsev Ernani M Medvedev 0 R Sadiqov 0 0 S Stepanenko A Mämmädov Milestones > Sergevy Stepanenko is set to make his debut | > Igor Borozdin is set to make his debut > Sergiy Ditkovskyi is set to make his debut | > Tural Cälilov is set to make his debut > Ruslan Baltiev need just 3 more goals to become| > Araz Abdullayev will make his debut if his country's top goalscorer, beating the | he comes off the bench previous record of 12 goals | > Valery Likhobabenko is set to make his debut | > Valrey Kitsak will make his debut if he comes | off the bench | > Alexandr Suchkov will make his debut if he | comes off the bench | > Eugeny Polyakov will make his debut if he | comes off the bench | Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spav Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 This is probably your local 'derby' match, Scott. C'mon, you Azeris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorusFM Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 I'm liking what you're doing with this, ScottT. It's presented very nicely, and is a good read. KUTGW. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 *It is in the group Spav, but Georgia are apparently my main rivals! And thanks very much Gav Due to a couple of injuries that had been accrued since the last match, the side that took to the pitch against Kazakhstan looked a little different to the one that had suffered such a cruel defeat against Austria. We also lined up with a different formation; one that I believed would allow us to be as strong at the back as we had against the Austrians whilst giving us more options further up the field. As a team we thought we could get a win and we had lined up as such. It was the home side that got the game underway in Almaty, the Kazakh capital until 1997, but it was us, the visitors to the old capital that worked the opening chance of the game just two minutes in. Ramim, playing off lone striker Vagif Javadov, laid the ball forward to the striker. Javadov held off the advances of the Kazakh as he waited for support which arrived in the shape of young midfielder Igor Borozdin, making his debut in the centre of midfield. Javadov knocked the ball to Borozdin who carried it forward two touches before shooting from distance. The ball swerved slightly in the air which caused Stepanenko in goal to parry the ball but he was helped by his defence and the danger was cleared. It was certainly a promising start but the home side were soon down the other end of the pitch carving out a goal-scoring chance of their own. After Javadov gave away a free-kick on the halfway line for backing in to his marker, the ball was launched high into the box. Kazakhstan’s number nine rose highest to knock it down for Ruslan Baltiev to have a crack at goal. The shot was on target and on another day might have gone in but Aqil Mämmädov saved and held the ball brilliantly. Both of these chances had come in the game’s opening few minutes and it appeared as though both teams had a belief that they could secure their first points of the qualifying campaign. We were next to show this belief when good battling on the left side of the park from Borozdin frustrated Shabaev, who ended up tripping the debutant. Ramim whipped a free-kick into the box which ended up with Borozdin in a similar position to when he had had a previous chance. He unleashed a vicious shot towards goal but that time Stepanenko wasn’t even called into action as the shot fizzed wide of the mark. After these opening exchanges the game calmed somewhat and became a real battle, especially in the middle third of the pitch. Every advance either team made was getting broken up just as it seemed to be gearing towards a goal-scoring chance. Defenders were just about getting the better of their opposing strikers, Ernani out-jumping Karpovich when the striker looked to be getting a free header and Yunisoglu doing the same when Taras Danylyuk threw himself towards a Familtsev cross. It wasn’t all in our box though, as Javadov and Certoqanov both got the ball taken off their toes just as they were about to pull the trigger. As we entered the last fifteen minutes of the first half, the game started getting a little feisty and the referee had to start warning players that more fouls from them would result in a caution. On the home side it was Likhobabenko that received the telling off from the official, on our side it was Ramim. The forward players on both sides were starting to get angered by the fact the both defences seemed to just be one step ahead. This, however, was not the case moments later. First Shabaev and Familtsev combined well to play the ball into Karpovich, who was faced by Ernani. For the first time all game, Ernani was beaten and could only look helplessly as Karpovich shot, fortunately, wide. Then, good work between Dmitry Lyapkin helped him find some free space and he played the ball right towards the run of Shabaev. He continued his run, now with the ball at his feet, for another twenty yards or so before playing it to Alexandr Familtsev who had gotten free around the penalty spot. Fortune favoured us again, much to the frustration of the home fans, as the shot did not match the excellent build up play and the shot sailed harmlessly wide. It was two chances in as many minutes from the hosts as they looked to dial up the pressure they were putting on us. Despite Borozdin, again finding himself in an advanced position, forcing a save out of Stepanenko it was pretty much one way traffic for the remainder of the half as Kazakhstan looked to give their fans something to be happy about at half-time. Chances came for Alekperzade, who could actually have represented us until he won his first cap for his new country just a month ago, Baltiev, Polyakov and Alekperzade again but all four were wayward with their effort as the half time interval fast approached. They did, however, manage to create one more chance that ended up being slightly more worrying to our clean sheet status. Shabaev brought the ball forward and played it to Karpovich, who was on the wrong side of another one of our debutants Tural Cälilov. He jinked past him a little too easily and hit an early shot that almost took Mämmädov by surprise. The young keeper though, winning only his second cap, dealt with it well and it turned out to be the last action of the half. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 Coming out to the second half still in the game was pleasing but it had been a better feeling against Austria. Aside from our early chances we had been second-best for much of the second half and if that continued we would be in trouble. Once the home sides’ substitution had passed the fourth official’s checks, Tiekhugov coming into the match for Danylyuk, we were free to start the second half. It was only seconds old when it was stopped again as Ramim went down after a forceful challenge from Shabaev. It was a bad tackle, the referee was right to book him, and I hoped this would not set the tone for the next forty-five minutes. That was the first action of the half, albeit not a goal-scoring chance, but more was to come and it was our attacking players that provided it. Javadov, dropping deep to collect the ball, played a neat one-two with Cälilov and suddenly found himself with a bit of space halfway into the Kazakhstan half. The defence was inviting him onto them and he accepted the invitation with great speed, charging forward towards the penalty area. It wasn’t until he reached the edge of the ‘D’ that someone came to close him down, putting just enough pressure on him to scuff his shot over the ball. The end didn’t match the build up but Javadov was certainly making himself more prominent that he had in his last match at international level. That had been encouraging but what followed was even better. Ramim, who had intercepted as Lyapkin and Polyakov tried to work something in the middle, saw Javadov trying to get free for a run at goal. Lyapkin, looking to atone for his mistake, cut across this run just as Ramim played the ball and referee Peter Gagelmann gave a free-kick for obstruction. It was roughly thirty-five yards out in line with the right-hand corner of the penalty area. Javadov picked himself up, lined up the free-kick and struck it beautifully. He was practically wheeling away before the ball even hit the back of the net but hit the back of the net it did to give us an all important lead. It was a nervy next few minutes for both sides as the home side tried to regain a footing in the match and we tried to decide whether to sit on the lead or push for more. There was just half an hour left to play and both managers made their changes. Kazakhstan brought on another striker and I opted to go to a more conventional 4-4-2 bringing on young Abdullayev for his debut along with Marcos Ferreira, Cälilov and Ramim leaving the field. That decision, unfortunately, looked to be the wrong one just a moment later, although not without some complaint. Baltiev put his foot on the ball, looking to restore so calm into his side’s play, before he picked out a forward pass to Likhobabenko. He, in turn, played in Suchkov who knocked a one touch pass straight into the patch of the advancing Tiekhugov. He was at a difficult angle but, as he was now in the area, he opted to take the shot on anyway and watched in delight as the ball flew into the goal for his first at international level. As with the Austria game there was a hint of offside about the goal, perhaps more than a hint this time. Medvedev was given a stern telling off for charging to the linesman and berating his non-decision but the goal stood and we felt we had every right to be aggrieved about it. Instead of settling back into a cagey affair now that the two sides were level again, the game just turned into an end-to-end free-flowing match up. The two subs we had brought on, Abdullayev and Ferreira, were fitter than the rest on the pitch and hungry to find the goal that would propel us back into the lead. Abdullayev was taking on all comers on the left-wing, belying his young age with a confidence that would have been breathtaking had I been neutral. It was his cross that Marcos Ferreira almost turned but Stepanenko was on hand to make the save. We were reminded half a minute later that we needed to continue defending as well when Suchkov’s run and shot produced a corner to the home side that we managed to clear after it was taken. The game entered the last fifteen minutes and our hosts really stepped it up a gear, fully believing they could find a winning goal. They had only been behind to Javadov’s free kick for five minutes. My players now looked a little tired, after the end-to-end stuff that had just taken place, and Kazakhstan were really looking to exploit that. They started to create chances at will, our defence all at sea, but the best two chances fell to the same man. That man was Suchkov who somehow contrived to send both of his shots wide of the post. Not that anyone related to us was complaining. There was, however, to be one more great chance and it came in the eighty-ninth minute of the game. Kazakhstan was really putting the pressure on now, throwing men forward in search of a goal that they, and the crowd, so desperately craved. They forced one, two, three corners, Aqil Mämmädov keeping us in the game on two of those occasions with some really smart saves. The third corner was swung in by Baltiev and Quliyev was on hand to out jump Likhobabenko. Under pressure, he could only manage to send it behind again and Baltiev swung in another corner. This one stayed low and the ball was controlled by Likhobabenko. He turned almost on the spot and shot hard and low, right into the bottom corner of the net. It was a devastating blow, a fate much too similar to the one was had suffered against the Austrians. There was barely enough time for us to come back into it and, what time there was, the Kazakhstan side were now happy to knock the ball about, making it almost impossible to get it back an create the chance we now desperately needed. The game was brought to a halt and we were left to feel sorry for ourselves yet again. With no points after two games, and Belgium away to follow in just four days, things were beginning to look a litter bleak. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 AZERBAIJAN'S POOR PERFORMANCE ADDS TO DISAPPOINTING DEFEATKazakhstan 2-1 Azerbaijan (ECQ Group A) Kazakhstan's fans left Central Stadium contented with the thought of three points, but probably wondering how they only won by two goals to one. The match began in somewhat controversial circumstances as the home side were denied claims by Borys Polyakov for a penalty. The rejection of this appeal left the game scoreless at half-time. It was Azerbaijan who finally took the lead when enthusiatic striker Vagif Javadov, who had a much better game than his performance last time out against Austria, scored a free-kick from the edge of the area. Kazahkstan equalised later on through Arsen Tiekhugov, the Chernomorets striker capitalising on a mistake from Alexander Certoqanov to score a powerful effort. There was just a minute left on the clock when Kazakhstan struck a winner, a similarly late goal to the one the Austrian's found a month ago. Experienced midfielder Valery Likhobabenko got the goal to leave the home fans delighted and the Azeri players disconsolate. Attendance: 25950 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |No.|Name | Inf |Rat|G/C|No.|Name | Inf |Rat|G/C| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1.|Sergey Stepanenko | |6.9| | 1.|Aqil Mämmädov | |6.9| | | 2.|Alexandr Familitsev | |7.1| | 2.|Sasha Yunisoglu | |6.0| | | 3.|Dmitry Lyapkin |sub. 62|6.7| | 3.|Räşad F. Sadiqov (C)| |6.8| | | 4.|Sergiy Ditkovskyi | |6.8| | 4.|Ernani | |6.9| | | 5.|Borys Polyakov | |6.9| | 5.|Maxim Medvedev | |6.1| | | 6.|Andrey Karpovich | |7.1| | 6.|Emin Quliyev | |7.0|1 Y| | 7.|Ruslan Baltiev (C) | |6.8| | 7.|Alexandr Certoqanov | |5.6| | | 8.|Nail Shabaev | |7.0|1 Y| 8.|Igor Borozdin | |6.9| | | 9.|Valery Likhobabenko | |8.1|1 G| 9.|Tural Cälilov |sub. 63|6.9| | |10.|Geysar Alekperzade |sub, 51|6.7| |10.|Ramim |sub. 63|6.8| | |11.|Taras Danylyuk |sub. 45|5.8| |11.|Vagif Javadov | |7.2|1 G| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |12.|Grygoriy Krasovskyi | | | |12.|Ruslan Medjidov | | | | |14.|Roman Pakholyuk | | | |14.|Ruslan Abişov | |7.1| | |15.|Arsen Tiekhugov | on 45|7.0|1 G|15.|Ruslan Abbasov | | | | |16.|Vitaliy Kitsak | | | |16.|Samir Abbasov | |6.9| | |17.|Eugeny Ovshinov | on 62|6.9| |17.|Araz Abdullayev | on 63| | | |18.|Alexandr Suchkov | on 51|6.8| |18.|Marcos Ferreira | on 63| | | |19.|Eugeny Polyakov | | | |19.|Işref Mähämmädov | |6.8| | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------- FANS 'DEVASTATED' BY KAZAKHSTAN RESULTSupporter spokesman Vasif Abişov has reported that 'fans are very disappointed with the manner' of Azerbaijan's 2-1 European Championship Qualifying Group A deaf at against Kazakhstan. Vasif has spoken of fans being 'despondent that the team ended up coming away with nothing when it seemed certain a draw was more than within their grasp. We believed once we took the lead we should have had the quality to see it through until the end.' It is believed that the fans expect a better performance from a few players in their next game. Maxim Medvedev, Sasha Yunisoglu and Alexandr Certoqanov are three players who are being mentioned as possible candidates to be dropped if they continue with their 'sub-par performances'. Speaking on behalf of the team, Azerbaijan captain Räşad F. Sadiqov seems to side with the fans when it comes to the opinion of the result saying the team are 'disappointed to have lost a game we feel we are good enough to have won. Although it was by a narrow margin, these are the sort of games a nation like ours should be looking to come out victorious in.' Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 NEW AZERBAIJAN STAR THANKS TYSOEAzerbaijan's latest star Araz Abdullayev has spoken of his 'pride' at winning his first cap under new Azerbaijan manager Scott Tysoe. In an interview with fifa.com after the Kazakhstan game, the 18-year old left midfielder expressed his gratitude to his manager for giving him the opportunity to represent him country. He also said that 'it was a shame we couldn't turn out a winning performance but, as it was my debut, I was happier than most after the game.' Two other players begun their international careers in the match, namely Igor Borozdin, who was earning his first cap after choosing to select Azerbaijan over Russia, and Tural Cälilov. All three are likely to feature against Belgium in a few days time and, although they will want a better result, it's probable they will see another defeat. --------- The media are reporting that Azerbaijan will have to rely on key players to perform to the best of their ability if they are to get any kind of result when they take on Belgium in another crucial European Championship qualifying match on Wednesday.Belgium are everyone's firm favourites, with nearly 80 places between the two sides in the FIFA World Rankings, and Azerbaijan will need key players such as Vagif Javadov, fresh from his goal against Kazakhstan, to be firing on all cylinders. Samir Abbasov, though, has played down talk that the Azerbaijan side are scared. Abbasov stated that he was 'in an optimistic mood, like the rest of the lads. We've have two defeats but both were good performances and we'll be looking at that side of things rather than the group table. It's early days yet. We will, for sure, be showing the Belgians plenty of respect but we will not fear them because we certainly believe they are beatable.' Lille's attacking midfielder Eden Hazard may well have something to say about that. He will pose a great threat to the Azeri defence and will play a key role in to outcome of the game. Previous meetings with Belgium: P2, W0, D0, L2, F0, A4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 Wednesday, 13th October 2010 Belgium v Azerbaijan Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels European Championship Qualifiers Group A - Match 3 Line-Ups (* denotes key player) Belgium (4-5-1) Azerbaijan (4-5-1) K Mirallas V Javadov 0 * 0 0 0 M Marteens T De Mul Ramim S Defour 0 0 0 0 0 M Fellaini A Abdullayev I Borozdin A Certoqanov 0 0 T Simons S Abbasov T Vermaelen S De Roover Z Häşimov R Sadiqov 0 0 * 0 0 0 0 0 D Van Buyten V Kompany S Yunisoglu M Medvedev 0 0 B Vandenbussche A Mämmädov Milestones > Vincent Kompany is set to win his 30th cap | > Ramal Hüseynov will make his debut if he > Timmy Simons is set to win his 80th cap | comes off the bench > Steven Defour is set to win his 25th cap | Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suggy33 Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 *It is in the group Spav, but Georgia are apparently my main rivals! And thanks very much Gav . Yeah, Azerbaijan and Georgia are neighbours. Thats like England and Scotland being in the same group. Click for map. Another horrible late defeat to the Kazakhs Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 *That's right Suggy. It lists Georgia along with Poland and Armenia as Azerbaijan's main rivals. And yes, it was not an easy defeat to take! - The defeat to Kazakhstan had been hard to take but we travelled to Belgium hoping to put in a performance similar to that of the Austria game. Just as we had, Belgium has opened with two defeats and was certainly under a lot of pressure to get the win. I hoped we could use this to our advantage, keep them out for at least the first half and maybe get the home crowd on their player’s backs. To do this we would need a good start. We almost got the worst possible. Mirallas, Belgium’s lone striker, dropped deep to collect a loose ball and knocked it to Steven Defour. Defour, after exchanging passes with De Roover, played the ball further along to De Mul. He used a nice piece of skill to ghost past Häşimov and swung in a cross towards the far post which found its way to Defour, who had continued his run after laying the ball off. He knocked it back into the path of the onrushing Maroune Fellaini but his shot was held by Mämmädov. That obviously got the crowd into the game immediately, it was only the second minute of the match, and it set the tone for the game. Just minutes later, we found ourselves behind. Häşimov, who was already struggling against De Mul on the wing, gave away a needless free-kick which was taken by De Roover. His 30 yard pass was knocked to Defour by Fellaini and Defour waited a beat before sliding through a superb ball to De Mul. It was a great piece of play to open up the space and De Mul had the simplest of tasks to slot the ball home. It seemed to be a running theme in our games but, again, there was more than a hint of offside. Borozdin got himself carded for his complaints to both the linesman and the referee but it didn’t change the fact we were behind early. We calmed down and for the next ten minutes tried to play a bit of possession football, trying not to allow the game to get away from us too early on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Mämmädov was called into action again. We were playing it around in midfield and defence, perhaps a little too casually, and De Roover intercepted with relative ease. The defence backed off him so he continued his run forward, carrying the ball towards the final third of the pitch. He played a fine pass to Van Buyten, who found himself in an advanced position, and he in turn played it along to Martens. Martens actually lost the ball to Sadiqov but his pass back was far too risky and Mirallas pounced to send it back to Fellaini. Luckily Mämmädov was equal to his shot but it was all too easy for the home side. We continued to try and keep possession but our passing was, more often than not, far too wayward and it was never too long before Belgium were on the attack again. One such attack, just before the half-hour mark, brought along the home side’s second goal. Mirallas went on a run that Sadiqov managed to divert at the last minute, doing well to avert the danger but only clearing it behind for a corner. Javadov managed to head Defour’s corner clear but Tom De Mul got to the loose ball first. He slid the ball back to Defour whose second cross into the box was much better. Vincent Kompany was stood in the area all alone and he had it easy as he powered a header into the top corner of the net, leaving Mämmädov no chance. We were sinking without trace and it was just five minutes before we slipped even further under. Van Buyten easily intercepted a rare venture forward from Ramim and immediately set Belgium on the attack. His ball found Martens who played a neat one-two with Mirallas to get past Medvedev. No-one came to close him down and he had plenty of time to weigh up his options as he crossed into the box. Borozdin leapt to clear the ball but the cross was inch perfect and it sailed over his head straight onto the head of Tom De Mul. It would have been hard for him to miss, and miss he didn’t as his header secured his second, and Belgium’s third, of the game. There had been just six minutes between those two goals and our players looked despondent. Belgium’s players, on the other hand, looked simply rampant and just three minutes later Mämmädov was picking the ball out of the back of his net again. Again, it came from poor play on our part, knocking the ball around a little too leisurely and allowing Defour to collect the ball with ease. He advanced a little before playing it to the overlapping De Roover on the right. He played it forward to De Mul, whose tail was up after his two goals, and he easily beat Häşimov again to get a cross in. Abbasov cleared the danger, at the expense of a corner, but the attack was not over. Defour played in an out-swinging ball from the resultant corner and Fellaini rose with Sadiqov. It was the Belgian midfielder who got to the ball first and his header meant we had crashed from one-nil to four-nil in the space of ten minutes. Half-time couldn’t come soon enough and yet there was still eight minutes left. Belgium, both the players and the fans, were having a great time now and everything they wanted to try was coming off. Before the half-time whistle came Mämmädov had to pull off two great saves, one from Mirallas and one from Fellaini, as Belgium looked to run up a cricket score. We were certainly out of the game and the half-time whistle brought fifteen minutes of respite for our weary and despondent players. After the excitement of the first half, at least from the home fans perspective, the second half was almost a non-event. I dropped back into a slightly more defensive formation, as much to shield the players from the devastating wave of attacks than anything else, and our performance improved ten-fold. This, combined with Belgium taking their proverbial foot off the gas, meant that for the opening twenty-five minutes we held our own. We never threatened to find a way back into the match but we made sure that Belgium had no chances of their own to pull further ahead and pile on a little more misery. The game descended into a bit of a niggly affair, the referee having to get involved more than he probably would have liked. He handed out warnings to both Thomas Vermaelen and Sepp De Roover before handing out a card to Maxim Medvedev. There didn’t appear to be much difference between the three challenges so to say Medvedev, along with me, was a little disappointed at going into the book was an understatement. Due to the amounts of fouls the play was getting broken up at a great rate and this, along with the home side’s substitutions, meant that the flowing football of the first half was gone. Häşimov became the next name to go into the referee’s book as then game entered the final ten minutes. As we had seen in the first half, ten minutes is still plenty of time for Belgium to score more than one goal, and they created a few more chances before the game was out. First Kompany had a header well saved and then Vanden Borre, one of the home side’s three substitutes, put a shot wide when he had more time than he probably realised. One more chance came, and it was another substitute who made it count. Vermaelen won a corner from Samir Abbasov and, as he had done all game, Defour floated in a great cross. Abbasov skewed his attempted cleared to Alderweireld, on for Fellaini, and he hit a shot the seemed destined for the back of the net. Unfortunately for him the ball deflected of Maarten Martens on its way towards goal. It still found the back of the net, though, and we had conceded late again. It was a little different this time though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 AZERBAIJAN UNINSPIRING IN DEFEATBelgium 5-0 Azerbaijan (ECQ Group A) Azerbaijan didn't produce anything close to a surprise as they were heavily beaten by a Belgium side who easily claimed their first three points of Group A. A brace from Tom De Mul helpd Belgium to victory. The Belgian winger got the home side off to a flyer by scoring from close range inside the first ten minutes. Sasha Yunisoglu was then punished for making a bad mistake as Vincent Kompany headed home for number two. Another Azerbaijan error, this time from Igor Borozdin, allowed another headed goal to be scored; Tom De Mul getting his second of the game. It was four before half-time as industrious defensive midfielder Marouane Fellaini added his name to the scoresheet. The second half was a marked improvement from the Azeri side, not that it was difficult to show signs of improvement, but winger Maarten Martens added a fifth two minutes from time to complete the rout. Attendance: 50000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |No.|Name | Inf |Rat|G/C|No.|Name | Inf |Rat|G/C| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | 1.|Brian Vandenbussche | |6.9| | 1.|Aqil Mämmädov | |5.9| | | 2.|Sepp De Roover | |8.0| | 2.|Maxim Medvedev | |5.4|1 Y| | 3.|Thomas Vermaelen | |7.9| | 3.|Zaur Häşimov | |5.0|1 Y| | 4.|Vincent Kompany | |8.6|1 G| 4.|Räşad F. Sadiqov (C)| |5.9| | | 5 |Daniel Van Buyten |sub. 72|7.5| | 5.|Sasha Yunisoglu | |5.6| | | 6.|Timmy Simons (C) | |8.1| | 6.|Alexandr Certoqanov | |5.4| | | 7.|Steven Defour | |9.2| | 7.|Araz Abdullayev | |5.8| | | 8.|Marouane Fellaini |sub. 72|8.3|1 G| 8.|Samir Abbasov | |5.8| | | 9.|*TOM DE MUL | |9.4|2 G| 9.|Igor Borozdin |sub. 45|5.0|1 Y| |10.|Maarten Martens | |8.9| |10.|Ramim |sub. 66|5.4| | |11.|Kévin Mirallas |sub. 66|6.7|1 G|11.|Vagif Javadov | |6.6| | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |12.|Silvio Proto | | | |12.|Ruslan Medjidov | | | | |14.|Romelu Lukaku | | | |14.|Ruslan Abişov | | | | |15.|Moussa Dembélé | | | |15.|Ernani | | | | |16.|Anthony Vanden Borre| on 72|6.7| |16.|Emin Quliyev | | | | |17.|Toby Alderweireld | on 72|6.8| |17.|Tural Cälilov | | | | |18.|Stijn De Smet | | | |18.|Ramal Hüseynov | on 45|6.8|1 Y| |19.|Tom De Sutte | on 66|6.7| |19.|Marcos Ferreira | on 66|6.9| | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 SADIQOV 'DISAPPOINTED' WITH INEVITABLE LOSSAzerbaijan captain Räşad F. Sadiqov has revealed that Azerbaijan's heavy 5-0 loss to Belgium was met with a general feeling of expectancy in their camp. The 28 year-old sweeper is quoted as saying that 'the defeat was largely predictable. Belgium were heavy favourites to win. Conceding five is never nice, especially as a defender, and so in that respect the nature of the way we lost was painful. Having said that, we will take this defeat on the chin and hopefully move forward in our next set of games.' ---------- AZERBAIJAN MANAGER SACKEDScott Tysoe has become the shortest serving Azerbaijan manager in history. He has been sacked from his role after just three games by the Azeri Football Association. His three games, which garnered no points and just one goal, all ended in defeat and leaves Azerbaijan rock-bottom of their European Championship qualifying group. The Football Association were disappointed by the team's recent awful performances and have decided to act quickly. They feel a new manager is required if the team is to improve in the immediate future. Azerbaijan's next game is in five months time in March at home to Turkey, leaders of Group A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share Posted July 26, 2010 *With that my international management career is over, as is the story. It's a rather abrupt end and I was hoping to at least get a crack at World Cup qualification. It appears, however, that I've paid an extremely steep price for my three game losing streak! Still, at least the story ended (more to do with the game than me!) rather than just tailiing off into nothingness. I hope those of you that were reading enjoyed my first attempt and hope you'll follow me when I start knocking out another story! Cheers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenArsenal Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Wow, that was harsh. Good luck with your next story. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorusFM Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 I find it hard to believe that they sacked you. You're managing Azerbaijan, one of the weakest nations in Europe, and lost to three teams who are better than you. Bar San Marino, and possibly Andorra, you are the weakest. I hope you didn't just get bored of your venture! Best of luck with whatever comes next, ScottT. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGoldman Posted July 26, 2010 Share Posted July 26, 2010 Ditto, very harsh sacking. Good luck, ScottT! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottT! Posted July 27, 2010 Author Share Posted July 27, 2010 I find it hard to believe that they sacked you. You're managing Azerbaijan, one of the weakest nations in Europe, and lost to three teams who are better than you. Bar San Marino, and possibly Andorra, you are the weakest. I hope you didn't just get bored of your venture!Best of luck with whatever comes next, ScottT. I'm sure you aren't accusing me of lying, but here is some photographic (if you will) evidence of the sack! I was stunned as you are. I've played a game once, back on FM08 where I managed the San Marinese national side for over 20 seasons, producing just one win! So boredom didn't come into it, I was genuintely sacked. Evidence! Thanks for the comments guys Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HorusFM Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 Well on that basis, you have been conned! I totally was accusing you of lying hahaha Good luck for next time, Scott. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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