Gabala FK


Gabala FK is an Azerbaijani association football club representing Qabala in the Azerbaijan Premier League since 2006. Gabala has been the runner up in the Premier League three times and has won the national cup once, in 2019.

History

The club was founded under the name of Goy Gol on 3 July 1995, based in Goy Gol. On 1 September 2005, Goy Gol was registered in Gabala by the Ministry of Justice, before the AFFA registered the team as professional on 5 September of the same year. In the summer of 2006, the team moved from Goygol to Qabala, before the club changed its name to Gilan FK. Later, the club changed its name to Qəbələ FK on August 31, 2007.
On 10 May 2010, former Arsenal defender Tony Adams was appointed as new manager after signing a £1 million per year deal with the club. In his first season in charge Gabala finished at 7th place in Azerbaijan Premier League. In November 2011, Adams resigned from being Gabala's coach due to family problems.
Despite the appointment of managers like Fatih Kavlak and Ramiz Mammadov, the club couldn't reach a satisfactory position in the league and was struggling in the middle of the table for many years. On 29 May 2013, Yuri Semin was appointed as new manager after signing a £1 million per year deal with the club. In the same year, the club qualified for European cups for the first time in their history but lost to Neftchi Baku on penalties in the final of the Azerbaijan Cup.
In the 2015–16 season of the Europa League, they became the 3rd club from Azerbaijan to qualify for the group stage after Qarabag and Neftçi Baku. They eliminated Dinamo Tbilisi, Čukarički, Apollon Limassol and surprisingly Panathinaikos. They came 4th in their tough group of Borussia Dortmund, PAOK and FC Krasnodar. They got two points both from 0–0 draws against PAOK.
Following their defeat to Keşla in the 2017–18 Azerbaijan Cup Final, Roman Hryhorchuk left Gabala after his contract was not extended. On 30 May 2018, Gabala announced that Sanan Gurbanov had been appointed as the club's new manager on a two-year contract. On 31 August 2019, Gurbanov resigned as manager following Gabala's 4–0 defeat at home to Keşla. On 2 September 2019, Elmar Bakhshiyev was appointed as Gabala's caretaker manager. On 14 October, Azer Bagirov was appointed as the clubs manager until the end of the season.

League and cup history

European history

CompetitionPldWDLGFGA
UEFA Europa League38107213655
Total38107213655

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
2014–15UEFA Europa League1Q Široki Brijeg0–20–30–5
2015–16UEFA Europa League1Q Dinamo Tbilisi2–01–23–2
2015–16UEFA Europa League2Q Čukarički2–00–12–1
2015–16UEFA Europa League3Q Apollon Limassol1–01–12–1
2015–16UEFA Europa LeaguePO Panathinaikos0–02–22–2
2015–16UEFA Europa LeagueGroup C Borussia Dortmund1–30–44th
2015–16UEFA Europa LeagueGroup C PAOK0–00–04th
2015–16UEFA Europa LeagueGroup C Krasnodar0–31–24th
2016–17UEFA Europa League1Q Samtredia5–11–26–3
2016–17UEFA Europa League2Q MTK Budapest2–02–14–1
2016–17UEFA Europa League3Q Lille1–01–12–1
2016–17UEFA Europa LeaguePO Maribor3–10–13–2
2016–17UEFA Europa LeagueGroup C Anderlecht1–31–34th
2016–17UEFA Europa LeagueGroup C Saint-Étienne1–20–14th
2016–17UEFA Europa LeagueGroup C Mainz 052–30–24th
2017–18UEFA Europa League2Q Jagiellonia Białystok1–12–03–1
2017–18UEFA Europa League3Q Panathinaikos1–20–11–3
2018–19UEFA Europa League1Q Progrès Niederkorn0–21–01–2
2019–20UEFA Europa League2Q Dinamo Tbilisi0–20–30–5

;Notes
The club's crest includes Caucasus Mountains with a black crescent and red eight-pointed star, similar to Azerbaijani flag. It also includes 2005 which signifies the club's formation year.

Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers

Gabala's traditional kit is composed of red shirts, black shorts and red socks. The club's first kit manufacturer was Erreà, until a two-year deal was agreed with Joma in 2013.
In August 2012, Gabala signed a one-year deal with the American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer Pepsi, which will replace Hyundai as the shirt sponsor from the 2013–14 season.
In September 2015, Gabala signed a one-year deal with QafqaZ Hotels and Resorts.
On 31 January 2020, Gabala announced that dairy brand Milla would be the clubs new title sponsor until the end of 2021.
YearsManufacturerSponsor
2009–2010 Adidas Hyundai
2010–2011 Lotto Hyundai
2011–2012 Erreà Hyundai
2012–2013 Erreà Pepsi
2013–2015 Joma Pepsi
2015 – 2020 Joma Qafqaz Hotels
2020 – present Joma Milla
Jale

Stadium

The club play their home matches at the Gabala City Stadium, an all-seater football stadium situated in Qabala.
As of 2007, predominantly due to UEFA requirements, the club proposed an extensive renovation of the stadium, which has since been in constant process of redevelopment. AFL Architects were appointed to design a new 15,000 capacity stadium and training facility in December 2008 after winning a limited design competition. Accommodation within the stadium will include hotel and conferencing facilities, as well as retail and corporate hospitality space, and a dramatic viewing deck at the top of the entrance tower. It is expected that the stadium was scheduled to open in 2014.

Supporters

Gabala has a large fanbase in relation to its comparative lack of success on the pitch. Gabala's fan base has fluctuated over the years with high crowds coinciding with the club's success in the Premier League so that the club now averages in the top four best home attendances in the country.

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

Club officials

The Board of Directors

Coaching staff

Medical staff

Managers

Information correct as of match played 7 March 2020. Only competitive matches are counted.
NameNat.FromToPWDLGSGA%WHonoursNotes
Faig Jabbarov20052006
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Ramiz Mammadov2006May 2010
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Tony AdamsMay 12, 2010Nov 16, 2011
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Fatih KavlakNov 18, 2011Sept 27, 2012
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Ramiz MammadovSept 24, 2012April 2, 2013
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Luis Aragon April 2013May 2013
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Yuri SeminMay 28, 2013May 23, 2014
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Dorinel MunteanuJun 16, 2014Dec 8, 2014
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Sanan Gurbanov 8 December 201421 December 2014
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Roman Hryhorchuk21 December 201429 May 2018
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Sanan Gurbanov30 May 201831 August 2019
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Elmar Bakhshiyev 2 September 2019
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is Gabala's most capped player, with 220 appearances for the club. Players in bold signifies current Gabala player.

Top goalscorers

NameYearsLeagueAzerbaijan CupEuropeTotal
1 Victor Mendy2011–2015
2 Dodô2011–2016
3 Bagaliy Dabo2016–2018
4 Filip Ozobić2016–2018
5 Javid Huseynov2014–2015, 2016–2019
6 Steeven Joseph-Monrose2017– 2019
7 Danijel Subotić2013–2014, 2017
8 Kanan Karimov2008–2010
8 Oleksiy Gai2015–2016
10 Yannick Kamanan2012–2014

Most appearances

NameYearsLeagueAzerbaijan CupEuropeTotal
1 Urfan Abbasov2011–2019
2 Dmytro Bezotosnyi2015–2019
3 Dodô2011–2016
4 Asif Mammadov2006–2007 & 2015–present
5 Vojislav Stanković2015–2019
6 Elvin Jamalov2013–2019
7 Victor Mendy2011–2015
8 Samir Zargarov2006–2009,2015–2016
9 Javid Huseynov2014–2015, 2016–2019
10 Rafael Santos2014–2017

Presidential history



Honours

  • Azerbaijan Cup
  • * Winners : 2018–19
  • Azerbaijan First Division
  • * Winners : 2005–06
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