Ahead of their clash on Thursday night, Qarabag’s manager Gurban Gurbanov has outlined his and the club’s wider excitement at facing Ajax in Baku. According to the Azerbaijanis, a confrontation with the Amsterdammers is always a success, regardless of the result.
Gurbanov took part in the press conference ahead of the Europa League clash with great enthusiasm:
“It’s going to be a very important match. Our opponent is famous in football.
“If such clubs come to Baku, it is a great boost for our development and our football. But we also have experience and we have played against big clubs. We should not be shy against such teams.”
The 52-year-old manager Gurbanov has been in charge of the 11-time Azerbaijani champions since the summer of 2008. He continued:
“Ajax are a good team and they play dynamic, smart football. If we go into battle with such an opponent, we will learn from that. But at the same time we also want to entertain our fans.”
Following his manager’s words, midfielder Marko Yankovic assured fans that Qarabag would do everything to beat Ajax:
“We are very motivated. Everyone wants to do well. Tomorrow we can win or lose. The great thing about football is that any result is possible, we hope it will be a good result for us.”
Qarabag started their Europa League campaign with two defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and Malmo. They sit at the bottom of the table. On the contrary, Ajax are in a good position to qualify for the knockout phase after a win against Besiktas and a draw against Slavia Prague.
