Get ready for a fascinating tale of a footballing legend and his remarkable journey!
In the summer of 2008, a new era began for Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, and Chelsea, with the appointment of their respective managers. While Chelsea has since seen a revolving door of 12 different permanent managers, a small club from Azerbaijan, Qarabag, has had a very different story. Led by their long-serving coach, Gurban Gurbanov, often referred to as the 'Azeri Sir Alex Ferguson', Qarabag has become a force to be reckoned with in European football.
This season, Qarabag is poised for its best performance yet. As they prepare to face Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League, they have a real chance of qualifying for the next phase. Currently sitting in 18th place with 10 points, they are ahead of some European heavyweights like Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, and PSV Eindhoven. Even a defeat might not be enough to knock them out of the playoff places.
Gurbanov's journey with Qarabag began in 2008, when he was urgently appointed as a replacement for Rasim Kara, who left for a better offer. Expectations were low, as local coaches were often undervalued. However, Gurbanov quickly proved his mettle. In his first season, Qarabag won the cup, and they went on to beat Rosenborg in the Europa League qualifying round, setting off an incredible adventure.
It took until 2014 for Qarabag to win their first Azeri championship title under Gurbanov, and since then, they've dominated, winning the league in 10 out of the last 11 seasons. Their success has not been limited to domestic competitions; they've made regular appearances in the Europa League group stage and even qualified for the Champions League in 2017.
Qarabag's rise is not just a footballing success story; it's also politically significant for Azerbaijan. Originally based in Aghdam, a town in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that was destroyed during the war with Armenia, Qarabag's return to Azerbaijani control in 2020 as part of a peace agreement has given the club a new lease of life, with the town now being rebuilt.
"According to the late Qarabag president Abdolbari Gozal, Azerbaijan president Heydar Aliyev asked him to take over the club at the beginning of the century to save it. Gozal promised significant investments, and he delivered," explains Elsevar Mammadov, a journalist at Qafqazinfo.az.
With money to spend, Qarabag could have followed the typical path of signing big-name foreign players. However, Gurbanov had a different vision. He built a collective, a team where the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
"We never signed top stars. For Gurbanov, all players are equal. He sets clear demands, and only those who accept them can be part of the squad. During my time with the team, he never had major conflicts with anyone. He's strict but fair, always defending and helping his players," says Maksim Medvedev, a former Qarabag player.
Kenan Mastaliyev, editor-in-chief of Record.az, adds, "Qarabag can afford expensive signings, but Gurbanov values the balance of the squad. For him, it's all about the team. He's patient and believes in his philosophy, picking players who fit his system."
