Qarabağ FK

Early years (1951–1991)

The club was founded in 1951 as Qarabağ after the Aghdam city stadium was built; there then began a serious effort towards the creation of a professional football team. Consequently, FK Qarabağ, then playing under the name of Mehsul took part in the 1966 Azerbaijani championship. In that year the club reached 4th place in the local championship.

Qarabağ participated in the local championship for four consecutive years during which second place was their best result (achieved in 1968). However, after 1968 owing to carelessness and lack of financial support the team withdrew from the championships for almost ten years. In 1977, the team was reborn under name Shafaq. In 1982 Shafaq was the only representative of Aghdam in football. Between the periods of 1982–87 the squad used the name "Cooperative society". In 1988, Qarabağ won the champions title in the Azerbaijan SSR local championship under its current name.

Effects of war and financial struggles (1991–2008)

In 1993, during the Nagorno-Karabakh war, the city of Aghdam came under Armenian control, and the team had to move from Imarat Stadium to Baku, while the head coach of the team, Allahverdi Bagirov, died in the war. Financial problems plagued the club during the period from 1998 to 2001 and the club went through hard times although it became the first Azerbaijani team to win away from home in a European competition by defeating the Israeli side Maccabi Haifa 2–1 in the 1999 UEFA Intertoto Cup thanks to a double strike from club legend Mushfig Huseynov. Qarabağ has also represented Azerbaijan in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA cup many times.

These problems were alleviated in 2001, when one of the largest holding companies of Azerbaijan, Azersun Holding, starting sponsoring the team. The squad used the name of Qarabag-Azersun for two seasons, but then returned its original name in 2004.

Gurban Gurbanov era (2008–present)

In 2008, former Azerbaijani football star Gurban Gurbanov was appointed as head coach after the unexpected departure of Rasim Kara to Khazar Lankaran one week before the start of the 2008–09 season. Led by Gurban Gurbanov, Qarabağ have ignored a common strategy in Azerbaijani football: eschewing foreign signings in favour of nurturing local talent. Gurbanov brought with him a tiki-taka style of play, characterised by short passes, long periods of build-up and players interchanging positions.

Under Gurbanov, Qarabağ has become one of the most successful Azerbaijani football clubs in Europe (with three consecutive wins) and one which reached the UEFA Europa League play off-round by beating Rosenborg in the UEFA Europa League, and also eliminated Honka of Finland. The achievements in European competitions marked Gurban Gurbanov as among the most successful Azerbaijani managers ever.

In 2010, the club set an Azerbaijani record for the most significant win in a European competition by beating Metalurg Skopje 4–1 in Baku and knocking out Wisła Kraków to reach the play-offs for the second year in succession. In 2011, club duplicated the same record by beating Banga Gargždai 4–0 in Gargždai. 2011–12 season ended in disappointing style for Qarabağ as they finished in fourth place, leaving the club without European competition. In 2013, Qarabağ reached UEFA Europa League play off-round for third time in their history.

In May 2014, Qarabağ earned its second league title after 21 years. A month later, by beating Red Bull Salzburg, the club became first Azerbaijani side to win in the third round of UEFA Champions League. In August 2014, the club reached Europa League play off round for the fourth time in last five seasons. In 2014, Qarabağ qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage, being the second Azerbaijani team to advance to this stage in a European competition. On 23 October 2014, after defeating 1–0 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, the team became the first Azerbaijani club to win a Europa League's group stage game.

Crest and colours

The crest on the club emblem is the symbol of the Karabakh. It is produced by English designers and based on the Karabakh horse. The horse stems from the club's nickname The Horsemen; although it was included on club programmes and scarves earlier, the crest was not displayed on the shirt until 2004. After Gurban Gurbanov's appointment, Qarabağ's attractive style of play led fans to call the team Qafqazın Barselonası (Barcelona of The Caucasus), which plays upon FC Barcelona's success in Europe. The club is sometimes called Qaçqın Klub (The Refugee Club) after its conservative position on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and refugee problem in Azerbaijan.

Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers

Qarabağ's traditional kit alludes to the club's location in Nagorno-Karabakh with the black and white representing light and darkness respectively. The club's kits are manufactured by Adidas and sponsored by Azersun, a food producing company from Baku.

Stadium

Qarabağ plays home matches at Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in Baku, which has a capacity of 31,200 fans. The stadium is also used for the Azerbaijan national football team's matches.

The club have previously used Guzanli Olympic Stadium, which is situated in Quzanlı, the most populous municipality in the Agdam Rayon of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan. The Imarat Stadium which was club's original home stadium was destroyed as a result of artillery attacks from Armenian military forces during the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

In 2012, the construction of a new football stadium was announced. The Karabakh Stadium is expected to be completed in 2015.

The record attendance for Qarabağ occurred July 30, 2014, in a 2014–15 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round match attended by 32,000 fans against FC Red Bull Salzburg which ended with a 2–1 win for the Qarabağ.

Supporters

Although a large part of Qarabağ's support is drawn from the local Aghdam population, they remain immensely well supported in the rest of Azerbaijan. This is mainly due to their being the only team to represent war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh region in the league. The club is a sole remnant of the past and a living symbol of hope and pride for over half a million Azerbaijani internally displaced people. In recent years, thanks to achievements on the pitch, the club has been able to inspire and initiate special youth projects enforcing stability and development in the IDP-settlements near the border of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The club have few supporting groups such as Imarat and UltraAslan. These groups often receive free tickets to Qarabağ's games, which helps Karabakh to have more support from fans.

European record

The following is a list of the all-time statistics from Qarabağ's games in the four UEFA tournaments it has participated in, as well as the overall total. The list contains the tournament, the number of games played (P), won (W), drawn (D) and lost (L). The number of goals scored (GF), goals against (GA), goal difference (GD) and the percentage of matches won (Win%). The statistics include qualification matches and is up to date as of the 2016–17 season. The statistics also include goals scored during extra time where applicable; in these games, the result given is the result at the end of extra time.

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 26 January 2017

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

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.

Reserve team squad

As of 14 October 2016.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 21 November 2014 (players in bold signifies current Qarabağ player). Mushfig Huseynov is the club's all-time most capped player and top scorer with 125 goals in 320 games.

Notable managers

Information correct as of match played 25 May 2016. Only competitive matches are counted.

Honours

As of 22 May 2015, Qarabağ has won three Azerbaijan Premier League titles, the Azerbaijan Cup once and one Azerbaijan Supercup trophy. The club is the first non-Baku based club to have won the Azerbaijan Premier League title. Qarabağ is one of the two teams in Azerbaijan, along with Neftchi Baku which has participated in all Azerbaijan Premier League championships so far.

Azerbaijan League

Winners (4): 1993, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16

Azerbaijan Cup

Winners (5): 1993, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2014–15, 2015–16

Azerbaijan Supercup

Winners (1): 1994

In popular culture

Qarabağ featured on football simulation game Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 and 2016.