UNEXPECTED OUTCOME

The football season in Azerbaijan ended suddenly and somewhat dramatically. For the first time in the Premier League, with one game to go, four teams had a chance of being champions. Xazar-Lankaran's fate was in its own hands. Hosting last year's champions - Baku - the southerners simply had to win to become champions. But the Lankaran club disappointed its fans.

The host team's coach, Agasalim Mircavadov, usually has his players attacking down the middle while Baku use the flanks. But this time, this tactic did not work. In the second half, the southerners even seemed to forget that they were playing on their own pitch. Baku's 35-year-old coach, Cuneyt Bicer, proved that his team were well-prepared for the fixture with strong opposition. Lightning raids by Elvin Aliyev on the flanks, dangerous shots from Jaba and Baxtiyar Soltanov's passing took their toll. Of course, we must mention the defence and Baku goalkeeper Marco Sharlia. Although after Solic's goal, Xazar-Lankaran had enough time to rectify the situation, the southerners could not take advantage.

In general, the tactics chosen by Baku's coach for this game were completely justified. The Lankaran team's performance was undoubtedly affected by great psychological stress. After all, Xazar-Lankaran were two goals from the championship. But defeat by the slimmest of margins deprived the southerners of the title. Finally, the team ended the championship in only fourth place.

Baku's 1-0 victory over Xazar-Lankaran was good news for Karabakh. They had a chance to join the fight for the title if they could register a victory over Neftci. But Qurban Qurbanov's team was unable to cope with the leaders, who used their reserve players. The match ended in a goalless draw and this opened the way to the top for Baku club Inter, who were already celebrating their triumph after beating Qabala 4-1.

It is notable that Inter are the team with most foreign players. In his first season at Inter, the bankers' head coach, Kakhaber Tskhadadze, secured the gold medals for his team. The game he brought to the Inter players is an attractive one. The bankers now attack more and, accordingly, score more. But this is not the end of Inter's ambitions. The club's management has set the team the task of advancing as far as possible in the Champions League.

Thus, Inter won the Azerbaijan Premier League. Baku took silver and Karabakh - the bronze. Xazar-Lankaran had to be content with fourth place.

Of course, the unsuccessful performance by Xazar-Lankaran disappointed club owner Mubariz Mansimov most of all. At a press conference after the game, he said it was important for the southerners to win the National Cup. But, unfortunately, this target was not achieved. The Lankaran owner attended the final with his friends from Turkey, including the FC Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim. In the final, Xazar-Lankaran had to beat Baku in order to forget their failure in the championship. However, what happened was the opposite.

Both in the championship and in the National Cup, Baku deprived Xazar-Lankaran of a title. Lankaran coach, Agasalim Mircavadov, is a venerable specialist, but even he could not explain why his team was beaten by that of Cuneyt Bicer, who is younger than Mircavadov's sports career. Thus, this past season has turned Baku into eternal rivals for Xazar-Lankaran.

The championship also helped to clarify the level of new foreign players. Among them, Solic, Jaba, Skulic, Poshkus, Juninho, Sharlia and Lomaia stood out. The discovery of the season was Baku head coach, Cuneyt Bicer, who was appointed immediately after the resignation of Bulent Korkmaz. In just two months at the club, Bicer got a silver medal in the championship and won the National Cup.

Thus, following results in the Premier League and the Azerbaijan Cup, Inter will have to struggle in the Champions League. The Azerbaijani team will join the most prestigious club tournament in Europe at the second qualifying stage, while Baku, Karabakh and Xazar-Lankaran will compete in the Europa League. Karabakh and Xazar-Lankaran will cross swords at the first stage, while Baku will join the second phase.

But along with Azerbaijani teams playing in European competitions, the fans are also interested in the fate of our teams' coaches. Karabakh and Inter will, apparently, continue to work with Qurban Qurbanov and Kakhaber Tskhadadze respectively. But the Baku coach, Cuneyt Bicer, despite his good results, may be replaced by another, even more powerful, coach. As for Xazar-Lankaran, although the club's owner, Mubariz Mansimov, said that they are not going to change their coach, it is possible that Agasalim Mircavadov will resign.

Either way, the football season in Azerbaijan has ended. European fields lie ahead for our clubs.