Azamat Aitkhozhin: 'We have a large team of like minded people, who care about their Motherland!'

13 February 2019, 17:00

General Secretary of the Kazakhstan Football Federation, Azamat Aitkhozhin, told about the upcoming preparation of the natonal team before the start in the European Championship qualifying round.

- Azamat Serikovich, in the nearest future, the tational team will hold the first training camp under the leadership of Michal Bilek. If we talk in detail about the list of players who have been called up to the preparation, can we expect to see some new names?

- I want to say that at such a crucial moment it is extremely important to direct joint efforts for the benefit of our national team, which represents our country in the international arena. On behalf of the Kazakhstan Football Federation, I would like to thank the football clubs of our country for the high level of interaction with the national team and the head coach. The start of the season is coming and this is the only one chance to gather all of the players before the match for the Super Cup, the first rounds of the Premier League, and then immediately qualifying matches with Scotland and Russia. Together, we are all able to do our best. As the fans gather to support the national team at the stadium or on TV screens, so our clubs, together with the Federation, are working for the main team of the country. Moreover, I am very pleased that today we have a large team of like minded people, who care about their Motherland! As for the squad of the national team, we do not really have such a large selection of players, but, of course, gradually we will give a chance to some young players.

- Could you tell us more about the upcoming gathering?

- We have chosen to hold this preparation in February, because all our professional football clubs are almost in one place - Turkish city of Antalya. Thus, we reduce the time for the arrival for players. Of course, we understand that the match with the national team of Moldova will take place not on the FIFA date. However, this is a pre-thought step, and it is extremely pleasant for us that the coaches and club leaders go forward, releasing their players to prepare for a very tense qualifying round. As you know, the upcoming European Championships qualifying matches will be held in 2019, this is the fastest tournament in recent times! Usually, all matches lasted for two years, and now, in connection with the UEFA Nations League, matches will be played during the one football season! When planning the calendar and setting the date of fees, we were primarily worried about fotball clubs, they are waiting for a busy schedule in the Kazakhstan Championship and European Cup tournaments. Therefore, the upcoming preparation will be the first and only one before the new qualifying round. In this case, the support of professional clubs is more important than ever.

- Does this mean that Michal Bilek does not have much time to work directly with the team?

- Mr. Bilek is a great professional in his field. He knows that there is really not very much time, the first official match takes place already in March. Therefore, for more than a week, he has personally tried to look at both the reserve and the main squad players; he has attended some club friendlies, and communicated with the coaches. In addition, his assistants from the coaching staff conduct active work, analyze the information collected, and subsequently there will be a round table for a detailed discussion of all the material received.

- The Moldova national team is an interesting rival for Kazakhstan, the matches with this team were previously stubborn and uncompromising. What do you expect from the upcoming match?

- First of all, the Moldova national team is a combat team; this friendly will be useful for the coaching staff to personally evaluate all of the players, their skills. It is also important for us to put the team together to be acquainted with the new coach of the national team. There is no secret that football is a team game and. In this regard, we see this preparation and the match with the national team of Moldova, as the most important step in preparing for a very difficult but extremely interesting qualifying round of the European Championship.

I believe that our team will be able to please fans with their game, if everyone tries to do their best, the result will definitely come!