Azerbaijan national football team

Azerbaijan

Nickname(s)	Milli (The National Team)
Association	AFFA
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Robert Prosinečki
Captain	Rashad Sadygov
Most caps	Rashad Sadygov (102)
Top scorer	Gurban Gurbanov (14)
Home stadium	Baku National Stadium
FIFA code	AZE
First colours Second colours Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current	133 1 (5 May 2016)
Highest	73 (July 2014)
Lowest	170 (June 1994)
Elo ranking
Current	104 (9 September 2015)
Highest	73 (14 August 2014)
Lowest	151 (February 2001)
First international
Georgia 6–3 Azerbaijan  (Gurjaani, Georgia; September 17, 1992)[1][2]
Biggest win
Azerbaijan 4–0 Liechtenstein  (Baku, Azerbaijan; 5 June 1999)
Biggest defeat
France 10–0 Azerbaijan  (Auxerre, France; September 6, 1995)[1]

The Azerbaijan national football team (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan milli futbol komandası) is the national football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. It represents Azerbaijan in international football competitions. The majority of Azerbaijan's home matches are held at the national stadium, Baku National Stadium, with friendly matches sometimes hosted at club stadiums.

The Azerbaijan national football team has taken part in qualification for each major tournament since Euro 96, but has never qualified for the finals tournament of any World Cup or European Championships.

History

Early period (before the 1920s)

In the early twentieth century, football began to become popular in Azerbaijan, which was then part of the Russian Empire. In 1912, Azerbaijani football players had their first "international match" and they won in Tbilisi, Georgia against the local "Sokol" team with 4:2. During 1912-1913, matches between Azerbaijani and Georgian football teams were organized, first in Tbilisi and then in Baku. In 1914 the Football Union was founded in Azerbaijan. The Football Union undertook the organization of official city championships and other competitions.^[3]

Soviet era (1920s—1991)

The oldest records of football teams in Soviet Azerbaijan goes back to 1926-1927, when Trans-Caucasian Championship was organized in Tbilisi. Three South Caucasian countries participated: Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.^[1] The Azerbaijan national football team held its first friendly matches against Georgia and Armenia in 1927 for the Trans-Caucasian Championship in Georgia.^[1] Also in 1926 footbal players from Azerbaijan played three matches with Football team from Iran in Baku. In 1929 there were played three matches between these teams in Tehran. In all matches Azerbaijan players won.^[4][5]

The 1960s is considered the Golden Age for Azerbaijani football as it produced great players like Anatoliy Banishevskiy, Alakbar Mammadov and the football referee Tofiq Bahramov, most famous for being the linesman who helped to award a goal for England in the 1966 World Cup Final between England and West Germany.

Post-independence (1992—present)

1990s

After Azerbaijan gained its independence in 1991, AFFA — Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan — was created. In 1992, renowned Azerbaijani footballer Alekper Mamedov became the first head coach of the Azeribaijani national football team, compiling a 3–1 record as coach that includes the first ever national team victory, over Georgia on May 25, 1993.^[6][7] In 1994, the national team was accepted into FIFA and UEFA. The security issues, forced the team to play all of its home Euro 96 qualifiers in Trabzon, Turkey.^[8]

2000s

Azerbaijani squad against Iceland in 2008.

As of the early 2000s, AFFA started to integrate more players to the national team through FIFA's eligibility rules.^[9] In February 2004, Carlos Alberto Torres, captain of the Brazil team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup was appointed its national coach. Despite a poor start, a 0–6 defeat to Israel on February 18, Azerbaijan won their first ever away match, 3–2 against Kazakhstan on April 28. In June 2005, following a 3–0 defeat by Poland, Torres stood down from the position, to be replaced by former Neftchi coach Vagif Sadygov, his third spell as coach of Azerbaijan. Shahin Diniyev took over as manager in November 2005. He resigned on 31 October 2007, and Gjoko Hadzievski was named as care-taking coach of Azerbaijan.^[10]

In April 2008, former German football player and coach Berti Vogts was appointed as a manager of Azerbaijan on a two-year contract.^[11] Azerbaijan had a mixed qualifying campaign, finishing with 5 points, just missing out on a last place to Liechtenstein with 2 points.

In November 2009, AFFA extended Berti Vogts' contract a further two years, making him the first manager to manage Azerbaijani national team in two qualification cycles.^[12][13]

2010s

In 2010, following a shock win over Turkey, the team reached 90th place in FIFA World Rankings, Azerbaijan's highest position ever in country's football history.^[14][15] After victory over Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan also broke their scoring and points records by gaining 7 points and scoring 10 goals.^[16][17]

In November 2011, AFFA extended Berti Vogts' contract a further two years, until end of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification cycle.^[18] Under Vogts, Azerbaijan had some poor results, not being able to win second-string sides, forcing Vogts to face major criticism, protest and demonstration from local supporters and the media.^[19][20] However, Azerbaijan managed to finish qualification cycle in fourth place, team's best ever finish.^[21] In December 2013, Vogts being granted a new two-year contract, with aim to lead Azerbaijan through EURO 2016 qualifying.^[22] On July 2014, Azerbaijan beat its ranking record by reaching 73rd place in FIFA World Rankings. Following three straight losses, Vogts has resigned from his post after spending six years in charge of Azerbaijan.^[23][24]

Team image

Colours

Azerbaijan national football team in October 2013.

As of UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying round, Azerbaijan's home colours are all-red kit. The team wears an all-blue kit for away games. This combination of colours are traditional for the national team since their first game. In the beginning of 90s the team has worn a white shirt, to the end of decade it has been transformated into blue-white striped shirts. At the beginning of the 2000s, the kit was replaced by the white shirt with a vertical tricolour stripe, color originating from the national flag of Azerbaijan on the chest. The kit was changed into blue shirts, red shorts and green socks only for the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying round. After the tournament, the national team went back to their usual combination of colours.

Azerbaijan national team's away colours were yellow-black striped shirts, black shorts and yellow socks until UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying round, when it was decided to abandon this kit in favor of the completely blue. During the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying round games the team has used an all red kit.

Since 2006, Azerbaijan's kit have been supplied by Umbro. They took over from Puma who were Azerbaijan's kit suppliers between 2004 to 2006. Before that Umbro were Azerbaijan's kit suppliers between 2002 to 2004.

Nickname

Azerbaijan is often referred to by the media and supporters as Milli (The National Team), which is the nickname associated with all of Azerbaijan's international sporting teams due to the team's utilization of the country's national colors.^[25]

Media coverage and public relations

Azerbaijan's home matches are presently covered by the public channel İTV.^[26] 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match rights were held by AZTV and Idman Azerbaijan TV.^[27]

AZTV, Idman Azerbaijan TV and Lider TV are among other networks that have previously shown live fixtures.^[28]

Stadium

The construction of Baku National Stadium.

Most of Azerbaijan's home matches are played at the new Baku National Stadium in Baku. It has been Azerbaijan's primary home stadium ever since the move from Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in 2015. Today, some qualifying matches and friendly matches are still hosted at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, whereas others are hosted at the Lankaran City Stadium, Bakcell Arena and Dalga Arena after it met UEFA stadium criteria.^[29][30]

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup records

FIFA World Cup record											FIFA World Cup qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Position
1930 to 1990	Part of  Soviet Union										-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1994	Did not enter										-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1998	Did not qualify										8	1	0	7	3	22	5/5
2002											10	1	2	7	4	17	6/6
2006											10	0	3	7	1	21	6/6
2010											10	1	2	7	4	14	5/6
2014											10	1	6	3	7	11	4/6
2018	To be determined										-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total									-		48	4	13	31	19	85	-

UEFA European Championship records

UEFA European Championship record										UEFA Euro Championship qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Position
1960 to 1992	Part of  Soviet Union									-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1996	Did not qualify									10	0	1	9	2	29	6/6
2000										10	1	1	8	6	26	5/6
2004										8	1	1	6	5	20	5/5
2008										12	1	2	9	6	28	8/8
2012										10	2	1	7	10	26	5/6
2016										10	1	3	6	7	18	5/6
Total		0/15								60	6	9	45	36	157	-

2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Germany	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup		—	8 Oct '16	11 Oct '16	4 Sep '17	8 Oct '17	10 Jun '17
1	Czech Republic	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible second round[lower-alpha 1]		1 Sep '17	—	4 Sep '16	11 Nov '16	11 Oct '16	8 Oct '17
1	Northern Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			5 Oct '17	4 Sep '17	—	26 Mar '17	11 Nov '16	8 Oct '16
1	Norway	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			4 Sep '16	10 Jun '17	8 Oct '17	—	1 Sep '17	11 Oct '16
1	Azerbaijan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			26 Mar '17	5 Oct '17	10 Jun '17	8 Oct '16	—	4 Sep '17
1	San Marino	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			11 Nov '16	26 Mar '17	1 Sep '17	5 Oct '17	4 Sep '16	—

First match(es) will be played on 4 September 2016. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
Notes:

1. The eight best runners-up across all groups will advance to the second round (play-offs). The ninth-ranked runners-up will be eliminated.

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the Friendly Match against Kazakhstan on March 26, 2016.
Caps and goals as March 26, 2016 after the game against Kazakhstan.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Kamran Aghayev	9 February 1986	59	0	Inter Baku
23	GK	Salahat Aghayev	4 January 1991	8	0	Sumgayit
12	GK	Aqil Mammadov	1 May 1989	2	0	Neftchi Baku
14	DF	Rashad Sadygov	16 June 1982	102	4	Qarabağ
15	DF	Ruslan Abışov	10 October 1987	47	4	Gabala
5	DF	Maksim Medvedev	29 September 1989	34	0	Qarabağ
6	DF	Badavi Guseynov	11 July 1991	24	0	Qarabağ
21	DF	Arif Dashdemirov	10 February 1987	10	0	Gabala
3	DF	Magomed Mirzabekov	16 November 1990	6	0	Gabala
16	DF	Tarlan Guliyev	19 April 1992	4	0	Kapaz
4	DF	Pavlo Pashayev	4 January 1988	1	0	Gabala
10	MF	Elvin Mammadov	18 July 1988	36	7	Zira
22	MF	Afran Ismayilov	8 October 1988	28	1	Qarabağ
2	MF	Gara Garayev	12 October 1992	23	0	Qarabağ
7	MF	Araz Abdullayev	18 April 1992	17	0	Neftchi Baku
13	MF	Dimitrij Nazarov	4 April 1990	15	4	Karlsruher
24	MF	Tuğrul Erat	17 June 1992	4	0	Fortuna Düsseldorf
9	MF	Namig Alasgarov	3 February 1995	2	0	Kapaz
17	MF	Javid Tagiyev	22 July 1992	2	0	Qarabağ
25	MF	Murad Sattarli	9 May 1992	0	0	AZAL
11	FW	Ruslan Qurbanov	12 September 1991	9	0	Neftchi Baku
18	FW	Aghabala Ramazanov	20 January 1993	3	1	Sumgayit
20	FW	Rashad Eyyubov	3 December 1992	1	0	Gabala

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called for the squad within the last 12 months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Anar Nazirov	8 September 1985	3	0	Zira	v.  Moldova, 17 November 2015
GK	Emil Balayev	17 April 1994	0	0	Eintracht Frankfurt	v.  Norway, 12 June 2015
DF	Urfan Abbasov	14 October 1992	1	0	Gabala	v.  Moldova, 17 November 2015
MF	Eddy Israfilov	2 August 1992	4	0	Córdoba	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2016 ^PRE
MF	Rahman Hajiyev	25 July 1993	1	0	Neftchi Baku	v.  Kazakhstan, 26 March 2016 ^PRE
MF	Rahid Amirguliyev	1 September 1989	48	3	Qarabağ	v.  Moldova, 17 November 2015
MF	Elshan Rzazade	11 September 1993	1	0	Neftchi Baku	v.  Moldova, 17 November 2015
MF	Rashad Sadiqov	8 October 1983	26	1	Gabala	v.  Bulgaria, 10 October 2015
MF	Joshgun Diniyev	13 September 1995	1	0	Qarabağ	v.  Malta, 6 September 2015
MF	Elvin Jamalov	4 February 1995	0	0	Gabala	v.  Malta, 6 September 2015
MF	Seymur Asadov	5 May 1994	0	0	AZAL	v.  Croatia, 3 September 2015 ^PRE
MF	Javid Huseynov	9 March 1988	45	2	Gabala	v.  Norway, 12 June 2015
FW	Elnur Jafarov	28 March 1997	1	0	Khazar Lankaran	v.  Bulgaria, 10 October 2015
FW	Magomed Kurbanov	11 April 1992	3	0	Neftchi Baku	v.  Malta, 6 September 2015
FW	Rauf Aliyev	12 February 1989	44	7	Inter Baku	v.  Malta, 6 September 2015
FW	Vüqar Nadirov	15 June 1987	61	4	Inter Baku	v.  Malta, 6 September 2015
FW	Nurlan Novruzov	3 March 1993	0	0	Zira	v.  Croatia, 3 September 2015 ^PRE

• ^INJ = Withdrew because of injury
• ^PRE = Preliminary squad

Fixtures and results

Recent results

Recent results within last 24 months and all known upcoming fixtures.

June 3, 2016	Friendly	Vienna	Azerbaijan		Canada
May 29, 2016	Friendly	Vienna	Azerbaijan		Macedonia
May 26, 2016	Friendly	Vienna	Azerbaijan		Andorra
March 26, 2016	Friendly	Antalya	Azerbaijan	0–1	Kazakhstan
November 17, 2015	Friendly	Baku	Azerbaijan	2–1	Moldova	Cătălin Carp  32' (o.g.) Aghabala Ramazanov  49'
October 13, 2015	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Sofia	Bulgaria	2–0	Azerbaijan
October 10, 2015	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Baku	Azerbaijan	1–3	Italy	Dimitrij Nazarov  31'
September 6, 2015	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Ta' Qali	Malta	2–2	Azerbaijan	Rahid Amirguliyev  36'  80'
September 3, 2015	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Baku	Azerbaijan	0–0	Croatia
June 12, 2015	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Oslo	Norway	0–0	Azerbaijan
June 7, 2015	Friendly	Sankt Pölten	Serbia	4–1	Azerbaijan	Dimitrij Nazarov  39'
March 28, 2015	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Baku	Azerbaijan	2–0	Malta	Javid Huseynov  4' Dimitrij Nazarov  90'
November 16, 2014	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Baku	Azerbaijan	0–1	Norway
October 13, 2014	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Osijek	Croatia	6–0	Azerbaijan
October 10, 2014	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Palermo	Italy	2–1	Azerbaijan	Giorgio Chiellini  76' (o.g.)
September 9, 2014	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying	Baku	Azerbaijan	1–2	Bulgaria	Dimitrij Nazarov  53'
September 3, 2014	Friendly	Moscow	Russia	4–0	Azerbaijan
August 20, 2014	Friendly	Baku	Azerbaijan	0–0	Uzbekistan
May 27, 2014	Friendly	San Francisco	United States	2–0	Azerbaijan
March 5, 2014	Friendly	Dubai	Philippines	0–1	Azerbaijan	Elvin Yunuszade  26'

Managers

Under Berti Vogts, Azerbaijan reached its highest position ever in FIFA World Rankings

As of 14 October 2015^[31]

Manager	Azerbaijan career	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Mammadov, AlakbarAlakbar Mammadov	1992–1993	5	3	1	1	60.00
Tuayev, KazbekKazbek Tuayev (caretaker) Mirjavadov, AgaselimAgaselim Mirjavadov (caretaker)	1994	1	0	0	1	00.00
Mirjavadov, AgaselimAgaselim Mirjavadov	1994–1995	9	0	0	9	00.00
Tuayev, KazbekKazbek Tuayev	1995–1996	11	3	3	5	27.27
Sadygov, VagifVagif Sadygov	1997–1998	20	6	3	11	30.00
Alaskarov, AhmadAhmad Alaskarov	1999–2000	9	1	2	6	11.11
Abdullayev, AsgarAsgar Abdullayev (caretaker)	2000	4	0	2	2	00.00
Ponomaryov, IgorIgor Ponomaryov	2000–2001	13	1	2	10	07.69
Tuayev, KazbekKazbek Tuayev (caretaker)	1995–1996	2	0	0	2	00.00
Sadygov, VagifVagif Sadygov	2002	9	1	4	4	11.11
Abdullayev, AsgarAsgar Abdullayev	2002–2003	9	1	2	6	11.11
Torres, Carlos AlbertoCarlos Alberto Torres	2004–2005	18	2	5	11	11.11
Sadygov, VagifVagif Sadygov (caretaker)	2005	5	0	1	4	00.00
Diniyev, ShahinShahin Diniyev	2005–2007	20	4	7	9	20.00
Hadžievski, GjokoGjoko Hadžievski (caretaker)	2007–2008	3	0	1	2	00.00
Suleymanov, NazimNazim Suleymanov (caretaker)	2008	1	0	0	1	00.00
Vogts, BertiBerti Vogts	2008–2014	71	15	22	34	21.13
Gurbanov, MahmudMahmud Gurbanov (caretaker)	2014	1	0	0	1	00.00
Prosinečki, RobertRobert Prosinečki	2014–	9	2	3	4	22.22

Player statistics

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for Azerbaijan, as of 26 March 2016 (players in bold are still available for selection):

Gurban Gurbanov is Azerbaijan's all-time leading goalscorer in international matches.

Ten goalscorers with most goals^[32]

Player		Period	Caps	Goals
1	Gurban Gurbanov	1992–2005	68	14
2	Vagif Javadov	2006–present	58	9
3	Rauf Aliyev	2010–present	44	7
	Branimir Subašić	2007–2013	40	7
	Elvin Mammadov	2008–present	36	7
6	Zaur Tagizade	1997–2008	40	6
7	Vidadi Rzayev	1992–2001	37	5
	Farrukh Ismayilov	1998–2007	35	5
	Nazim Suleymanov	1992–1998	24	5
10	Rashad Sadygov	2001–present	102	4

Mahir Shukurov is third of Azerbaijan's most capped players in international matches.

Ten players with most appearances^[32]

Player		Period	Caps	Goals
1	Rashad Sadygov	2001–present	102	4
2	Aslan Kerimov	1994–2008	80	1
3	Mahir Shukurov	2004–2015	76	4
4	Tarlan Ahmadov	1992–2005	74	0
5	Mahmud Gurbanov	1994–2008	72	1
6	Gurban Gurbanov	1992–2005	68	14
7	Emin Agayev	1992–2005	65	1
8	Vüqar Nadirov	2004–present	61	4
9	Kamran Aghayev	2008–present	59	0
10	Vagif Javadov	2006–present	58	9

See also

• Azerbaijan national under-21 football team
• Azerbaijan national under-20 football team
• Azerbaijan national under-19 football team
• Azerbaijan national under-18 football team
• Azerbaijan national under-17 football team
• Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan
• Azerbaijan Premier League

References

1. World Football Elo Ratings: Azerbaijan
2. "Pride in defeat on debut day". UEFA.com. 2004-02-02. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
3. "Football". Azerbaijans.az. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
4. Д. М. Векилов. Участие Азербайджанской ССР в развитии советско-иранских торгово-экономических и культурных связей в 20—30-х годах // Известия Академии наук Азербайджанской ССР. — 1986. — С. 41.
5. Azərbaycan futbolunun bir əsrlik tarixindən səhifələr
6. Ibragimov, Erkin. "History: 1992". AzeriFootball.com. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
7. Ibragimov, Erkin. "History: 1993". AzeriFootball.com. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
8. Stokkermans, Karel (2000-01-18). "European Championship 1996". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
9. Это не те немцы. И футбол они дают неправильный. azerifootball.com (in Russian). Retrieved 7 November 2013.
10. Euro 2008 homepage, UEFA
11. FIFA World Cup News and Features, UEFA
12. fifa.com: Vogts' contract extended
13. Фогтс увидел перспективу (Russian)
14. "FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking: Azerbaijan". FIFA. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
15. "Azərbaycan yığması FİFA reytinqində rekord pilləyə yüksəlib". antenn.az. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
16. "Qələbə, qisas və 1 gündə daha 2 rekord – YENİLƏNİB". apasport.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 6 September 2011.
17. "Azerbaijan beat Kazakhstan to set points record". news.az. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
18. Aliyev, Elmir. Определилась судьба Берти Фогтса в сборной Азербайджана. 1news.az (in Russian). Retrieved 30 November 2011.
19. Кто тут "карлик"?. Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 22 March 2013.
20. "Futbolumuz sürətlə inkişaf edir!!!". Fanat.az. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
21. "Russia secure point to book finals place". www.uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
22. "Vogts gets new Azerbaijan mandate". uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
23. "Vogts leaves Azerbaijan post". www.football-italia.net. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
24. "Vogts quits Azerbaijan helm". www.uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
25. Sobolev, Ilya. В Россию на заработки. Rg.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 27 August 2013.
26. "Millinin oyunları AZTV və "İdman Azərbaycan"ın əlindən alındı və kimə verildi?". rekord.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 14 August 2014.
27. "UEFA yeni qərar qəbul etdi: qurum millimizin oyunlarını AzTV-dən alıb, İTV-yə verdi". korner.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 14 August 2014.
28. "UEFA millimizin oyunlarını AzTV-dən alıb, İTV-yə verdi". apasport.az. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
29. Матч Азербайджан-Финляндия пройдет в Лянкяране (Russian)
30. Milli komandamız yenidən Lənkəran stadionunda (Azerbaijani)
31. "Azerbaijan Coach Stats". eu-football.info. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
32. "Azerbaijan NT Top Stats". eu-football.info. Retrieved 16 November 2014.

External links

• Azerbaycan Futbol Federasiyaları Assosiasiyası
• azerifootball.com (Russian)
• Archive of international results 1979–2004 from Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
• UEFA match report on the first away win
• national-football-teams
• Azerisport
• Day.az
• Complete List of teams and results