- Neftchi Baku PFC
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Neftchi Baku PFC 
Full name Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu Nickname(s) Ağ-Qaralar (White and Blacks)
Neftçiler (Oil Workers)Founded March 18, 1937 Ground Tofik Bakhramov Stadium,
Ismat Gayibov Stadium
(Capacity: 29,858 ; 5,000)President 
Sadyg SadygovHead Coach Boyukagha HajiyevLeague Azerbaijan Premier League 2010–11 1st Website Club home page 
Home colours
Away colours
Current seasonNeftchi Baku PFC (Azerbaijani: Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu), also known simply as Neftchi, is an Azerbaijani football club based in the capital, Baku, that currently plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League. They are the most famous, popular and celebrated as well as the most successful Azerbaijani club with six Azerbaijan Premier League and four Azerbaijan Cup titles.
The club is one of the three teams in Azerbaijan, along with FK Qarabağ and Turan Tovuz which has participated in all Azerbaijan Premier League championships so far.
Contents
History
USSR competitions
Anatoliy Banishevskiy's 100th goal in 1974.
PFC Neftchi was founded in 1937.[1] During the years of 1937–1967, it was known as Neftyanik and it was renamed Neftchi in 1968.[2]
Neftchi played three spells in the Soviet Top League, in 1949–1950, 1960–1970, and 1977–1988, for a total of 23 years in the top division of Soviet football.[2] The club appeared in the Soviet First League, the second-highest division, from 1946–1948, 1951–1959, 1973–1976, and 1989–1991, with its top finish in 1976 as the runner-up.[2]
Neftchi's top scorer in this early era was Azerbaijani footballing legend Alekper Mamedov, who also played for FC Dynamo Moscow; Mamedov netted 51 goals in league play during the 1950s and 1960s for the Black-Whites, despite playing for the prime of his career in Moscow.[3]
Arguably, the club's greatest achievement was a 3rd place finish in the Soviet Top League in 1966, the highest finish for any Azerbaijani side in the Soviet era.[4] The 1966 squad was made up of many of the all-time great Azerbaijani footballers,[5] including forwards Anatoliy Banishevskiy (the UEFA Golden Player for Azerbaijan) and Kazbek Tuaev, midfielder Aleksandr Trophimov, and goalkeeper Sergey Kramarenko.[6] Fans and journalists in Azerbaijan commemorated the 40th anniversary of Neftchi's success in 2006.[7]
Azerbaijan Premier League
Neftchi's most successful era came in 1990s, when the club become the first Azerbaijani football club ever to win five domestic titles and four cups.[8][9]
A long period of decline followed the success of the 2005 to the end of the decade. Despite the appointment of famous names such as Gurban Gurbanov, Vlastimil Petržela, Anatoliy Demyanenko and Hans-Jürgen Gede, the club did not achieve any success and squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings.[10][11] Things changed to positive in December 2009, when the club's control was given to Sadyg Sadygov.[12] The takeover was immediately followed by a flurry of bids for high profile international players such as, Belgian international Émile Mpenza from FC Sion, Bahodir Nasimov from FC Rubin Kazan, Macedonians Igor Mitreski and Slavčo Georgievski.[13] In May 2010, under Arif Asadov's first season as Neftchi head coach, the club won its sixth championship title.[14][15] Asadov also become first person to win the league title as a coach and football player.[16]
European competitions
Neftchi managed to win the CIS Cup in 2006 after defeating FBK Kaunas in the final.[17] In European competitions, the club also have advanced to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League twice, having defeated Bosnian champions – NK Široki Brijeg – and Icelandic champions – FH Hafnarfjarðar – in 2004 and 2005 respectively.[18][19] Neftchi advanced to the third round of the 2008 Intertoto Cup, after defeating the Slovak club FC Nitra and the Belgian side K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot in the first two rounds.[20]
Stadium
Main article: Tofik Bakhramov StadiumNeftchi Baku's home games are usually played at Tofik Bakhramov Stadium in Baku. Built by German prisoners of war in 1951 and constructed in the shape of C to honour Stalin, however it was renamed after famous football referee Tofik Bakhramov in 1993 after his death.[21] The stadium also serves as the home ground of the Azerbaijan national football team and holds 30,000 making it the largest stadium in the country.[22] In 2011, Neftchi's domestic games moved to Ismat Gayibov Stadium.[23]
Crest and colours
Since the club's foundation, Neftchi have had four main crests, though all underwent minor variations. In 1949, Neftchi adopted as their first crest the image of an oil platform with Russian n letter, which obviously contributed to the Oil Workers nickname, and remained for the next 27 years.[24]
In 1977, Neftchi's crest was changed again as a ball and sunrise background elements added, which was to endure for the next two decades.[24] The club's crest was changed again in 1997 as part of another attempt to modernise and to capitalise on new marketing opportunities.[24] This was the first club badge without oil platform, as it was replaced by the national seal of the Baku. With new ownership, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the club's traditional badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2004. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2004–05 season and marks a return to the older design of the oil platform. As with previous crests, this one has appeared in traditional black and white colours.[24]
Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor 1937–1992 None None 1992–1993 Adidas ÇAPHAS 1993–1994 Dış. Tic. A.Ş. 1994–1998 RIAD 1998–2003 None 2003 Umbro Azərneftyağ 2004 BNEZ 2004–2006 Lotto SOCAR 2006–... Adidas SOCAR Neftchi's traditional kit is a was composed of black shirts, white shorts and socks of the same color. Although through the years these two have gone from alternating between white and black stripes. The club's kits are manufactured by Adidas and sponsored by SOCAR, a multinational oil and gas company which is based in the city of Baku.
Supporters
Neftchi fans during Böyük Oyun derby.Neftchi Baku is the most supported club in Azerbaijan, with 37 221 supporters organized in many fan clubs around the world, including United States, Turkey, Russia, Germany, Netherlands, and any other country with a sizeable Azerbaijani community.[25] The most active fan groups are Neftchi's official fan club, Flaqman and ultraNeftçi.
Rivalry with Khazar Lankaran
Main article: Böyük OyunThe game between Neftchi and Khazar Lankaran is one of the biggest clashes in Azerbaijan. The relationship between the two clubs has always been known for its great animosity, as the classic opposes two geographic regions – with Neftchi and Khazar Lankaran representing the north and south of Azerbaijan, respectively.[26][27][28]
Achievements
Soviet Union- Soviet Cup, Semi-Finalists: 4
- 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971[30]
Azerbaijan- Azerbaijan League Champions: 6
- 1992, 1995–96, 1996–97, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2010–11
- Azerbaijan Cup Winner: 4
- 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
Commonwealth of Independent States- CIS Cup
- Winner (1): 2006
- Runners-up (1): 2005
League and domestic cup history
Azerbaijan Premier League
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup 1992 1st 1 36 30 2 4 104 23 62 Quarter-Finals 1993 1st 5 18 11 5 2 39 11 27 Quarter-Finals 1993–94 1st 8 30 11 7 12 37 11 29 Quarter-Finals 1994–95 1st 3 24 17 4 3 67 15 38 Winner 1995–96 1st 1 20 11 6 3 42 17 39 Winner 1996–97 1st 1 30 23 5 2 98 20 74 1997–98 1st 6 26 13 4 9 43 23 43 1998–99 1st 3 26 15 7 4 57 18 52 Winner 1999–00 1st 3 22 13 4 5 35 17 43 Semi-Finals 2000–01 1st 2 20 16 3 1 57 11 51 Runners-Up 2001–02 1st 3 22 13 5 4 34 7 44 2003–04 1st 1 26 22 3 1 66 15 69 Winners 2004–05 1st 1 34 24 6 4 52 18 78 Quarter-Finals 2005–06 1st 3 26 15 9 2 51 16 54 Semi-Finals 2006–07 1st 2 24 17 3 4 47 15 44 Semi-Finals 2007–08 1st 3 26 16 7 3 42 18 55 Semi-Finals 2008–09 1st 8 26 9 9 8 30 21 36 Quarter-Finals 2009–10 1st 5 42 13 19 10 31 26 58 Quarter-Finals 2010–11 1st 1 32 19 10 3 53 17 67 Quarter-Finals UEFA club competition results
As of July 20, 2011.
Season Competition Round Club Home Away UEFA Champions League 12 4 2 6 7 23 UEFA Cup 10 3 1 6 9 19 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 2 0 1 1 0 3 UEFA Intertoto Cup 6 3 1 2 7 7 Total 30 10 5 15 23 52 Season Competition Round Club Home Away 1995/96 UEFA Cup Winners Cup 1Q 
APOEL 0–0 0–3 1996/97 UEFA Cup 1Q 
Lokomotiv Sofia 2–1 0–6 1997/98 UEFA Champions League 1Q 
Widzew Łódź 0–2 0–8 1999/00 UEFA Cup 1Q 
Crvena Zvezda 2–3 0–1 2000/01 UEFA Cup 1Q 
Hit Gorica 1–0 1–3 2001/02 UEFA Cup 1Q Hit Gorica 0–0 0–1 2004/05 UEFA Champions League 1Q 
Široki Brijeg 1–0 1–2 2Q 
CSKA Moscow 0–0 0–2 2005/06 UEFA Champions League 1Q 
Hafnarfjarðar 2–0 2–1 2Q 
Anderlecht 1–0 0–5 2007/08 UEFA Cup 1Q 
Ried 2–1 1–3 2008/09 UEFA Intertoto Cup 1R 
Nitra 2–0 1–3 2R Germinal 1–0 1–1 3R 
Vaslui 2–1 0–2 2011/12 UEFA Champions League 2Q 
Dinamo Zagreb 0–0 0–3 Current squad
- As of 26 October 2011
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
No. Position Player 1 GK Rauf Mehdiyev 2 DF Rail Malikov (captain) 3 
MF Denis Silva 4 DF Tarlan Guliyev 5 
DF Igor Mitreski 6 MF Slavčo Georgievski 7 MF Rodriguinho 9 MF Flavinho 10 FW Émile Mpenza 11 FW Javid Huseynov 12 GK Elchin Sadygov 14 
FW Bahodir Nasimov 15 DF Ruslan Abishov 16 MF Alessandro 17 MF Araz Abdullayev No. Position Player 18 DF Ruslan Amirjanov 19 MF Mirhuseyn Seyidov 20 MF Elvin Musazade 21 FW Aghabala Ramazanov 22 FW Farid Guliev 23 DF Elton Yagublu 25 MF Javid Imamverdiyev 26 DF Karim Diniyev 27 MF Rashad Abdullayev 28 FW Emin Mehdiyev 29 FW Ilham Allahverdiyev 30 GK Saša Stamenković 32 DF Elvin Yunuszade - DF Tural Narimanov Coaching staff
Position Staff Manager Boyukaga HaijiyevAssistant first team coach Tarlan AkhmedovAssistant first team coach Bakhtiyar MusayevGoalkeeper coach Nebojsa ManojlovićClub doctor Boris KhatagurovAssistant doctor Rasim GadimalievAssistant doctor Tofig GasimovPhysiotherapist Zakir GuliyevSource: Neftchi Baku PFC Presidential history
Neftchi has had numerous presidents over the course of its history, some of whom have been owners of the club while others have been honorary presidents. In 1988, Neftchi had registered as a professional football club and club since then had 6 presidents.
Name Years Aydin Ibrahimov 1988–97 Agil Pashayev 1997–01 Ramiz Mirzoev 2001–03 Rovnag Abdullayev 2004–08 Akper Hajiyev 2008–10 Sadyg Sadygov 2010– Notable former players
- Azerbaijan
- Tarlan Ahmadov
- Ruslan Abishov
- Emin Guliyev
- Amit Guluzade
- Gurban Gurbanov
- Mahmud Gurbanov
- Vali Gasimov
- Aftandil Hajiyev
- Aslan Kerimov
- Dmitriy Kramarenko
- Vidadi Rzayev
- Rashad Sadygov
- Zaur Tagizade
- Estonia
- Georgia
- Moldova
Vadim Borets
- Serbia
- Turkmenistan
- Soviet era
- Asgar Abdullayev
- Mashallah Ahmedov
- Anatoliy Banishevskiy
- Vladimir Brukhti
- Vyacheslav Chanov
- Adamas Golodets
- Samad Gurbanov
- Iskender Javadov
- Sergey Kramarenko
- Alakbar Mammadov
- Yuri Romensky
- Igor Ponomaryov
- Nazim Suleymanov
- Vitaliy Shevchenko
- Samedaga Shikhlarov
- Kazbek Tuaev
- Aleksandr Trophimov
- Aleksandr Zhidkov
Notable managers
For more details on this topic, see List of Neftchi Baku PFC managers.The following managers have all won at least one trophy when in charge of Neftchi:
Name Period Trophies Ahmad Alaskarov1991–92 Azerbaijan Premier League Vagif Sadygov1993–95 2 Azerbaijan Cups Kazbek Tuaev1996–97, 1998–99, 2003–04 3 Azerbaijan Premier League, 2 Azerbaijan Cups, Agaselim Mirjavadov2004–06 Azerbaijan Premier League, CIS Cup Arif Asadov2010–11 Azerbaijan Premier League References
- ^ "PFC Neftchi". footballdatabase.com. http://footballdatabase.com/index.php?page=club&Id=598&cont=&cln=PFC_Neftchi. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ a b c d "Neftchi (Baki)". KLISF (Club for History and Statistics of Amateur Football). 2006. http://www.klisf.info/numeric/index.app?cmd=comm&lang=en&id=562764465655344433792626573735. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Mamedov Alekper Amirovich". KLISF (Club for History and Statistics of Amateur Football). 2006. http://www.klisf.info/numeric/index.app?cmd=ln&lang=en&id=162549673503265. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
- ^ Ibragimov, Erkin (2006-11-04). "FOOTBALL EUROPE: Gurbanov now nifty at Neftchi". noticias.info. http://www.noticias.info/archivo/2006/200611/20061104/20061104_237489.shtm. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "Neftyanick (Baki) 1966". KLISF (Club for History and Statistics of Amateur Football). 2006. http://www.klisf.info/numeric/index.app?cmd=comm_tst&lang=en&id=158668506614934616109891301087. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ Ibragimov, Erkin (2004-02-02). "Neftchi's season in the sun". uefa.com. http://www.uefa.com/uefa/history/associationweeks/association=57154/newsid=138630.html. Retrieved 2008-07-07.[dead link]
- ^ Kyazimzade, Akshin (2006-12-01). "Бронза, старей, увы, тускнеет (Bronze, the oldest, alas, it grows dim)" (in Russian). Career Master. http://careermaster.biz/?page=show_journal&journal_id=1&id=20. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ ""Нефтчи" впервые за шесть лет стал чемпионом Азербайджана" (in Russian). Championat.ru. http://www.championat.com/football/news-800742.html?rucom=1. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ "История азербайджанского футбола. Время позора, успеха и денег" (in Russian). Azerisport.com. http://www.azerisport.com/articles.php?item_id=20110606051352174&sec_id=2. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ^ Aliyev, Elmir. "Вице-президент «Нефтчи»: «Ханс-Юрген Геде хотел нас “кинуть”»". Day.az. http://www.day.az/news/football/149784.html. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ Fataliyev, Rustam. "Нефтчи" снова остался без главного тренера". Zerkalo.az. http://www.zerkalo.az/2010-02-23/sports/7289-Chempionat-azerbaidzhana-futbol.
- ^ "У флагмана новый президент". Zerkalo.az. http://www.zerkalo.az/2009-12-25/sports/5699-sadihsadihov-neftchi. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
- ^ "Sabah futbol üzrə Azərbaycan milli çempionatı başlayır". http://deyerler.org/63043-sabah-futbol-uzre-azerbaycan-milli-cempionati-baslayir.html. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
- ^ Ibrahimov, Erkin. "Neftçi take title honours in Azerbaijan". UEFA. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=aze/news/newsid=1625862.html. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
- ^ "Neftchi are Azerbaijani champions". News.az. http://news.az/articles/sports/35430.
- ^ "Arif Əsədov Azərbaycan futbolu tarixinə düşdü". http://apasport.az/xeber_Arif_%C6%8Fs%C9%99dov_Az%C9%99rbaycan_futbolu_tarixin%C9%99_d%C3%BC%C5%9Fd%C3%BC_45721.html. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ "Скандал на Кубке Содружества: чемпионы Армении отказались играть с азербайджанцами (Scandal at the CIS Cup: The champions of Armenia refused to play the Azerbaijanis)" (in Russian). NewsRU.com. 2006-01-19. http://www.newsru.com/sport/19jan2006/scandal.html. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
- ^ "UEFA Champions League History Season 2004 First Round". uefa.com. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/history/season=2004/round=1965/index.html. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "UEFA Champions League History Season 2005 First Round". uefa.com. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/history/season=2005/round=2198/index.html. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "Football Europe: PFC Neftçi in the Intertoto Cup 2008". uefa.com. http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/club=59890/competition=16/index.html. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
- ^ Наш соперник: сборная Азербайджана (Russian)
- ^ В столице Азербайджана будет построен 60-тысячный стадион (Russian)
- ^ Sadıq Sadıqov: “Araz yüz faiz "Everton"un düşərgəsinə gedəcək. Amma...”, derbi.az, April 7, 2011
- ^ a b c d “Neftçi”nin loqosu (Azerbaijani)
- ^ Neftchi's FanFanklub (Azerbaijani)
- ^ Раиль МЕЛИКОВ: «Это главное дерби Азербайджана и его невозможно сравнить с другим матчем»(Russian)
- ^ “XƏZƏR-LƏNKƏRAN”-"NEFTÇİ" DERBİSİ İTV-dən YAYIMLANACAQ (Azerbaijani)
- ^ pfl.az:50 saat qalmış(Azerbaijani)
- ^ Smirnova, Oxana. "Football in USSR". russianfootball.com. http://www.hep.lu.se/staff/smirnova//USSR.html. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ Terekhov, Alexey, et al.. "Football: Men: Soviet Union: Cup". Sports123.com. http://sports123.com/foo/msovc.html. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
External links
- Official website
- Neftchi at AFFA.AZ
- Neftchi at UEFA.COM
- Neftchi at EUFO.DE
- Neftchi at Weltfussball.de
- Neftchi at Playerhistory.com
- Neftchi at Transfermarkt.de
- Neftchi at National Football Teams.com
- Neftchi at Football-Lineups.com
- Club info on Soccerway.com
2011–12 UEFA Champions League Currently playing in the
group stageGroup A: Bayern Munich · Manchester City · Napoli · Villarreal
Group B: CSKA Moscow · Internazionale · Lille · Trabzonspor
Group C: Basel · Benfica · Manchester United · Oțelul Galați
Group D: Ajax · Dinamo Zagreb · Lyon · Real Madrid
Group E: Bayer Leverkusen · Chelsea · Genk · Valencia
Group F: Arsenal · Borussia Dortmund · Marseille · Olympiacos
Group G: APOEL · Porto · Shakhtar Donetsk · Zenit St. Petersburg
Group H: BATE Borisov · Barcelona · Milan · Viktoria PlzeňEliminated in the
play-off roundChampions: Copenhagen · Maccabi Haifa · Malmö FF · Sturm Graz · Wisła Kraków
Non-champions: Odense · Rubin Kazan · Twente · Udinese · ZürichEliminated in the
third qualifying roundChampions: Ekranas · HJK Helsinki · Litex Lovech · Maribor · Partizan · Rangers · Rosenborg · Shamrock Rovers · Slovan Bratislava · Zestafoni
Non-champions: Dynamo Kyiv · Panathinaikos · Standard Liège · VasluiEliminated in the
second qualifying roundBangor City · Breiðablik · Borac Banja Luka · Dacia Chişinău · F91 Dudelange · HB Tórshavn · Linfield · Mogren · Neftchi Baku · Pyunik · Skënderbeu Korçë · Škendija · Skonto · Tobol Kostanay · Valletta · VideotonEliminated in the
first qualifying roundFC Santa Coloma · Tre FioriRound and draw dates · Qualifying phase and play-off round · Group stage · Knockout phase · FinalAzerbaijan Premier League · 2011–12 AZAL · Baku · Gabala · Inter Baku · Kəpəz · Khazar Lankaran · Neftchi Baku · Qarabağ · Ravan · Simurq · Sumgayit · Turan TovuzSummer 2011 transfers · Winter 2012 transfers · Foreign playersCategories:- Azerbaijani football clubs
- Association football clubs established in 1937
- Sport in Baku
- Neftchi Baku PFC
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