- Recently, there have been rumors in the Turkish media that you are in the interest of Besiktas. First, you would clarify this. Do you really have any interest or offer from Istanbul Club?

- Others ask me about it and write about it. But now I do not want to answer. Talk to you soon. There is nothing to talk about now.

- It is already winter break. Have you received an offer from abroad?

- There are those who are interested. I know this, and so does my agent. But there is nothing definite yet. My club has not received an official offer. They just watched my game, called and were interested in the details. You know that championships continue in other countries. They had Christmas. Everyone's answer was that we should hold the games, the holiday should end, and then we would sit down and talk with full accuracy. These are the words of my agent.

"Really speaking, Qarabag's inclusion in the group was a success for me"

- 2020 is coming to an end. Qarabag went to the winter break in the second stage. How do you assess the first half of the season?

- This year, for obvious reasons, we approached each game differently. In other words, we have greater pride and responsibility to bear the name of Qarabag. All the opponents we met in the European Cups finished the national championships and were better prepared than us. We could not hold a rally outside the country because we were in quarantine. This time the preparation process took place in Gabala. It is true that the conditions were excellent, but the games here were not our matches against rivals in Europe. I do not underestimate our performance. As I said, it was a difficult year. We played only 2 games at home in the European Cups. The rest of our meetings were on the road. It was not easy to get into the Europa League group at such a time. Looking at other teams, our preparation was not good. In fact, joining the group was a success for me. As for our position in the championship, you know that we play on two fronts. What we didn't like most was that we were flying non-stop, we were on the road. This made the team tired. However, we finished the year well in the Premier League. We still have 1 game in reserve. I hope that the situation will improve in the new year, and along with you, the fans will come to the stadium and watch our game. It is important for us that both media representatives and supporters are in the stadium. We miss the previous football. It is important for us that both fans are in the stadium. We miss the previous football. It is important for us that both fans are in the stadium. We miss the previous football.

- Some time ago, there was a mass infection with coronavirus in Qarabag. You also had an infection. How were the disease and quarantine period?

- My brother and I were infected at home. There was no unusual feeling. I just had a fever for 2 days and my body was in pain. The rest of the day, the only thing that bothered me was the cough. In general, I did not have a serious illness. It's just a little too long. I was in quarantine for more than 2 weeks. I am completely healed, everything is fine.

- In the last two months, more than 100 players and coaches in the Azerbaijani Premier League have been infected with the virus. What do you think caused the high number of infections?

- The infection was mostly in the national team. Because we flew to other countries involuntarily. As you know, we visited 3 different countries during the last gathering. Tamkin Khalilzade, Rahil Mammadov and Maxim Medvedev were infected at that time. We tested in Baku, no one had the virus. Before that, only one football player was ill. Probably, we caught it during the national team's visit. However, we did not go out, we were in the hotel. Maybe he passed someone while in the stadium during training or games. Frankly, I have no idea about it. We always had 2 people in 1 room in the hotel. This time, each was given a room due to the risk of infection. All kinds of measures were taken. We are unknowingly infected. No matter how protected we are, the virus comes and finds the person. If you test 2 days ago, you see that it is negative, 2 days later it turns out positive. It is a very interesting disease.

"Individual skills no longer play such a role"

- The national team was in the same group with Portugal, Serbia, Ireland and Luxembourg in the qualifying round of the WC-2022. How do you assess the chances?

- The favorites are already known. But sometimes people ask questions about Cristiano Ronaldo or someone else. I do not like to touch on such points. I must say that it is an interesting group. I always believed in myself that something could be done. Because modern football has changed a lot. The team that correctly analyzes the opponent, prepares well for the game and performs the task accurately wins. Personal fatigue no longer plays such a role. True, some games are an exception. But now they prefer team play. In my opinion, the best example of this is the Icelandic national team. I would even mention the Finnish national team, which qualified for EURO 2020. When a team does everything right, it succeeds. We struggled with a new head coach in the League of Nations. It was difficult to prepare for the national team games due to the pandemic. We did not have much time to prepare for the national team. We were only able to prepare a little for the first game of the tournament. There was a time limit. Nevertheless, we had good games in the League of Nations.

- You already know the work of head coach Gianni De Biasi. Do you think that the Italian specialist can surprise the national team in the qualifying round?

- Time will tell. I do not want to say anything. De Byazi himself replied that I am not a magician, I am a head coach. I am also a footballer, I do not see the future (laughs).

- You are criticized both when you perform poorly and when you play well. How does this factor affect you and your game? In general, how do you feel about this issue?

- In the past, when I entered the social network, I read reviews. Frankly, it made me a little nervous. But now I do not care whether the criticism is justified or unjust. Because my head coach Gurban Gurbanov tells me both criticism and praise. To me, no one in Azerbaijan knows football as well. He tells me everything he needs to know. Sometimes someone writes something about me to get interest and reaction. As you said, this happens when you play well and when you play badly. So, the problem is not with me (laughs).

("Report")