Articles

Slovenia – Azerbaijan

Group C, 08.01.2016, 19:00

Best players: Kevin Zizek, Farid Nabiyev

Post match comments

Igor Benedejcic, Head coach of team Slovenia:

– We were playing against a skillful team. But we managed to score twice in the first half, and the opponents haven't converted their chances into goals. So we had a comfortable start of the second with two-goal lead. That made us more confident.

– Kevin Zizek showed himself very well today. Could you tell us a bit about him?

– He can play even better, but, you know, he had been injured and couldn't play for 6 months, so he is not in his best shape. But we are content with him, for today he scored twice. He plays for FC Bravo in Slovenia.

– Does the score reflect the real team strengths?

– Actually, our goalkeeper has made many saves after dangerous shots. Had he conceded a half of them, the score could have been different. We even thought of calling him the best player of the match. But we called Zizek, as he scored twice today.

– What team would you like to see as your play-off opponent?

– It's surely not the team of St. Petersburg. You know, last year we had a match for the 3rd place against them, and this time we would choose not to meet them.

Tabriz Hasanov, Head coach of team Azerbaijan:

– What can I say? The opponent got a deserved win for they were stronger. Slovenia is a likely team to win this tournament.

– Has the age difference played its role?

– I don't want to talk about the age. When we were bringing the team here we knew they were younger. And I never say at the pre-match talk that the older guys will be playing against. Slovenia was stronger than us.

– May this age difference influence the speed of thinking? Your guys were running fast and the team was attacking with a lot of players. But they lacked time and experience to make a right decision.

– Yes, you are right. It's the speed of thinking that we lacked today. Slovenia was faster in making decisions, way faster than us. But we have time to prepare. We shall analyze all our drawbacks.

– Can you call this game a sort of "the battle of goalkeepers"? Both goalkeepers made a number of wonderful saves. But for your goalkeeper, the score could have been even bigger.

– Yes, our goalkeeper played well. He did what he could. And I don't want to put the blame on field players. The team is fatigued after the previous matches and we played the way we were able to.

– Was this a reason to make so many substitutions in the end of the game?

– Yes, I gave some rest to the folks. We had no chance to make a comeback, but at least this way I could give playing time to the others.

– Despite the young age, your team has had chances to lead the group till the very last match. Will you try to bring the same lineup here for the next tournament when they become older and more experienced?

– If we are invited next year, then no doubt we'll come with the same squad and will set high objectives. But this tournament is not over yet and we'll show a good result.

#22 Slovenia – Azerbaijan