Neftçi PFK
crest | ||||
Full name | Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Ağ-Qaralar (White and Blacks) Neftçilər (Oil Workers) Flaqman (Flagship) | |||
Founded | 18 March 1937 | |||
Ground | Bakcell Arena, Tofiq Bahramov Stadium | |||
Capacity | 11,000; 31,200 | |||
President | Sadyg Sadygov | |||
Head Coach | Boyukagha Hajiyev | |||
League | Azerbaijan Premier League | |||
2012–13 | 1st | |||
Website | http://www.neftchipfk.com/ | |||
| ||||
Neftchi Baku PFC (Template:Lang-az), also known Neftchi, is an Azerbaijani football club based in the capital, Baku, that currently plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League. They are the most famous and the most successful Azerbaijani club with eight Azerbaijan Premier League and four Azerbaijan Cup 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.
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.[1][2]
History
Soviet era (1937–1991)
Neftchi Baku PFC was founded in 1937.[3] During the years of 1937–1967, it was known as Neftyanik and it was renamed Neftchi in 1968.[4]
Neftchi played three spells in the Soviet Top League, in 1949–1950, 1960–1972, and 1977–1988, for a total of 28 years in the top division of Soviet football.[4] The club appeared in the Soviet First League, the second-highest division, from 1946–1948, 1951–1959, 1973–1976, and 1989–1991, with its top finish in 1976 as the runner-up.[4] Neftchi's top scorer in this early era was Azerbaijani footballing legend Alakbar Mammadov, who also played for Dynamo Moscow; Mamedov netted 51 goals in league play during the 1950s and 1960s for the club, despite the prime of his career came in Moscow.[5]
World famous referee Tofiq Bahramov was originally also played for Neftchi but a serious leg injury prevented him from continuing his playing career and he became a referee.[6] He became the first referee to have a stadium and statue named after him.[7][8]
Arguably, the club's greatest achievement was a 3rd place finish in the Soviet Top League in 1966, the highest finish for any Azerbaijani side in the Soviet era.[9] The 1966 squad was made up of many of the all-time great Azerbaijani footballers,[10] including forwards Anatoliy Banishevskiy (the UEFA Golden Player for Azerbaijan) and Kazbek Tuaev, midfielder Aleksandr Trofimov, and goalkeeper Sergey Kramarenko.[11] Fans and journalists in Azerbaijan commemorated the 40th anniversary of Neftchi's success in 2006.[12]
Domination (1991–2012)
Neftchi went on to dominate Azerbaijani club football throughout the 1990s. In strong contrast to the Azerbaijan national team's defensive and often criticized style of play at the time, Neftchi achieved success through strict adherence to crowd-pleasing, offensive football. The club became the first Azerbaijani football club ever to win seven domestic titles and four cups.[15][16]
In 2006, Neftchi managed to win the CIS Cup after defeating Kaunas in the final.[17] 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.[18][19] In 2008, the club advanced to the third round of the 2008 Intertoto Cup, after defeating the Slovak club Nitra and the Belgian side Germinal Berschot in the first two rounds.[20]
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.[21][22] Things changed to positive in December 2009, when the club's control was given to Sadyg Sadygov.[23] 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.[24] In May 2010, under Arif Asadov's first season as Neftchi head coach, the club won its sixth championship title.[25][26] Asadov also become first person in Azerbaijan to win the league title as a coach and football player.[27]
In the 2011–12 season, Boyukagha Hajiyev guided Neftchi to another domestic success as club become champions for seventh time in their history.[28][29] In November 2011, club also celebrated its 1000th victory in official games and 1000th goal, which is scored by Araz Abdullayev.[30]
Recent years and European breakthrough (2012–present)
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.[31] Neftchi managed to get three points in six matches, drawing with Partizan both times and holding Inter Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.[32][33]
A third consecutive Premier League title followed in 2012–13 season.[34][35]
Crest and colours
Since the club's foundation, Neftchi have had four main crests, though all underwent minor variations. In 1949, Neftchi adopted as their first crest the image of an oil platform with Russian n letter, which obviously contributed to the Oil Workers nickname, and remained for the next 27 years.[36]
In 1977, Neftchi's crest was changed again as a ball and sunrise background elements added, which was to endure for the next two decades.[36] The club's crest was changed again in 1997 as part of another attempt to modernise and to capitalise on new marketing opportunities.[36] This was the first club badge without oil platform, as it was replaced by the national seal of the Baku. With new ownership, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the club's traditional badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2004. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2004–05 season and marks a return to the older design of the oil platform. As with previous crests, this one has appeared in traditional black and white colours.[36]During the 2010s, the club added golden star above its badge.
Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers
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, a multinational oil and gas company from Baku.
Stadium
Bakcell Arena | |
Location | Nizami raion, Baku, Azerbaijan |
---|---|
Owner | AFFA |
Capacity | 11,000 |
Surface | Grass |
Construction | |
Broke ground | April 30, 2010 |
Opened | September 14, 2012 |
Tenants | |
Neftchi Baku (2012–present) |
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.[37] 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.[38]
Neftchi's current home venue is 11,000 capacity Bakcell Arena. It has been the club's home since the 2012–13 season. The stadium was used to host some matches of the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. On 2013, it was announced that AFFA would change the name of their stadium to Bakcell Arena, after association's commercial partner, Bakcell.
Supporters
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.[39]
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 and scientist Mirali Qashqai.[40][41][42]
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.[43][44][45]
Honours
National
- Winners (2): 1993, 1995
Regional
- Winners (1): 2006
- Third place (1): 1966
Domestic league and cup history
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Top Scorer (League goals) Head Coach 1992 APL 1 36 30 2 4 104 23 62 QF - Alakbarov (36) Alaskarov
Kramarenko1993 5 18 11 5 2 39 11 27 QF - Alakbarov (16) Sadygov 1993-94 8 30 11 7 12 37 11 29 QF - Alakbarov (12) Sadygov 1994-95 3 24 17 4 3 67 15 38 W - Aliyev (26) Sadygov 1995-96 1 20 11 6 3 42 17 39 W WC Qual. Aliyev (16) Sadygov
Tuaev1996-97 1 30 23 5 2 98 20 74 QF UC Qual. Gurbanov (34) Tuaev 1997-98 6 26 13 4 9 43 23 43 SF CL Qual. Gurbanov (9) Tuaev 1998-99 3 26 15 4 4 57 18 52 W - Kalfa (15) Tuaev 1999-00 3 22 13 4 5 35 17 43 SF UC Qual. Vasilyev (8) Alaskarov 2000-01 2 20 16 3 1 57 11 51 RU UC Qual. Ismayilov (11) Namazov
Abdullayev
Ozbakov2001-02 3 22 13 5 4 34 7 44 - UC Qual. Gurbanov (9) Tuaev 2003-04 1 26 22 3 1 66 15 69 W - Vasilyev (17) Tuaev 2004-05 1 34 24 6 4 52 18 78 QF CL Qual. Tagizade (14) Mirjavadov 2005-06 3 26 15 9 2 51 16 54 SF CL Qual. Nabiyev (12) Mirjavadov 2006-07 2 24 17 3 4 47 15 44 SF - Adamia (10) Gurbanov 2007-08 6 26 16 7 3 42 18 55 SF UC Qual. Subasic (14) Petržela
Demyanenko2008-09 8 26 9 9 8 30 21 36 QF IC R3 Neaga (5) Demyanenko
Gede
Aghayev2009-10 5 42 13 19 10 31 26 58 QF - Neaga (11) Sadygov 2010-11 1 32 19 10 3 53 17 67 QF - Nasimov (15) Asadov 2011–12 1 32 20 3 9 55 30 63 RU CL Qual. Nasimov (16) Hajiyev
European record
- As of 17 January 2013
Competition | Matches | W | D | L | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UEFA Champions League | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 29 |
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
UEFA Intertoto Cup | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
Total | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 38 | 70 |
Players
Azerbaijani teams are limited to nine players without Azerbaijani citizenship. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country.
Current squad
- As of 21 May 2013
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Reserves squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Records
Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 23 February 2013. Samir Alakbarov is the club's all-time top scorer with 138 goals, including 12 goals in the Azerbaijan Cup.
Player | Period | Appearances | Goals | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Samir Alakbarov | 1987–94; 1995–98 | 251 | 138 |
2 | Anatoliy Banishevskiy | 1964–1978 | 288 | 136 |
3 | Yunis Huseynov | 1984–92; 1993–98 | 295 | 101 |
4 | Eduard Markarov | 1961–70 | 251 | 96 |
5 | Vladimir Mikuchadze | 1951–60 | ???? | 88 |
6 | Nikolai Smolnikov | 1967–79 | 338 | 86 |
7 | Igor Ponomaryov | 1978–81; 1983–88 | 226 | 70 |
8 | Gurban Gurbanov | 1996–98; 2001; 2004–05 | 80 | 69 |
9 | Mashalla Akhmedov | 1977–89 | 260 | 64 |
10 | Ali Abilzadeh | ???? | ???? | 62 |
The Board of Directors
Position | Name |
---|---|
Vice-President | Tahir Suleymanov |
Managing Director | Mubariz Khudiyev |
Sport Director | Guloglan Jabbarov |
Press and Operations Officer | Gunduz Abbaszadeh |
Coaching staff
Position | Staff |
---|---|
Manager | Boyukagha Hajiyev |
Assistant first team coach | Tarlan Ahmadov |
Assistant first team coach | Bakhtiyar Musayev |
Assistant first team coach | Kamal Quliyev |
Goalkeeper coach | Nebojsa Manojlović |
Fitness coach | Ruben Seles |
Club doctor | Boris Khatagurov |
Assistant doctor | Rasim Gadimaliev |
Assistant doctor | Tofig Gasimov |
Physiotherapist | Zakir Guliyev |
Source: Neftchi Baku PFC |
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.
|
Notable managers
The following managers have all won at least one trophy when in charge of Neftchi:
Name | Period | Trophies |
---|---|---|
Ahmad Alaskarov | 1992 | Azerbaijan Premier League |
Vagif Sadygov | 1993–95 | 2 Azerbaijan Cups, 2 Azerbaijan Supercups |
Kazbek Tuaev | 1996–97, 1998–99, 2003–04 | 3 Azerbaijan Premier League, 2 Azerbaijan Cups |
Agaselim Mirjavadov | 2004–06 | Azerbaijan Premier League, CIS Cup |
Arif Asadov | 2010–11 | Azerbaijan Premier League |
Boyukagha Hajiyev | 2011–present | 2 Azerbaijan Premier League |
References
- ^ ""Нефтчи" стал первым азербайджанским футбольным клубом, вышедшим в групповой этап еврокубков - ФОТО". 1news.az (in Russian). Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ "ЦСКА вылетел из еврокубков". UEFA (in Russian). uefa.com. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ "PFC Neftchi". footballdatabase.com. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
- ^ a b c
"Neftchi (Baki)". KLISF (Club for History and Statistics of Amateur Football). 2006. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^
"Mamedov Alekper Amirovich". KLISF (Club for History and Statistics of Amateur Football). 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ "Сын Тофика Бахрамова рассказал о своем отце (Интервью)". Azerifootball.com (in Russian). Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ Abidəsi olan ilk hakim Template:Az icon
- ^ Tofiq Bəhramovun anadan olmasından 78 il keçir Template:Az icon
- ^ Ibragimov, Erkin (4 November 2006). "FOOTBALL EUROPE: Gurbanov now nifty at Neftchi". noticias.info. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
- ^
"Neftyanick (Baki) 1966". KLISF (Club for History and Statistics of Amateur Football). 2006. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
{{cite web}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=
(help) - ^ Ibragimov, Erkin (2 February 2004). "Neftchi's season in the sun". uefa.com. Retrieved 7 July 2008. [dead link ]
- ^ Kazimzade, Akshin (1 December 2006). "Бронза, старей, увы, тускнеет (Bronze, the oldest, alas, it grows dim)" (in Russian). Career Master. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/season=2013/matches/round=2000355/match=2009861/postmatch/lineups/index.html
- ^ http://www.soccerway.com/matches/2012/08/30/europe/uefa-cup/apoel-nicosia/fk-neftchi/1370869/
- ^ ""Нефтчи" впервые за шесть лет стал чемпионом Азербайджана". Championat.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "История азербайджанского футбола. Время позора, успеха и денег". Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "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 23 June 2008.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "UEFA Champions League History Season 2004 First Round". uefa.com. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
- ^ "UEFA Champions League History Season 2005 First Round". uefa.com. Retrieved 21 June 2008.
- ^ "Football Europe: PFC Neftçi in the Intertoto Cup 2008". uefa.com. Retrieved 3 July 2008.
- ^ Aliyev, Elmir. "Вице-президент "Нефтчи": "Ханс-Юрген Геде хотел нас "кинуть""". Day.az. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ Fataliyev, Rustam. "Нефтчи" снова остался без главного тренера". Zerkalo.az.
- ^ "У флагмана новый президент". Zerkalo.az. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ "Sabah futbol üzrə Azərbaycan milli çempionatı başlayır". Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ^ Ibrahimov, Erkin. "Neftçi take title honours in Azerbaijan". UEFA. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ "Neftchi are Azerbaijani champions". News.az.
- ^ "Arif Əsədov Azərbaycan futbolu tarixinə düşdü". Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ Ibragimov, Erkin. "Neftçi take honours in Azerbaijan". UEFA. uefa.com. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
- ^ "Нефтчи - чемпион второй год подряд". Azerifootball.com (in Russian). Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ "2011-ci ilin sirrini APASPORT açdı – EKSKLÜZİV - STATİSTİKA". APASPORT.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ Biedov, Nemanja. "End of Europa road for APOEL". Cyprus mail. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
- ^ "Neftçi claim creditable draw at Inter". UEFA. uefa.com. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
- ^ "Neftçi hold Partizan on group stage debut". UEFA. uefa.com. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
- ^ "Three in a row for Azerbaijani champions Neftçi". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "ARDICIL ÜÇÜNCÜ DƏFƏ ÇEMPİON «NEFTÇİ»!!!". fanat.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 14 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d “Neftçi”nin loqosu Template:Az icon
- ^ Наш соперник: сборная Азербайджана Template:Ru icon
- ^ В столице Азербайджана будет построен 60-тысячный стадион Template:Ru icon
- ^ Neftchi's FanFanklub Template:Az icon
- ^ "Keçmişə Salam 08.04.2013". ANS TV (in Azerbaijani). 8 April 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Meyxanaçı Xəyyam: "Ən bəyəndiyim futbolçu Flavinyodu"". fanat.az. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "Дело - за первой сборной". Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ Раиль МЕЛИКОВ: «Это главное дерби Азербайджана и его невозможно сравнить с другим матчем»Template:Ru icon
- ^ “XƏZƏR-LƏNKƏRAN”-"NEFTÇİ" DERBİSİ İTV-dən YAYIMLANACAQ Template:Az icon
- ^ pfl.az:50 saat qalmışTemplate:Az icon
External links
Template:UEFA Champions League Template:UEFA Europa League