The remarks of head coach Gianni De Biasi and a captain Maksim Medvedev at the pre-match press conference before the match Azerbaijan vs Latvia to be held in Malta tomorrow at 15:00 Baku time.
Gianni De Biasi: “I am sure that my team can play better. First, we must believe in ourselves and develop tactically. We had tactical problems during the game against Malta. I talked about it with my boys. Two training sessions also had an effect on it. If we play well, if the players can do what they can in their positions, it will be possible to achieve results. When we play well, when we behave comfortably with the ball, when we support each other on the field, we can play against any opponent. There is nothing impossible in football. The most important thing is to believe in ourselves. We must be more willing and aggressive than the opponent. If we cannot give three passes, we cannot talk about attacking football. There may be tactical problems during the game against Malta, but there were also technical shortcomings. We must develop in this regard. There were 2-3 episodes in the first half, and if the last passes were correct, we could be dangerous. Tomorrow we will play against a dynamic and young team. We return to the previous system. Therefore, there will be no excuse after the match. Tomorrow we must all fight for the Azerbaijani flag under the national uniform. Everyone is ready except Bedavi Huseynov. Let's not hurry to see the squad, let's wait for tomorrow.”
Maksim Medvedev: “We played against Malta in a different game system. It is possible to show them on the board, but it is very difficult to do on the field. Because every player must understand that situation. At some points, chaos arises when players do not perform their tasks properly. Nobody wanted that to happen. We arranged better attacks against Ireland. Although Malta was level below them, we were playing as the second number. The players could not understand and adapt to each other. Sometimes there was chaos on the pitch. We are under psychological and media attacks. Some players look at social networks and cannot accept the pressure. If they were comfortable, they could score 2-3 goals against Malta. There are games where there are ups and downs. It is necessary to spend 90 minutes at the same level.”
