John van den Brom has one less problem against FK Qarabag and he's pleased about it. Ahead of the play-off tie in the UEFA Conference League, he spoke to ESPN about the departed Abdellah Zoubir.
Milan van Dongen, speaking on behalf of ESPN, previews the match with Karim El Ahmadi and quickly brings up the French-Moroccan midfielder. "Karim said that Zoubir is a good player, but he has simply gone."
Van den Brom cannot suppress his laugh. "He certainly is, yes. I'm glad he's gone," says the FC Twente manager. "He still played last week against Dinamo Kiev (2-0) and then afterwards he terminated his contract, but where is he now? I think somewhere in the desert."
The former player of, among others, Hibernian FC and RC Lens had already announced in April that he would leave Qarabag, but after the match with Dinamo Kiev he moved to Al-Shahania SC, where he will play in the Qatar Stars League.
"Zoubir wanted to leave, but you're glad he was allowed to leave," jokes Van Dongen, with the 59-year-old from Amersfoort acknowledging that the 34-year-old had been an important force for the Azerbaijani opponents.
"He was one of the absolute best players. So it is always nice when they are not playing," he confirms. Despite Zoubir's absence, Van den Brom still expects strong opposition. According to the manager, Qarabag have a good, attack-minded side with players who almost all want the ball and are willing to take risks with it.