Today, veteran football player of Neftchi Shakir Garibov turns 65. The defender, born in 1956, played 219 games for Neftchi and scored 8 goals in 1978-1984 and 1987-1988. He was the coach of our team in 2009-2010.

The official website of the club congratulated our veteran football player on behalf of the Neftchi family.

- Happy birthday, Shakir teacher! How will you celebrate this day?

- Thank you very much! At home, I will celebrate with my family.

- What was your most memorable birthday and the most memorable gift you have ever received?

- The best gift is the health of the people around you. My 60th anniversary was solemn. I invited the management of Neftchi. The whole team, including the chairman of the Supervisory Board, our esteemed writer Chingiz Abdullayev, board member Bahram Bagirzade, and the president of the club came. Thank you, they took part and presented the Neftchi uniform. But again, the best gift is the attention that people give.

- You played 219 games for Neftchi. Which of them is more memorable?

- We defeated Moscow "Spartak" in Baku with the score 4: 3. The star of the USSR national team Rinat Dasayev was standing at the opponent's door. Despite conceding four goals, he was rewarded as the best of Spartak after the game for his numerous finishes, but did not come. That's why our fans whistled at him. One of us, Samadaga Shikhlarova, who scored two goals for Dasayev, was awarded the "Best Player" award.

- Although you are a defender, you had a chance to score 8 goals. What is the most memorable for you?

- I scored 3 goals in the games with Tbilisi "Dinamo". I shot two of them in Tbilisi and one in Baku. We won 2: 1 on the road. My goal in that match is unforgettable because it was both a good goal and a winning goal. Most of the rival team were members of the national team. There were such players as Kipiani, Daraseliya, Chivadze, Sulakvelidze, Gabelia, Gutsayev, Shengeliya, Chelebadze. The stadiums were filled with 80,000 fans. When the players appeared, we were dizzy by the music on the one hand and the shouts of "Dynamo" by all the fans on the other. Therefore, it was very difficult to beat Dinamo on the road.

- Probably you are watching Neftchi's games. You were even a guest of the "Game Day" program on the live broadcast of "Neftchi TV" ...

- Yes, Neftchi TV invited me to the match with Zira. I watch almost all of Neftchi's matches at Bakcell Arena.

- In general, what does "Neftchi" mean to you?

- "Neftchi" is our home, our home team. We spent the best times of our lives in Neftchi. "Neftchi" is our youth, today and tomorrow.