THE FIFTH GOLD

It is the fourth time that Garabagh FC (Aghdam) wins the title of the Champion of Azerbaijan. In fact, it is Garabagh’s fifth gold medal of the championship: initially they became the champions of Azerbaijan back in 1993, but since the 2013-2014 season, they have not allowed the opponents to top the first line of the tournament table.

The second and third runners were Garabagh (Gabala) and Inter, respectively.

Garabagh’s secret of success

In 2016-2017, Gurban Gurbanov’s team of was worthy of the title of the champion of Azerbaijan. The main secret of this success was a stable performance. Garabagh played equally well against all rivals, and in psychological terms it looked more preferable. Despite the losses in the team, the Aghdam club managed to take the fight to the very end. After experiencing certain difficulties in the line of attack after Reinaldo's departure, in the last 3 months Garabagh encountered injuries of three main players. Badavi Huseynov and Dani Quintana were unable to perform in most of the matches. In that difficult period, Gurban Gurbanov’s experience saved the team. Using his spare players, the 45-year-old specialist was remembered with determination in the fight for the cup, and in the national championship - having won first place in the championship of the country, Garabagh also guaranteed access to the final of the Azerbaijan Cup.

The referee-related scandals in a number of tours have not affected the club either. Gurbanov's team has managed to maintain the excerpt and has not reproached anyone for anything. Even in the lost matches, Garabagh blamed only itself, analyzed its own mistakes.

Having won even the weakened title of the country's champion for the fourth consecutive time, Garabagh entered a new page in the history of domestic football. However, the team required not only this. The main test for the representative of Aghdam is yet to come. In July, Garabagh will fight in the Champions League. It is hard to believe that the team will be able to succeed in the European Cup with current composition. A team is in need of new players in the midfield line and attack and it is extremely necessary to strengthen the team. Sponsors have already expressed their position, promising Gurban Gurbanov to provide the necessary funds for this. Now everything depends on the head coach.

Gabala also opened a new page

This season Roman Grigorchuk’s team has managed to bring the spirit of competition in the championship. In fact, among the eight teams participating in the championship only Gabala has demonstrated a worthy resistance to the champion. The matches of these two teams became the main matches of the championship. In addition, Gabala has demonstrated the best game and achieved victory.

Having completed the current championship the second, Gabala was awarded silver medals for the first time. Although this can be considered a great achievement for the team, Grigorchuk’s team does not hide that they dream about the title. Gabala did not have enough experience to become a champion. Should the team not lose points in matches with Kapaz and Zira, the standings could look different. At the same time, the players only blame for this drawback the referee errors. In the last rounds, Gabala was remembered with more criticism of the referees. And it affected their game in general. They do not consider themselves guilty of losing points in the matches with Kapaz, Zira and AZAL.

By promoting attacking football, Roman Grigorchuk won the sympathy of numerous fans. Demonstrating spectacular football, Gabala brought a fresh stream to the championship. In the summer, Gabala will represent Azerbaijan in the European League, having entered the fight from the first qualifying stage.

Inter is the team of the year

Literally, Inter can be called the team of the year. Having failed to solve financial problems, the former "bankers" took the third place in the standings. Inter, which replaced the leadership twice during the season and remained without a sponsor, was able to demonstrate a worthy resistance to the leaders thanks to the head coach Zaur Svanadze and the determination of the players. The club, which UEFA imposed a transfer ban, for months left its employees without pay, and was forced to agree to the transfer of one of its main players, Ruslan Abyshov, to Neftchi. Having bronze medals, the club proved that it deserves to exist. But its fate is still in question. The last four months, it has been funded by AFFA, which does not intend to continue funding in the next season. And the search for new sponsors has not yet yielded results. If the club ceases to exist, the following teams in the standings will play at the European championships: Zira and Kapaz.

Without medals in the year of its 80th anniversary

Neftchi was the loser of the season. The team celebrating its 80th anniversary, has finished the championship at the penultimate place. 6-7 place in the championship with the participation of only 8 teams can be called a failure at best. Strengthened during the winter transfer of new players, "black and white" does not come out of the black band. At the end of the season, the head coach of the team Elkhan Abdullayev will report to the leadership, which already now announced the desire to continue to cooperate with him.

The fate of AZAL remains unclear

AZAL was the outsider of the championship. Having lost 19 matches this season, Tarlan Ahmadov's team set a kind of anti-record. Having an annual budget of 200,000 manats, AZAL suffered, without exaggeration, a fiasco. According to the rules, in the new season AZAL should play in the first division. The future of the club depends on the sponsor. If the number of clubs in the Premier League increases, it is expected that AZAL will also perform in the Premier League in the new season.

The season of 2016/2017 has clearly demonstrated regress in the national championship. There are no new names, and most of the legionaries have left the country. The eight teams will demonstrate their true abilities at the European cups. If, at least, one of the teams wins a ticket to the group stage of the Euroleague, we will not have a right to blame the clubs.