The most memorable episode of the Slovakia-Azerbaijan game (2:0), which took place 08.09.2024 in Group I of League C of the UEFA Nations League, was the live performance of our national anthem before the match.

Karen Danger-Manafzade won the hearts of the Azerbaijani and Slovak fans who watched the game both from the stadium and in front of the screen with the Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which she sang from the Central European country.

In an interview with Offsideplus.az, the 27-year-old vocalist of German-Cuban origin talked about the offer he received to sing the national anthem, the fact that not only Azerbaijanis, but even Slovaks burst into tears when the national anthem was played, he moved to an Azerbaijani family, and the team he supports. Here is the interview:

- Please introduce yourself to our readers. Who is Karen Danger-Manafzadeh?

– My name is Karen Danger-Manafzade. I am a German-Cuban vocalist and actress. I grew up in Germany, where I studied ballet and dance. At the age of 19, I moved to Vienna, where I studied classical operetta, musical theater and acting at the conservatory. In Vienna, I met Abuzar Manafzadeh, laureate of Azerbaijani international competitions, pianist, composer, conductor. He is the first Azerbaijani to be admitted to the orchestra conducting faculty of the Vienna University of Music and Arts, which trains famous conductors, and graduated two years ago. Abuzar taught me Azerbaijani music, together we give concerts on an international scale.

I am very grateful that I became a bride in the family of musicians. As I said, my wife is a famous pianist, composer and conductor, and my father-in-law, Islam Manafov, is an honored artist of Azerbaijan, a graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, and a world-renowned pianist. My mother-in-law, Şükufa Manafova, is one of the famous piano teachers in Istanbul. My beloved sister-in-law Turan Manafzadeh is also an honored artist of Azerbaijan, a well-known pianist, one of the first female conductors and composer of Azerbaijan. We give concerts in the international arena as a family, and I had the opportunity to learn Azerbaijani music from them.

- Where do you currently work?

- I am currently giving concerts as a soloist. I also participate in concerts with my wife, in addition, I take part in film and advertising projects as an actress. I am currently preparing for Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. The premiere will take place this year at Konzerthaus in Klagenfurt, Austria. I will play the role of Pamina, and my wife Abuzar will be the music director. The performance is under the new direction of Steffanie Mayer.

- Have you sung the Azerbaijani national anthem before in football matches or sports competitions?

- I have already had the honor of performing the Azerbaijani national anthem many times. My family and I also had the honor of performing a concert at the opening ceremony of the TANAP project for Mr. President Ilham Aliyev and Mr. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. But it was the first time I sang the national anthem at a sporting event. I look forward to more invitations to sing our anthem again at sporting events in the future.

- What were your impressions? Although there were few in the stadium, there were also Azerbaijani fans, they were singing...

- Singing in a completely full stadium was an unforgettable experience for me. Since the game was played in Slovakia, there were very few Azerbaijani fans there, but I could feel the support of all the Azerbaijani spectators around the world and in the stadium while proudly singing the national anthem. The football fans sang the anthem with me very loudly and proudly, and I heard from UEFA that even the Slovak audience had tears in their eyes when I sang it. This is a great pride for me!

The great thing about music and sports is that it brings people together, even if they don't speak the same language.

- How did you get the offer to sing the anthem? Was it addressed from the Azerbaijan Football Federation Association or from the Slovaks?

- The Slovak Football Federation appealed to Mr. Vusal Abdullayev, the ambassador of Azerbaijan in Slovakia, who can sing the Azerbaijani anthem. Mr. Ambassador asked my wife Abuzar Manafzadeh about this. Since I have already had the honor of singing the anthem many times, my partner suggested me as a suitable name for the job. It was a very nice gesture from Slovakia to Azerbaijan that they allowed to play the Azerbaijani national anthem live.

- You can speak and write in Azerbaijani well. How did you learn? What other languages ​​do you know?

- I speak four languages: German, English, Spanish and Azerbaijani. But, of course, I am constantly trying to improve my Azerbaijani language. Learning the Azerbaijani language was a great challenge for me, my wife helped me a lot, and I took private lessons from the language teacher Yegana Balamadova.

- Which club are you a fan of?

I am a fan of both music and sports. The best thing about sports is that, like music, it brings people together and connects. I don't have a favorite team because I appreciate the hard work of all football clubs. But our family is a fan of "Karabagh" and "Galatasaray" teams. Even my sister-in-law Turan Manafzade composed a march for the "Karabagh" club and was loved by millions of fans.

- Thank you very much for answering our questions in Azerbaijani language.

- Thank you very much for the interview.