UNSUCCESSFUL EURO SEASON GARABAGH

FC Garabagh, which has adequately represented Azerbaijani internationally in recent years, leaves the group stage of European competitions after seven consecutive performances. Unfortunately, Gurban Gurbanov's team could not become successful in the Europa League.

The COVID-19 trail

2020 has left an indelible mark on our daily lives. The coronavirus pandemic has spread to all areas, including football. The native champion of Azerbaijan in recent years, FC Garabagh has six time represented the country in the group stages of the Europa League and once in the group stage of the Champions League. Yet the representatives of Aghdam, who have always competed till the last match, did not look like the same team this season. Let's try to analyse the reasons for the weak performance of the team that scored only one point in five group stage matches, leaving the last game unplayed.

First of all, the Azerbaijani football has been on standby since March 2020 followed by summed up ahead of schedule. The footballers were left without playing practice for almost five months. Only in July was it allowed to hold a week-long training camp in Gabala. The loss of form by the players due to the lack of playing practice affected both the clubs and the national team.

Failure with legionnaires and the lockdown

The stagnation in the transfer market due to COVID-19 has not spared the Azerbaijani football either. There are eight teams in the national championship, but the Azerbaijani championship is not attractive for foreign players. The reason is simple: a small number of games, lack of interest in the football market of Azerbaijan from foreign managers. This means that a foreign player cannot make a career in stronger championships. This factor paralyzed the transfer policy of Garabagh.

The closure of airports due to the pandemic cancelled the plans of high-class legionnaires to play abroad. The players, despite low earnings, chose to stay with their families at home. Garabagh was also unable to transfer players and had to come to terms with the bitter consequences of the current situation in European competitions.

Another reason is the lockdown and then the curfew announced in Azerbaijan. It was impossible to organize an international competition in the country in the fall of 2020. Therefore, Garabagh had to to hold the home games of the Europa League not in Baku, but in Turkey.

In addition, due to the pandemic, UEFA played one match after another. That’s why Garabagh had to be on prolonged (three weeks) trips to play their matches. Travels to other European cities because of the games of the national team took another two weaks. Obviously, the constant trips, violation of the training regime and tension affected the performance of the team.

Entering the Tofig Bahramov Stadium with the support of the ‘12th player’ - their fans, Garabagh put the rivals in a difficult position and took points from them. Although we felt at home in Turkey, playing in the empty stadium affected the motivation of the team.

Deficit due to COVID-19

The deficit of players was most evident in the last week of the Europa League championship. After the matches of the national team, many members of FC Garabagh contracted COVID-19, including the head coach Gurban Gurbanov, translator Elvar Guliyev. Also, several team members needed recovery from injuries. Later it became clear that of the 23 players on the UEFA rosters, 13 (including two goalkeepers) would not be able to play against Villarreal. Under these circumstances, Garabagh refused to travel to Spain and sent a letter to UEFA explaining the current situation.

That’s why in the 6th round of the group stage of the Europa League, the champion of Azerbaijan will have a technical defeat. As this game does not change the position of the team in the group, it is assumed that UEFA makes such a decision.

This will be the third such decision in matches with Azerbaijani clubs. If UEFA forfeits the representative of Aghdam (0:3), our champion will go down in history as the first Azerbaijani club, which lost the match without entering the field. The first two technical results were announced at the end of the matches with our teams. In the 2004/2005 season, FC Keshla of the Khazar University lost to Casino in Austria (0:4). However, one of the players of the home team was not included in the game bid. Therefore, in the Intertoto Cup, the Bakuvites were awarded a technical victory (3:0).

The opposite happened in the 2010/2011 season. In the game against Buducnost (Montenegro) in the Europa League, FC Baki played with the punished footballer Joel Epal. As a result, Baki was awarded a technical defeat (0:3) despite winning the game with a score of 2:0.

As to Garabagh, due to the pandemic, the qualifying stages of the European competition had only one match. Garabagh had a deficit of players already at the first stage of the tournament. The team had difficulties in acquiring the necessary players on time. On the other hand, the injured players of the team not allow Garabagh to show high performance in European competitions.

The lack of competition in the national championship with only eight clubs created another problem for Garabagh. Despite being at least twice stronger than other football clubs of Azerbaijan, Garabagh failed to avoid degradation. Playing against Keshla and Sabail in the national championship, the representative of Aghdam entered the fall season against Villarreal (Spain) and Maccabi (Israel). On the positive side, Gurban Gurbanov's team achieved great success by winning the group stage for the seventh time in a row. Representing the city of Aghdam internationally, FC Garabagh has actively promoted the realities of Azerbaijan worldwide.

What's next?

It is extremely important that FC Garabagh implements reforms in the new season. Otherwise, given the growing difficulties in European competitions, Garabagh is at risk of being knocked out of the group stage.

The glorious military victory of our army in Garabagh helped us forget the unsuccessful performance of FC Garabagh in European competitions. After 27 years, the native city of the club, Aghdam, was returned to Azerbaijan. After 27 years, FC Garabagh rejoined the destroyed stadium of Imaret in Aghdam, which we hope will bring new victories to Garabagh.