Football is a sport defined by goals and the celebrations that follow. But today at the National Stadium, the atmosphere was different. Instead of jubilation, Azerbaijan captain Zafarzadeh burst into tears moments after scoring. Spectators were left wondering why the skipper chose emotion over celebration.
During the post-match press conference, Azerbaijan coach Azgarov addressed the unusual moment.
“𝑻𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏’𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒆𝒓,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑨𝒛𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒗.
However, the captain’s Instagram post mentions losing his mother four years ago. After the match, he told a Bangladeshi journalist that yesterday was his mother’s death anniversary, but he chose not to disclose how she died.
Immediately after the goal, a white T-shirt featuring a photo was handed onto the pitch from the dugout. Players gathered for a team picture holding the T-shirt, after which the captain looked toward the sky and began to cry.
Azgarov added:
“𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒅𝒂𝒚’𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎. 𝑾𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒚.”
Azerbaijan’s First Asian Tour Ends Perfectly — and A Message for Bangladesh
This is Azerbaijan’s first-ever tour in Asia, and they finished it with two wins. In the final match, the captain once again found the net—an emotional moment that the coach described as a meaningful gesture.
“This is a beautiful gift from our team to her,” Azgarov said, referring to the captain’s mother.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh is preparing for its maiden Asia Cup appearance. The team has been drawn into a tough group featuring North Korea, China, and Uzbekistan. A win against Uzbekistan could open the door to the quarterfinals, keeping Olympic and World Cup dreams alive.
Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan share regional proximity, and Azgarov offered his take on Bangladesh’s chances:
“𝑰𝒇 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒊𝒕 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑼𝒛𝒃𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏.”
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