SEVEN YEARS LATER

Azerbaijan sums up the results of the football season of the Premier League 2020/2021. Despite the pandemic, the Professional Football League ensured that the matches of the Azerbaijan championship and the national cup were held in accordance with the calendar. But due to lockdown, all matches were played without spectators.

Intrigues, intrigues…

After so many years, the national championship was not without a small intrigue. Garabagh FC (Aghdam), the all-time champion of Azerbaijan for the last seven years, was ahead of Neftchi by one point before the last round. Thus, the match between these teams in the 28th round of the national championship was a golden one. In the last round, Neftchi hosted Garabagh at home and became the gold medallist even after a difficult victory.

Contrary to expectations, at the beginning of the game, players from Aghdam dominated. Gurban Gurbanov's team controlled the ball longer, tried to overcome the opponents' defense. In the second half, the balance of forces on the field became somewhat equal. Sabir Bugrin and Keisuke Honda did not play well for Neftchi. In the 53rd minute, Jaime Romero found himself on the lawn in the penalty area after a duel with the Serbian legionnaire Vojislav Stankovic. In this episode, the referee Elchin Masiyev did not react and gave a signal to continue the game. However, watching the video showed a clear violation of the rules by the Serbian defender. After that, Neftchi tried to keep the ball using shorter passes and attack. The injuries of Patrick Andrade and Mahir Emreli seriously affected the game of Garabagh. The head coach of Neftchi, Samir Abbasov, released all the forwards on the field, including Mirabdulla Abbasov, Stephen Joseph-Monroz and Ahmed Ahmedov. Close the end of the game, the number of dangerous moments near the gates of Garabagh increased. Finally, in the 90th minute, Mamadou Mboj directed the pass of Joseph-Monroz from the left flank to Ahmedov. And the Bulgarian forward with Turkish roots Ahmedov scored a goal that made Neftchi champions eight years later. Under the leadership of Samir Abbasov, the club became the champion for the ninth time.

Unhappy fans

There were two controversial episodes during the game, which caused dissatisfaction of the fans. In the 53rd minute, Jaime Romero fell after a collision with Stankovic. It seemed that it was caused by the Neftchi defender. The second episode took place in the added time. After the hit of Ismayil Ibrahimli (Garabagh), the ball hit first in the leg, and then in the hand of Stankovich. But in both episodes, the referee Elchin Masiyev did not see any violations and did not award a penalty.

In any case, after losing the last three matches to Neftchi, Garabagh gave 9 points to its main rival. Therefore, the Aghdam team should search the reasons for failures in its own performance. Let's consider Garabagh’s application for the 2020/2021 season of the Premier League. The roster includes the names of only 18 players, compared to 20 at the beginning of the season. For example, during the break, forward Musa Gurbanli was loaned to Zira FC, while midfielder Wild Donald Gerier was expelled from the team for lack of discipline. As a result, Garabagh finished the season with 18 players, while Neftchi involved 28 players this season.

Let us also consider the players of Garabagh who have not played for a long time due to injuries: Gara Garayev, Patrick Andrade, Jaime Romero, Mahir Emreli, Abbas Huseynov, Shahruddin Magomedaliev, Filip Ozobic. So many injured players in the team with a total of 18 players, naturally, negatively affected their performance.

Another reason is the absence of captain Rashad Sadikhov, who ended his football career and became a coach. Finding a replacement for Sadikhov proved to be a difficult task. On the other hand, Neftchi's persistence throughout the season and the desire of its players to become champions also contributed to the defeat of Garabagh. Another important point is the inspiration that Samir Abbasov instilled in the team after his appointment as head coach.

Immediately after the award ceremony, the champion of Azerbaijan Neftchi visited the II Alley of Honorary Burial. Club president Kamran Guliyev, head coach Samir Abbasov, staff and players took the cup with them, honoured the memory of the martyrs who gave their lives for the liberation of the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The graves of the club's fans who became martyrs were also visited: Major Rufat Askerov and Lieutenant Teymur Majidzade.

Fight for Azerbaijan Cup

After the end of the championship, the final game of the Azerbaijan Cup was held. The game took place at the Masazir arena. Keshla and Sumgayit competed in the last game of the 2020/2021 season. The match started with an early goal. The autogoal by Miyushko Bojovich brought Sumgayit players forward. But the club from Baku, who consolidated after the goal, evened the score in the first half (Shahriyar Aliyev). In the second half, Bojovich scored again. This time, the legionnaire scored a goal against the opponents. Game ended with the victory of Keshla FC (2:1). Thanks to this victory, Keshla won the Azerbaijan Cup for the second time in its history, repeating the success of the 2017/2018 season. Thus, Keshla also won a ticket to the UEFA Conference League. Interestingly, being the last in the national championship, Keshla managed to finish the season with a victory in the Azerbaijan Cup.

Sumgayit FC is failing in the final for the second year in a row. Like two years ago, Sanan Gurbanov’s team did not make the club's dreams to come true. In the 2018/2019 season, the team won the Azerbaijan Cup against Gabala FC, and this time against Keshla. Thus, Gurbanov inscribed his name in history as the first coach to become the winner of cup competitions with different clubs twice in a row.

Thus, according to the results of the season, the national champion Neftchi will play in the UEFA Champions League. Silver and bronze medallists – Garabagh and Sumgayit, as well as the winner of the Azerbaijan Cup Keshla – will play in the UEFA Conference League. The European competition season kicks off in July.