| Full name | Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Ağ-Qaralar (White and Blacks) Neftçiler (Oil Workers) |
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| Founded | March 18, 1937 | ||
| Ground | Tofik Bakhramov Stadium, Ismat Gayibov Stadium (Capacity: 29,858 ; 5,000) |
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| President | Sadyg Sadygov | ||
| Head Coach | Boyukagha Hajiyev | ||
| League | Azerbaijan Premier League | ||
| 2010–11 | 1st | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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| Current season | |||
Neftchi 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.
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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 club, despite the prime of his career came 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]
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 Sion, Bahodir Nasimov from 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]
In November 2011, club celebrated its 1000th victory in official games and 1000th goal, which is scored by Araz Abdullayev.[17]
Neftchi managed to win the CIS Cup in 2006 after defeating FBK Kaunas in the final.[18] 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.[19][20] 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.[21]
Neftchi 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.[22] 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.[23] In 2011, Neftchi's domestic games moved to Ismat Gayibov Stadium.[24]
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.[25]
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.[25] The club's crest was changed again in 1997 as part of another attempt to modernise and to capitalise on new marketing opportunities.[25] 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.[25]
| 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 |
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.
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.[26] The most active fan groups are Neftchi's official fan club, Flaqman and ultraNeftçi.
The 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.[27][28][29]
| 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 |
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 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Boyukaga Haijiyev |
| Assistant first team coach | Tarlan Akhmedov |
| Assistant first team coach | Bakhtiyar Musayev |
| Goalkeeper coach | Nebojsa Manojlović |
| Club doctor | Boris Khatagurov |
| Assistant doctor | Rasim Gadimaliev |
| Assistant doctor | Tofig Gasimov |
| Physiotherapist | Zakir Guliyev |
| Source: Neftchi Baku PFC | |
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.
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The following managers have all won at least one trophy when in charge of Neftchi:
| Name | Period | Trophies |
|---|---|---|
| Ahmad Alaskarov | 1991–92 | Azerbaijan Premier League |
| Vagif Sadygov | 1993–95 | 2 Azerbaijan Cups |
| Kazbek Tuaev | 1996–97, 1998–99, 2003–04 | 3 Azerbaijan Premier League, 2 Azerbaijan Cups, |
| Agaselim Mirjavadov | 2004–06 | Azerbaijan Premier League, CIS Cup |
| Arif Asadov | 2010–11 | Azerbaijan Premier League |
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