Agdam has been a ghost town since 1993. The war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, over the territory of Nagorno Karabakh, turned it into a mass of silence and concrete bones.

Hence it was nicknamed the Hiroshima of the Caucasus.

Some vestige of what was once the home of the Qarabag football team still rests there.

Its stadium and its original facilities, built in 1951, were moved urgently, as happened to thousands of citizens, finding refuge in Baku, the capital of the country, on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

The name of the town, despite the distance, remains tattooed in the Azeri set.

Since the summer of 2019, the Qarabag has in its ranks Jaime Romero (Albacete, 1990), the only Spaniard left in the team after the recent departure of

Míchel

, one of the idols of the fans, and

Dani Quintana

.

Well, there is also his brother (Daniel), who plays in the subsidiary.

When you come to a foreign country, you know that you are going to be a little lonely.

So having my brother is much better, "he confesses in a telephone conversation with this newspaper.

The two live in Port Baku, a central area of ​​the capital located by the sea, which houses a good part of the city's foreigners.

Among them, the Romero brothers.

From the attractive

Baku

, there are hardly any echoes of that wound between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which reopened a few weeks ago (September 27), if it has ever closed.

The artillery again tore the silence in a zone of anguish where calm never ends.

Life is normal here.

There is no sense of danger and we continue as before, because the conflict is at the other end.

Although there are quite a few people here who are living it intensely, ”admits Jaime, who signed a three-season contract in 2019.

"At the club they want us to be isolated from everything, to dedicate ourselves to playing because we have important games.

In the end we carry the name of the region where the problem is, so we are also a bit what is perceived of the country.

The people here are with us.

Added to that old dispute with Armenia is the global situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

“More than the conflict, what is especially noticeable when we travel through Europe are the Covid protocols.

In the end you have to take a test on Monday, another on Tuesday, travel, then have another test done for the return, "he says.

The situation has been screwed up.

Since March we have suffered rare quarantines.

You weren't locked up, but the restaurants weren't open.

Then they opened and closed at 7:00 p.m.

Little by little it has been controlled.

Hopefully we can lead a normal life when the war and the virus pass, “continues the Qarabag winger, who this season scored a goal in the Champions League qualifying phase, where his team was eliminated and relegated to the Europa League.

"I'm a bit of a disaster for languages"

Under the orders of the coach

Gurban Gurbanov

, Jaime lives happily: «He is a guy who seems serious, but he is very close.

Much of the club's success is due to him.

Another thing is how he manages with the languages: “We speak English, although I do not speak much.

I'm a bit of a disaster for languages.

But we have a translator, who always translates me into Spanish in training.

With my colleagues I speak in English what I can ».

Jaime has never minded packing his bags.

Unlike.

Since Udinese signed him in 2009, when he played for Albacete, he has passed through Bari, Granada, Turkish Orduspor, Zaragoza, Osasuna, Córdoba, Lugo, Qarabag, his current destination, and Castilla, in the 2013/14 season, where he coincided with

Lucas Vázquez

,

Diego Llorente

and

Raúl de Tomás

.

A course in which he played a friendly match with Real Madrid, against PSG, where he replaced

Cristiano Ronaldo

at halftime

.

«It is something that in the eyes of the people draws attention.

In the end you are in the quarry and you play with the best in the world.

It marked me because, damn, you are with the best and you replace the one who has been one of the best in history.

But it was one more game, I have experienced more important things, "he adds.

Meanwhile, in the desolate city of Agdam, 400 kilometers away, the noise of the projectiles sounds.

As if a ball had never been rolled.

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