Neftçi PFK

Neftçi

Full name	Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu
Nickname(s)	Flaqman (Flagship) Neftçilər (Oil Workers) Xalq Komandası (Nation's Team)
Founded	18 March 1937
Ground	Bakcell Arena
Capacity	15,000
President	Chingiz Abdullayev
Head Coach	Elkhan Abdullayev
League	Azerbaijan Premier League
2016–17	7th
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Neftçi PFC Baki (Azerbaijani: Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu), commonly known as Neftchi or Neftçi, is an Azerbaijani football club based in the capital, Baku, that currently plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League.

Founded in 1937, the club has won 8 Azerbaijan Premier League, 6 Azerbaijan Cup and 2 Azerbaijan Supercup titles. The club is one of the two teams in Azerbaijan, along with Qarabağ which has participated in all Azerbaijan Premier League championships so far.^[1]

In 2012, Neftchi Baku became the first Azerbaijani team to advance to the group stage of a European competition, beating APOEL of Cyprus 4–2 on aggregate in the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League.^[2][3] Neftchi plays its matches at the Bakcell Arena.

History

Soviet era (1937–1991)

Neftchi were founded in 1937.^[4]

World-famous referee Tofiq Bahramov originally played for Neftchi but a serious leg injury prevented him from continuing his playing career and he became a referee.^[5]

Domestic hegemony (1991–2012)

Flavinho is Neftchi's first foreign captain.

They won the first independent Azeri championship in 1992, and then won further titles in 1995/96 and 1996/97.^[6]

In 2006, Neftchi managed to win the CIS Cup after defeating Kaunas in the final.^[7] In European competitions, the club also have advanced to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League twice, having defeated Bosnian champions – Široki Brijeg – and Icelandic champions – FH Hafnarfjarðar – in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

A long period of decline followed the success of the 2005 to the end of the decade. Despite the appointment of famous names such as Gurban Gurbanov, Vlastimil Petržela, Anatoliy Demyanenko and Hans-Jürgen Gede, the club did not achieve any success and squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings.^[8]

Things changed to positive in December 2009, when the club's control was given to Sadıq Sadıqov. The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high-profile international players such as Bahodir Nasimov, Nicolás Canales, Flavinho, Bruno Bertucci, Eric Ramos, Igor Mitreski and Julius Wobay.^[9]

In May 2011, coached by Arif Asadov, the club won its sixth championship title.^[10][11] Asadov also become first person in Azerbaijan to win the league title as a coach and football player.^[12]

In the 2011–12 season, Boyukagha Hajiyev guided Neftchi to another domestic success as club become champions for seventh time in their history.^[13][14] In November 2011, Neftchi celebrated its 1000th victory in official games and 1000th goal, which is scored by Araz Abdullayev.^[15]

European breakthrough (2012–present)

Neftchi in Europa League before the match with Internazionale in 2012.

In 2012, Neftchi qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage, being the first Azerbaijani team to advance to this stage in a European competition. Neftchi managed to get three points in six matches, drawing with Partizan both times and holding Inter Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.^[16][17]

A third consecutive Premier League title followed in 2012–13 season.^[18] Neftchi then won the Azerbaijan Cup on 28 May 2013 to secure the domestic double.^[19][20] Following Neftchi's early exit from European cups, Hajiyev resigned from his post.^[21][22] Following defeat at 2013 Azerbaijan Supercup, Nazim Suleymanov appointed as Neftchi's new manager as Tarlan Ahmadov sacked after just three months in charge.^[23] On January 8, 2014, Suleymanov resigned as manager after transfer fund dispute.^[24][25] In May 2014, despite finishing fourth, Neftchi managed to win Azerbaijan Cup.^[26] In August 2014, the club reached Europa League play off round after beating Chikhura Sachkhere on aggregate.^[27]

On 2 November 2014, Neftchi's president Sadygov stated that, the club is experiencing financial difficulties.^[28] In 2015, it was announced that club will be public limited company – Neftchi PLC, while club's new president will be Chingiz Abdullayev.^[29]

Crest and colours

Neftchi's crests during its history

Neftchi's traditional kit was composed of black shirts, white shorts and socks of the same color. Although through the years these two have gone from alternating between white and black stripes. The club's kits are manufactured by Adidas and sponsored by SOCAR since 2004, a multinational oil and gas corporation from Baku.^[30]

Grounds

Neftchi Baku's home games are usually played at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku. Built by German prisoners of war in 1951 and constructed in the shape of C to honour Stalin, however it was renamed after famous football referee Tofiq Bahramov in 1993 after his death.^[31] The stadium also serves as the home ground of the Azerbaijan national football team and holds 31,200 making it the largest stadium in the country.^[32]

Neftchi's current home venue is 15,000 capacity Bakcell Arena. It has been the club's home since the 2012–13 season.

Supporters

Neftchi fans during at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium.

Neftchi Baku is one of the most supported club in Azerbaijan, with supporters organized in many fan clubs around the world, including United States, Turkey, Russia, Germany, Netherlands, and any other country with a sizeable Azerbaijani community. In 2010s, although Neftchi improved its position, the average attendance fell to record low levels.^[33]

The club's most popular celebrity supporters are the likes of actors Bahram Bagirzade, Bashir Safaroglu and Lutfali Abdullayev, composers Gara Garayev, Fikrat Amirov and Niyazi, judoka Ilham Zakiyev, politician Fuad Alakbarov and scientist Mirali Qashqai.^[34][35][36]

Rivalry with Khazar Lankaran

The game between Neftchi and Khazar Lankaran is one of the biggest clashes in Azerbaijan. The relationship between the two clubs has always been known for its great animosity, as the classic opposes two geographic regions – with Neftchi and Khazar Lankaran representing the north and south of Azerbaijan, respectively.^[37]

Domestic league and cup history

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|- style="background:#efefef;" ! Season ! Div. ! Pos. ! Pl. ! W ! D ! L ! GS ! GA ! P !Cup !colspan=2|Europe !Top Scorer (League goals) !Head Coach |- ||1992||rowspan="21"|APL|| style="background:gold;"|1||36||30||2||4||104||23||62||QF||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Alakbarov (36)||align="left"| Alaskarov
Kramarenko |- ||1993||5||18||11||5||2||39||11||27||QF||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Alakbarov (16)||align="left"| Sadygov |- ||1993–94||8||30||11||7||12||37||11||29||QF||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Alakbarov (12)||align="left"| Sadygov |- ||1994–95||3||24||17||4||3||67||15||38|| style="background:gold;"|W||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Aliyev (26)||align="left"| Sadygov |- |- ||1995–96|| style="background:gold;"|1||20||11||6||3||42||17||39|| style="background:gold;"|W||WC||Qual.||align="left"| Aliyev (16)||align="left"| Sadygov
Tuaev |- ||1996–97|| style="background:gold;"|1||30||23||5||2||98||20||74||QF||UC||Qual.||align="left"| Gurbanov (34)||align="left"| Tuaev |- ||1997–98|| style="background:bronze;"|6||26||13||4||9||43||23||43||SF||CL||Qual.||align="left"| Gurbanov (9)||align="left"| Tuaev |- ||1998–99||3||26||15||4||4||57||18||52|| style="background:gold;"|W||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Kalfa (15)||align="left"| Tuaev |- ||1999-00|| style="background:bronze;"|3||22||13||4||5||35||17||43||SF||UC||Qual.||align="left"| Vasilyev (8)||align="left"| Alaskarov |- ||2000–01|| style="background:silver;"|2||20||16||3||1||57||11||51|| style="background:silver;"|RU||UC||Qual.||align="left"| Ismayilov (11)||align="left"| Namazov
Abdullayev
Ozbakov |- ||2001–02|| style="background:bronze;"|3||22||13||5||4||34||7||44||colspan="1"|-||align="left"|UC||Qual.||align="left"| Gurbanov (9)||align="left"| Tuaev |- ||2003–04|| style="background:gold;"|1||26||22||3||1||66||15||69|| style="background:gold;"|W||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Vasilyev (17)||align="left"| Tuaev |- ||2004–05|| style="background:gold;"|1||34||24||6||4||52||18||78||QF||CL||Qual.||align="left"| Tagizade (14)||align="left"| Mirjavadov |- ||2005–06|| style="background:bronze;"|3||26||15||9||2||51||16||54||SF||CL||Qual.||align="left"| Nabiyev (12)||align="left"| Mirjavadov |- ||2006–07|| style="background:silver;"|2||24||17||3||4||47||15||44||SF||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Adamia (10)||align="left"| Gurbanov |- ||2007–08|| style="background:bronze;"|6||26||16||7||3||42||18||55||SF||UC||Qual.||align="left"| Subašić (14)||align="left"| Petržela
Demyanenko |- ||2008–09|| style="background:bronze;"|8||26||9||9||8||30||21||36||QF||IC||R3||align="left"| Neaga (5)||align="left"| Demyanenko
Gede
Aghayev |- ||2009–10||5||42||13||19||10||31||26||58||QF||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Neaga (11)||align="left"| Sadygov |- ||2010–11||style="background:gold;"|1||32||19||10||3||53||17||67||QF||colspan="2"|-||align="left"| Nasimov (15)||align="left"| Asadov |- ||2011–12|| style="background:gold;"|1||32||20||3||9||55||30||63|| style="background:silver;"|RU||CL||Qual.||align="left"| Nasimov (16)||align="left"| Hajiyev |- ||2012–13|| style="background:gold;"|1||32||19||5||8||59||32||62|| style="background:gold;"|W||CL
EL||Qual.
GS||align="left"| Canales (26)||align="left"| Hajiyev |- ||2013–14||||4||36||17||9||10||48||42||60|| style="background:gold;"|W||CL||Qual.||align="left"| Nasimov (7)||align="left"| Ahmadov
Suleymanov
Hajiyev |- ||2014–15||||4||32||13||10||9||38||33||49|| style="background:silver;"|RU ||EL||PO||align="left"| Canales (11)||align="left"| Hajiyev
Asadov |- ||2015–16||||6||36||13||10||13||41||41||49||style="background:silver;"|RU||EL||Qual.||align="left"| Qurbanov (13)||align="left"| Aliyev
Abdullayev
Gasimov

|}

European record

As of 14 July 2016

Competition	Matches	W	D	L	GF	GA
UEFA Champions League	18	5	5	8	14	32
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League	30	8	9	13	32	44
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	2	0	1	1	0	3
UEFA Intertoto Cup	6	3	1	2	7	7
Total	56	16	16	24	53	86

Matches^[38]

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
1995–96	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1Q		APOEL	0–0	0–3	0–3
1996–97	UEFA Cup	1Q		Lokomotiv Sofia	2–1	0–6	2–7
1997–98	UEFA Champions League	1Q		Widzew Łódź	0–2	0–8	0–10
1999–00	UEFA Cup	1Q		Red Star Belgrade	2–3	0–1	2–4
2000–01	UEFA Cup	1Q		Hit Gorica	1–0	1–3	2–3
2001–02	UEFA Cup	1Q		Hit Gorica	0–0	0–1	0–1
2004–05	UEFA Champions League	1Q		Široki Brijeg	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
		2Q		CSKA Moscow	0–0	0–2	0–2
2005–06	UEFA Champions League	1Q		Hafnarfjarðar	2–0	2–1	4–1
		2Q		Anderlecht	1–0	0–5	1–5
2007–08	UEFA Cup	1Q		Ried	2–1	1–3	3–4
2008	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R		Nitra	2–0	1–3	3–3 (a)
		2R		Germinal Beerschot	1–0	1–1	2–1
		3R		Vaslui	2–1	0–2	2–3
2011–12	UEFA Champions League	2Q		Dinamo Zagreb	0–0	0–3	0–3
2012–13	UEFA Champions League	2Q		Zestafoni	3–0	2–2	5–2
		3Q		Ironi Kiryat Shmona	2–2	0–4	2–6
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	PO		APOEL	1–1	3–1	4–2
		Group H		Partizan	1–1	0–0	4th place
				Internazionale	1–3	2–2
				Rubin Kazan	0–1	0–1
2013–14	UEFA Champions League	2Q		Skënderbeu Korçë	0–0	0–1	0–1 (aet)
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	2Q		Koper	1–2	2–0	3–2
		3Q		Chikhura Sachkhere	0–0	3–2	3–2
		PO		Partizan	1–2	2–3	3–5
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	1Q		Mladost Podgorica	2–2	1–1	3–3 (a)
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	1Q		Balzan	1–2	2–0	3–2
		2Q		FK Shkëndija	0–0	0–1	0–1

Players

Current squad

As of 18 November 2016^[39]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Krševan Santini 3 DF Jairo 4 DF Rahil Mammadov 5 DF Anton Krivotsyuk 6 DF Vanče Šikov 7 MF Araz Abdullayev (captain) 8 MF Elshan Abdullayev 10 MF Javid Imamverdiyev 13 MF Murad Agayev 17 MF Rahman Hajiyev 19 MF Fahmin Muradbayli 20 DF Eltun Yagublu (loan from Qarabağ) 21 MF Akshin Gurbanli

No. Position Player 22 DF Mahir Shukurov 23 MF Tarzin Jahangirov 26 DF Kamal Gurbanov 27 DF Magsad Isayev 33 GK Boban Bajković 41 DF Omar Buludov 45 MF Kamran Najafzade 53 GK Maksim Vaylo 80 MF Edson Castillo 88 MF Orkhan Gurbanli 90 MF Pessalli 95 DF Elvin Badalov

For recent transfers, see winter 2016 transfers and summer 2016 transfers.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player FW Magomed Kurbanov (at Sumgayit) FW Mirabdulla Abbasov (at Sumgayit)

Club officials

Boyukagha Hajiyev is one of club's most successful managers, having won 2 titles and 2 national cups

Management & Supervisory Board

Position	Staff
Head of Supervisory Board	Chingiz Abdullayev
Executive Director	Elnur Eyvazov
Sports Director	Orkhan Huseynzade
SB Member	Samad Gurbanov
SB Member
SB Member	Jabrail Jabrailov
SB Member	Mehdi Najafov
SB Member	Zaur Gahramanov
SB Member	Farhad Badalbeyli

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Elkhan Abdullayev
Assistant coach	Igor Getman
Assistant coach	Oleksandr Deriberin
Goalkeeper coach	Dmitri Kramarenko
Fitness coach	Ondrey Kolesnikov
Club doctor	Gennadi Chislari
Assistant doctor	Zakir Guliyev
Assistant doctor	Aziz Salmanov
Physiotherapist	Rasim Gadmaliyev

Presidential history

Neftchi has had numerous presidents over the course of its history, some of whom have been owners of the club while others have been honorary presidents. In 1988, Neftchi had registered as a professional football club and club since then had 6 presidents.

Name Years Aydin Ibrahimov 1988–97 Agil Pashayev 1997–01 Ramiz Mirzayev 2001–03 Rovnag Abdullayev 2004–08 Akbar Hajiyev 2008–10 Sadyg Sadygov 2010–15 Chingiz Abdullayev 2015–

Managers

Honours

Source:^[40]

• Premyer Liqa

Winners (8) : 1992, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13

Runners-up (3) : 2000–01, 2001–02, 2006–07

• Cup

Winners (6) : 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04, 2012–13, 2013–14

Runners-up (4) : 2000–01, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16

• Super Cup

Winners (2) : 1993, 1995

Runners-up (1) : 2013

In popular culture

A number of television programmes have included references to Neftchi Baku over the past few decades. In the sitcom Aramizda Galsin, the character Aslan is a Neftchi supporter.^[41] Neftchi have also featured on several occasions in meykhana.^[42][43]

References

1. ""Neftçi" PFK-nın nailiyyətləri". neftchipfk.com (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 14 September 2016.
2. "Нефтчи" стал первым азербайджанским футбольным клубом, вышедшим в групповой этап еврокубков – ФОТО. 1news.az (in Russian). Retrieved 30 August 2012.
3. ЦСКА вылетел из еврокубков. UEFA (in Russian). uefa.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
4. "Neftçi PFC Baki". Soccerway. Perform. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
5. Сын Тофика Бахрамова рассказал о своем отце (Интервью). Azerifootball.com (in Russian). Retrieved 16 April 2013.
6. Erlan Manasche and Karel Stokkermans (29 October 2015). "Azerbaijan- List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
7. "Скандал на Кубке Содружества: чемпионы Армении отказались играть с азербайджанцами (Scandal at the CIS Cup: The champions of Armenia refused to play the Azerbaijanis)" (in Russian). NewsRU.com. 19 January 2006. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
8. Aliyev, Elmir. "Вице-президент "Нефтчи": "Ханс-Юрген Геде хотел нас "кинуть""". Day.az. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
9. "Sabah futbol üzrə Azərbaycan milli çempionatı başlayır". Retrieved 30 December 2010.
10. Ibrahimov, Erkin. "Neftçi take title honours in Azerbaijan". UEFA. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
11. "Neftchi are Azerbaijani champions". News.az.
12. "Arif Əsədov Azərbaycan futbolu tarixinə düşdü". Retrieved 1 May 2011.
13. Ibragimov, Erkin. "Neftçi take honours in Azerbaijan". UEFA. uefa.com. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
14. Нефтчи – чемпион второй год подряд. Azerifootball.com (in Russian). Retrieved 29 April 2012.
15. "2011-ci ilin sirrini APASPORT açdı – EKSKLÜZİV – STATİSTİKA". APASPORT.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 30 December 2011.
16. "Neftçi claim creditable draw at Inter". UEFA. uefa.com. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
17. "Neftçi hold Partizan on group stage debut". UEFA. uefa.com. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
18. "Three in a row for Azerbaijani champions Neftçi". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
19. Нефтчи в пятый раз завоевал Кубок страны (ОБНОВЛЕНО). Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 28 May 2013.
20. Atayev, Oktay. "Нефтчи" выиграл кубок. uefa.com (in Russian). UEFA. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
21. "Skënderbeu strike late to end Neftçi resistance". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
22. Беюкага Гаджиев ушел с поста главного тренера "Нефтчи". News.rambler.ru (in Russian). Rambler (portal). Retrieved 10 August 2013.
23. Назим Сулейманов возглавил "Нефтчи". Zerkalo.az (in Russian). Retrieved 28 October 2013.
24. Назим СУЛЕЙМАНОВ: Мне не позволили усилить Нефтчи. Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 8 January 2014.
25. "Nazim Süleymanovun istefasının təfərrüatı BİZDƏ – AÇIQLAMA". futbol11.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 8 January 2014.
26. Нефтчи в шестой раз завладел Кубком Азербайджана. Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 22 May 2014.
27. "Заря" восходит, Одесса тонет. ru.uefa.com (in Russian). UEFA. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
28. "Sadıq Sadıqov "Neftçi"də maliyyə problemlərinin olduğunu etiraf etdi". rekord.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2 November 2014.
29. "Чингиз Абдуллаев, Бахрам Багирзаде, Садых Садыхов и другие — в наблюдательном совете Нефтчи". www.azerisport.com. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
30. Так, кто же ты, Нефтчи?. Day.az (in Russian). Retrieved 1 June 2013.
31. Наш соперник: сборная Азербайджана (Russian)
32. В столице Азербайджана будет построен 60-тысячный стадион (Russian)
33. Кому нужен азербайджанский футбол?. Sport.day.az (in Russian). Retrieved 10 January 2014.
34. "Cüdo üzrə ikiqat paralimpiya çempionu İlham Zəkiyev də "Neftçi"yə dəstək oldu". www.olimpiya.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 8 November 2014.
35. "Keçmişə Salam 08.04.2013". ANS TV (in Azerbaijani). 8 April 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
36. Дело – за первой сборной. Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 16 April 2013.
37. Раиль МЕЛИКОВ: «Это главное дерби Азербайджана и его невозможно сравнить с другим матчем»(Russian)
38. "Neftçi PFK – History". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
39. http://neftchipfk.com/az/team_9/
40. "Neftçi PFC Baki: Trophies". Soccerway. Perform. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
41. ""Aramızda qalsın"da "Böyük oyun" həyəcanı – VİDEO". korner.az (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
42. "Meyxanaçılar "Neftçi" – "Araz" haqda meyxana dedi". stadium.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 9 November 2014.
43. "Мастера мейханы снова поддержали Нефтчи (ФОТО)". www.azerifootball.com (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 9 November 2014.

Further reading

• Wilson, Jonathan (2006). Behind the Curtain: Football in Eastern Europe: Travels in Eastern European Football. Orion. ISBN 0752879456.

External links

• Official Website (Azerbaijani) (English) (Russian)