KARABAKH IN THE LEAD YET AGAIN

After the end of the football season, the attention of our fans switched to Europe. As ever, the national champion was tested in the Champions League, while three other clubs in the Europa League. Soon after the draw it became clear that they would all have a tough time. Despite that, we were hopeful that our clubs had made some improvements to their game. But time has shown yet again that most of our clubs can only play good football in the national championship. Only Karabakh has deserved praise in the last two years, as Qurban Qurbanov's team has demonstrated a decent level of play at the continental level again.

The first Azerbaijani club to enter this season's European competitions was AZAL. After finishing fourth in the national championship, Nazim Suleymanov's team came across Belarusian FC Minsk. AZAL looked more likely to win in this encounter - both in terms of the budget and the quality of players. Besides, this was to be the Belarusian side's first European experience ever. But our expectations were not destined to come true. After a home draw 1-1, AZAL put itself in a difficult situation before the return leg. In Belarus Azerbaijani players conceded two goals, scoring only one. Thus, Suleymanov's side was knocked out of the competition at the first qualification stage. The team's head coach resigned immediately. Of course, the coach is the first person to be held accountable for the team's defeat, but the club's administration should also share the blame. It is unclear why not a single quality player was signed in the run-up to the competition and why the club did not go for a training session abroad. So despite a seemingly lucky draw, the AZAL players did not justify the high salaries they are getting. Belarusian players, getting only $500-600 a month, have proved again that money doesn't decide everything in football.  

Further disappointment was to follow in the case of FC Neftchi. It is no secret that Azerbaijan's leading club was to have a tough encounter with Dynamo Zagreb from Croatia. Despite that, we had the right to expect at least stiff resistance from the national champion. A team that has well-paid players such as Mpenza, Rodriginio, Alessandro should have demonstrated a level of play worthy of the Champions League. Unfortunately, we did not see anything of the kind. After losing in Zagreb 3-0, FC Neftchi played a goalless draw at home in Baku.  

Both the coaches and the players are responsible for the defeat. Of course, no-one expected them to score 4-5 goals against Dynamo Zagreb, but they could have at least shown what they can. But Arif Asadov's players have exposed their inability to play European football. 

The arch rival of FC Neftchi, FC Khazar-Lankaran, was also unlucky with the draw. It was drawn against Israel's FC Maccabi Tel Aviv. Only a week before the highly responsible encounter FC Khazar-Lankaran parted company with four of its key players, which is unforgivable for the winner of the National Cup. Another mistake was the fact that new transfers were completed right before the match, which made it extremely difficult for the team to have a harmonious squad and be prepared for the game. The players acquired at the eleventh hour need some time to fit into the new team's play. In Israel, FC Khazar-Lankaran lost 3-1, so the goal scored away from home did give the southerners some hope for a more successful result at home. But the home game, watched by a crowd of 15,000 passionate fans, demonstrated that FC Khazar-Lankaran is not prepared for European competitions either. The game also ended in a goalless draw 0-0. The Israeli team qualified into the next round, while FC Khazar-Lankaran was knocked out. And the infuriated club management decided to part company with some of their foreign signings. 

As was the case in the last two years, Karabakh was the only Azerbaijani club to gratify its fans. Led by Qurban Qurbanov, the Agdam club, thanks to its growing international ranking (in early qualification rounds clubs with a higher rating face weaker opponents) received a weaker opponent. The bronze medalist of the national championship taught a lesson of football to FC Banga from Lithuania by beating it 4-0 away from home and 3-0 in Baku. Karabakh's next opponent was FC Streimur from Faroe Islands. After a 1-1 draw away from home, Karabakh did not demonstrate half of what it is capable of at home, tying the game 0-0. So the Azerbaijani club qualified into the third round only thanks to the goal scored in Faroe Islands. The next opponent of Karabakh was FC Brugge from Belgium. Right before the game the news of a tragic death of Karabakh skipper Rasad Sadixov's brother shocked the entire team. The captain himself stayed at home to bid farewell to his deceased brother…

Expectedly, the match against FC Brugge proved very difficult. Superior to Karabakh in all respects, the Belgians effectively decided the fate of the encounter in the first leg by beating Karabakh 4-1. But let's not forget that Karabakh is not like any other Azerbaijani club. This is a club dominated by homegrown players. Eight of its players play for the national team. Besides, the club has thus far succeeded in maintaining the stability of its squad. Unlike other teams which change 10-15 players every season, Karabakh is giving preference to national players and is already reaping the fruits of that: Karabakh has delegated Afran Ismayilov, Maksim Medvedev, Rauf Aliyev, Vugar Nadirov to the national team and the team has won successive victories in European competitions. In the summer, Qurbanov only slightly amended the existing squad by signing a few new players. Unlike other Azerbaijani clubs which are largely made up of foreign players, Karabakh has only five foreigners. Of course, the players realize very well how dear the name of the club is to all of us, and play every match to win.