1996–97 Azerbaijan Top League
| Season | 1996-97 | 
|---|---|
| Champions | Neftchi Baku | 
| Relegated | Pambiqci Neftcala Azerbaijan U-18 | 
| Champions League | Neftchi Baku | 
| UEFA Cup | Qarabağ | 
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | Kapaz | 
| Matches played | 450 | 
| Goals scored | 718 (1.6 per match) | 
| Top goalscorer | Gurban Gurbanov (34) | 
| ← 1995–96  1997-98 →  | |
The 1996-97 Azerbaijan Top League was contested by 16 teams and won by Neftchi Baku. Champions are Garabag Agdam thanks to "youth points" from the U-15 and U-16 Championships.
Teams
Stadia and locations


| Team | Venue | Capacity | 
|---|---|---|
| Azerbaijan U-18 | ||
| Bakı Fahlasi | Ismat Gayibov Stadium | 5,000 | 
| Fərid Baku | ||
| Kapaz | Ganja City Stadium | 26,120 | 
| Khazri Buzovna | ||
| Khazar Sumgayit | ||
| Kur Nur | Yashar Mammadzade Stadium | 5,000 | 
| MOIK Baku | Shafa Stadium (IV field) | 8,152 | 
| Neftchi Baku | Tofik Bakhramov Stadium | 29,858 | 
| Pambygchi Barda | Barda City Stadium | 10,000 | 
| Pambiqci Neftcala | Nariman Narimanov Stadium | 2,000 | 
| Police Academy | Tofik Bakhramov Stadium | 29,858 | 
| Qarabağ | Guzanli Olympic Stadium1 | 15,000 | 
| Shamkir | ||
| Turan Tovuz | Tovuz City Stadium | 10,000 | 
| Viləş Masallı | Anatoliy Banishevskiy Stadium | 8,000 | 
1Qarabağ played their home matches at Surakhani Stadium in Baku before moving to their current stadium on 3 May 2009.[1]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neftchi Baku (C) | 30 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 98 | 20 | +78 | 74 | 1997–98 UEFA Champions League First qualifying round | 
| 2 | Qarabağ | 30 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 61 | 25 | +36 | 71 | 1997–98 UEFA Cup First qualifying round | 
| 3 | Khazri Buzovna | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 59 | 23 | +36 | 66 | |
| 4 | Turan | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 48 | 13 | +35 | 64 | |
| 5 | Kəpəz | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 59 | 26 | +33 | 58 | 1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Qualifying round 1 | 
| 6 | Khazar Sumgayit | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 58 | |
| 7 | Fərid Baku | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 47 | |
| 8 | Pambygchi Barda | 30 | 11 | 5 | 14 | 41 | 47 | −6 | 38 | |
| 9 | MOIK Baku | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 26 | 50 | −24 | 27 | |
| 10 | Şəmkir | 30 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 30 | 106 | −76 | 26 | |
| 11 | Bakı Fahlasi | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 37 | |
| 12 | FK Masallı | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 33 | |
| 13 | Kur-Nur | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 30 | 59 | −29 | 25 | |
| 14 | Police Academy | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 23 | 49 | −26 | 22 | |
| 15 | Pambiqci Neftcala | 30 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 27 | 68 | −41 | 21 | 1997-98 Azerbaijan First Division | 
| 16 | Azerbaijan U-18 | 30 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 38 | 78 | −40 | 13 | 
Source: Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan
Rules for classification: 
1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1Kapaz qualified for the qualifying round of the 1995–96 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup as winners of the 1996–97 Azerbaijan Cup.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round. 
Only applicable when the season is not finished: 
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[2] | 
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Qurban Qurbanov | Neftchi | 34 | 
| 2 |  Samir Alakbarov | Neftchi | 25 | 
| 3 |  Rövşən Əhmədov | Kəpəz | 18 | 
| 4 |  Nazim Aliyev | Qarabağ | 17 | 
| 5 |  Mushfig Huseynov | Qarabağ | 15 | 
| 6 |  Həsən Abdullayev | Şəmkir / Pambygchi Neftchala | 14 | 
| 7 |  Pasha Aliyev | Khazri Buzovna | 13 | 
| 8 |  Musa Qurbanov | Kur-Nur / Neftchi | 12 | 
|  Azər İsayev | Khazri Buzovna | 12 | |
|  Ismayil Mammadov | Khazar Sumgayit | 12 | 
References
- ↑ Стадион в Гузанлы одобрен ПФЛ (Russian)
- ↑ "Çempionatın bombardirləri: Top-10 - 1996-97" (PDF). www.pfl.az. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
External links
- Azerbaijan 1996-97 RSSSF
- APL Stats
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