GARABAGH’S TRIUMPH IN EUROPE

This year is remarkable for Azerbaijani football thanks to a handful of important events. As in previous years, Garabagh FC contributed greatly to the joy of Azerbaijani fans around the world. The leading club of Azerbaijani football, which has become a national brand in recent years, has presented millions of people with unforgettable moments with their outstanding achievements in 2017.

The year ended with the European Cup experiences. Winning a chance to take part in the Champions League for the first time, Garabagh not only acquired invaluable experience in the six games played in the group, but also glorified Azerbaijan to the whole world once again.

After the draw, it was announced that would compete with such clubs as Chelsea (England), Atletico (Spain), and Roma (Italy). Garabagh was called the weakest club not only of the group, but of the entire tournament. The main argument was that Gurban Gurbanov’s team is inexperienced since it was the first experience of the club in such a prestigious tournament. It was the debut of not only the team, but also the whole country. However, Garabagh, which had already participated in the main stage of the Europa League three times, did not lose the Championship League.

However, the champion of Azerbaijan failed in the first game. In the match against Chelsea in London, the Azerbaijani team from Agdam, occupied by Armenia, clearly saw the lack of experience and excitement. As a result, Garabagh lost to the British (0:6). Similar feelings developed at the beginning of the meeting with Roma in Baku. However, already in the second half the fans saw the usual Garabagh. Overcoming the starting excitement, the team showed character and even scored a goal. Although Roma won the game (2:1), it had many difficult moments.

The best games in the group Garabagh had against Atletico. In Baku, Gurbanov’s team created many scoring chances, but the game ended in a goalless draw. Although the majority considered this result as an accident, in the return game Garabagh proved the opposite. In Madrid, the Aghdam team even came forward thanks to Mitchell's goal and for a long time dictated its conditions on the field. The advantages of Atletico appeared only after the leave of Pedro Enrique. And very soon the Madrid club equalized the score. Thus, Garabagh, deserving victory in this game, had to be satisfied with a draw (1:1).

Garabagh was in minority in the home game against Chelsea as well. At the very beginning of the match, Rashad Sadigov received a red card for a rough game and the referee announced a penalty. Scoring an early goal, the English team got a big advantage and finished the match with victory (4:0). In the last meeting, Garabagh in a tense confrontation lost to Roma on the opponent's field (1:0) and finished the fight in the group with two points only.

Despite this seemingly unsatisfactory result, Garabagh managed to impose a struggle on strong rivals and even influenced the distribution of teams in the group. Having played twice in a draw with Atletico Madrid, Garabagh crossed out the hopes of the Spanish club for reaching the playoffs of the Champions League and sent the Madrid team to the less prestigious Europa League. Demonstrating a solid game, the champion of Azerbaijan proved that he is worthy to take part in authoritative tournaments of continental scale.

Garabagh gained invaluable experience from its participation in the Champions League and earned the respect of the global football community. The champion of Azerbaijan even more attracted attention to football in the country. Not breaking down and having managed to get up even after the defeat of Chelsea (0:6), the team got into the asset even more sympathy for the fans.

At the same time, Garabagh became a pioneer in several indicators - for the first time in history the Azerbaijani club managed to break into the group stage of the Champions League. Thanks to this club, matches of the Champions League with the participation of the famous Chelsea, Atletico and Roma took place in Baku. For the first time at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, the football team collected 20,000 fans, which have demonstrated the largest choreography in the history of Azerbaijani football.

While the well-known Portuguese Benfica could not score a single point in the Champions League, Garabagh along with Monaco, Borussia Dortmund recorded two points in their assets.

Thanks to successes over the past few years, the head coach of Garabagh Gurban Gurbanov has demonstrated that there are mentors of European level in Azerbaijan. Garabagh brought people back to the stadiums. And most importantly to the matches with such grands as Chelsea, Atletico and Roma, the team forced the Azerbaijani football fans to believe in themselves and their team.

Gurban Gurbanov inscribed a new page in the history of the Champions League with his team but did not hide his patriotic feelings. The story of the Garabagh war, the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia told by Gurbanov after the game with Chelsea in London hit the front pages of the world's leading media.

We should not forget about the financial side. Participation at the group stage of the most prestigious club tournament of the continent has significantly increased the budget of the club from Aghdam. Information about the club’s income from ticket sales and television broadcasts has not been disclosed yet. It is only known that starting from the second qualifying stage of the Champions League, Garabagh earned a total of almost €16.5 million considering its access to the group stage and the two draws in the group.

The name of the club (Garabagh) has turned into a brand in Azerbaijani football, which is also a guiding star for millions of fans. At the end of the year, the fans, journalists and even officials were unanimous in their opinion: Gurban Gurbanov should be in the national team of Azerbaijan. Thus, the experienced coach was invited to the national team and agreed to help it in difficult situation.

Now, Garabagh is challenged to repeat the same success in the next season. Although the regulations will change in the new season, Azerbaijani fans believe in their team.