Sabah-2 have become the champions of the Reserve League for the second consecutive season. The champion team's head coach, Adino Mustedanagic, gave an interview to Offsideplus.az:

– First of all, congratulations on the championship. You are winning it for the second consecutive season. What are your feelings?

– Winning a championship is always pleasant. It brings even greater joy, especially when you see the fruits of the football players' hard work.

– Along with becoming the champions, your team also scored the most and conceded the least goals in the league…

– This once again proves that we fully deserved the championship.

– Ramil Nurakhmedov was the sole top scorer for most of the league, but he lost this position in the final rounds. Did this situation affect him negatively from a psychological standpoint?

– Ramil received a red card at the beginning of the final match, which we absolutely had to win. His action put the team in a somewhat difficult position. With that, he jeopardized not only his chances of becoming the top scorer but also our team's championship prospects. Ramil is a young player. Sometimes he focuses his attention on insignificant matters, which negatively impacts his performance. He has plenty of potential. In my opinion, if he tries to maintain his composure and directs his focus toward the team and his duties rather than external factors, he will easily win the top scorer title in the future.

– What was the toughest match for you?

– It is hard to pick just one. Naturally, the games we lost come to mind first, but at the same time, there were matches where we performed poorly against teams at the bottom of the standings.

– Players like Jamal Jafarov and Rauf Rustamli also put on good performances in the Premier League this season. Can we say that if Sabah-2 had competed in the top flight, they would not have finished in last place?

– To be honest, there is a big difference between the Premier League and the Reserve League. Therefore, making such a comparison is very difficult.

– There is a possibility that the Reserve League might be abolished. In your opinion, what should be the fate of this league, and how much does it benefit Azerbaijani football?

– In the current situation, the number of young football players in these age groups in Azerbaijan is not that high. Moreover, the U-20 World Cup will be held in Baku next year. I think that if some of the reserve teams compete in the First League and others in the Second League, it would be more beneficial for the players in terms of gaining match experience.

– We also saw you attending the first team's matches this season. What can you say about the performance of Khayal Aliyev and other academy members? Khayal provided a significant boost to the team during the forward shortage...

– Khayal has matured a lot as an individual over the past few years. He has grown stronger mentally and developed tactically under the guidance of head coach Valdas Dambrauskas. This has resulted in him having a spectacular season.

– Sabah claimed championships across several age categories this season. As a football specialist rather than just a coach working at the club, how do you evaluate this strategy and the work being done?

– Sabah's success is not limited to the first team becoming the national champions and winning the national cup. In my opinion, Sabah has also made significant strides forward structurally in recent years. The connection between the first team and the reserve squad, as well as between the reserve team, the U-19, and the academy, has grown even stronger. Now, there is a clearer pathway for talented youngsters to rise to the first team, provided they develop themselves. The primary strategy of the academy is not to win titles. These titles come as a result of player development at both the team and individual levels. In the U-19 and the reserve team, we instill a winning mentality in the players because it is crucial for them to learn this and know that it will be demanded of them in the first team as well. However, up to the U-17 level, we play football simply to win while keeping development at the forefront.