Kapaz PFK

Kapaz PFK
Full name Kapaz Professional Football Club
Nickname(s) Dağlılar (Mountaineers)
Founded 1959 as Toxucu (Reformed in 2009)
Ground Ganja City Stadium, Ganja, Azerbaijan
Capacity 25.000
President Mehman Allahverdiyev
Manager Vidadi Rzayev
League Azerbaijan First Division
2013–14 13th

Kapaz PFK (Azerbaijani: Kəpəz Peşəkar Futbol Klubu), also known as Kəpəz PFC, is an Azerbaijani football club based in Ganja, that currently plays in the Azerbaijan First Division.

The club is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Azerbaijan's football history with three Azerbaijan Premier League and four Azerbaijan Cup titles.

History

Soviet era (1959–1991)

Kapaz PFC was founded in 1959 as Toxucu and played in the Soviet First League. However, team promoted to Soviet Top League in 1968 after gaining first place in Soviet First League in previous season.[1] The club also carried Taraggi and Toxucu names during its history, however became famous in modern period as Kapaz when renamed in 1982.[2][3]

Post-Soviet era (1993-1999)

In 1991, club once again renamed to Kapaz after Azerbaijan's independence from Soviet Union and won Azerbaijan Premier League titles three times.[4] In 1997, Kapaz were known for their unbeaten run as club's final record for the 1997–1998 league campaign stood at 22 wins, 4 draws and 0 losses, out of 26 games total, an unbeaten run not matched in any single season by any team in an Azerbaijani league division.[5]

Financial struggles (2002-present)

Kapaz, one of the most prominent football clubs in Azerbaijan, entered financial difficulties during the late 2000s. Since 2002, club found themselves slipping further and further down the table, which influenced by financial difficulties.[6][7] The financial collapse of Kapaz resulted in a great deal of discussion within Azerbaijani football.[8] Major Azerbaijani companies, reportedly "concerned at the current uncertainty about the club's future and its backers" declined to provide Kapaz with the corporate banking facilities it needed.[9][10]

In 2005, club's new owners decided to rename club into Ganja despite facing criticism from club's fans.[11][12] In 2007, the club was excluded due to financial struggles from Azerbaijan Premier League. However, after AFFA's and local community's help, the club participated in Azerbaijan First Division 2009-10.[13][14] In 2010 they became champions of Azerbaijan First Division 2009-10 finishing the season with 47 points and promoted to Azerbaijan Premier League.[14] In 2011, it was decided that club's name will be changed to its old name Kapaz PFC.[15][16]

In April 2013, Kapaz were relegated to the Azerbaijan First Division, by ending in 12th position in Azerbaijan Premier League, the club's lowest ever league finish.[17][18] The club's financial situation didn't improve, which caused a lot of players to leave the club.[19]

Supporters

The club have one of the biggest number of supporters population alongside Neftchi Baku and Khazar Lankaran in Azerbaijan.[20] The fanbase is large and generally loyal and like most major Azerbaijani football clubs, Kapaz have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Khamsa Supporters Club, which works closely with the club and maintains a more independent line.[21][22] The club's most popular celebrity supporters are the likes of Olympic wrestling champion Toghrul Asgarov.[23]

League and domestic cup history

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Domestic Cup
1992 1st 5 36 23 8 5 98 29 54 1/8 Finals
1993 1st 4 18 13 4 1 48 13 30 First Round
1993–94 1st 3 30 20 7 3 74 25 47 Winners
1994–95 1st 1 24 19 4 1 71 19 42 Semi-Finals
1995–96 1st 3 20 9 5 6 34 21 32 Quarter-Finals
1996–97 1st 5 30 18 4 8 59 26 58 Winners
1997–98 1st 1 26 22 4 0 67 10 70 Winners
1998–99 1st 1 36 26 5 5 94 24 83 Quarter-Finals
1999-00 1st 2 22 14 2 6 46 24 44 Winners
2000–01 1st 8 20 8 1 11 34 29 25 Quarter-Finals
2001–02 1st 5 32 14 5 13 51 50 47 Semi-Finals
2003–04 1st 11 26 6 5 15 22 45 23 Quarter-Finals
2004–05 1st 9 34 11 9 14 37 37 42 1/8 Finals
2005–06 1st 10 26 7 7 12 35 46 28 1/8 Finals
2009–10 2nd 1 22 4 5 3 51 15 47 1/8 Finals
2010–11 1st 9 32 8 12 12 33 37 36 1/8 Finals
2011–12 1st 10 32 9 5 18 35 55 32 Quarter-Finals
2012–13 1st 12 32 5 4 23 22 64 19 1/8 Finals
2013–14 2nd 13 30 7 4 19 29 37 25 Second Round
2014–15 2nd Did not enter

UEFA club competition results

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
1995/96 UEFA Cup 1 Austria Austria Wien 0–4 1–5 1–9
1997/98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1 Latvia Dinaburg Daugavpils 0–1 0–1 0–2
1998/99 UEFA Champions League 1 Poland LKS Lodz 1–3 1–4 2–7
1999/00 UEFA Champions League 1 Republic of Macedonia Sloga Jugomagnat 2–1 0–1 2–2
2000/01 UEFA Cup 1 Turkey Antalyaspor 0–2 0–5 0–7

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 17 September 2013

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

No. Position Player
-- Azerbaijan GK Tariyel Huseynov
-- Azerbaijan DF Ilkin Verdiyev(Shia)
-- Azerbaijan DF Vugar Ibrahimov
-- Azerbaijan DF Atin Abdullayev
-- Azerbaijan DF Nijat Mammadov
-- Azerbaijan MF Kamran Babayev
-- Azerbaijan MF Intigam Salmanov
-- Azerbaijan FW Ravil Muslumov
-- Azerbaijan MF Shikar Abbasov
-- Azerbaijan FW Rahman Allahverdiyev
-- Azerbaijan FW Elchin Saidov
-- Azerbaijan FW Elkhan Azizov
-- Azerbaijan FW Mehdi Mehdiyev
No. Position Player
-- Azerbaijan FW Gafar Gafarov
-- Azerbaijan FW Araz Mansurov
-- Azerbaijan MF Sharif Hasanov
-- Azerbaijan MF Shahriyar Ahmadli
-- Azerbaijan GK Ramil Karimov
-- Azerbaijan DF Ali Ismayilov
-- Azerbaijan DF Azad Azimli
-- Azerbaijan DF Vusal Hasanov
-- Azerbaijan DF Elmin Alizadeh
-- Azerbaijan DF Tural Hajiyev
-- Azerbaijan MF Parvin Pashayev
-- Azerbaijan MF Zaur Asadov

Managers

Managers in Soviet League

Managers in modern history

Honours

Winners (3): 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99
Winners (4): 1993–94, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00
Winners (1): 2009–10

Regional

Winners (1): 1967

References

  1. ↑ "Кяпаз Гянджа on Wildstat.ru" (in Russian). wildstat.ru. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  2. ↑ Полностью сформировался состав вновь возвратившегося в футбол азербайджанского клуба "Гянджа" (Russian)
  3. ↑ "Azerbaycan çempionatlarının rekordçusu "KEPEZ"in möhteşem tarixi." (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Футбольный клуб "Кяпяз" предпочел называться "Гянджой"". Day.az. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  5. ↑ "Годы независимости. Успехи Нефтчи, Кяпаза, Шамкира, и французский позор". Azerisport.com. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
  6. ↑ "Mehman Allahverdiyev: "İsgəndər Cavadov Gəncəyə lazım deyil"". xemsefans.com (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Gəncə futbol ictimaiyyəti İsgəndər Cavadova qarşı çıxdı! (BƏYANAT)". Sportinfo.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  8. ↑ Четыре причины, по которым Кяпаз не возродился. Day.az (in Russian).
  9. ↑ Товуз и Гянджа – две потери азербайджанского футбола. Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  10. ↑ Fataliyev, Rustam. "Почему в Гяндже "умер" футбол?". Zerkalo.az. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  11. ↑ ""Gəncə", yoxsa "Kəpəz"?" (in Azerbaijani). futbol plus newspaper. Retrieved 4 August 2010. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  12. ↑ "Мехман Аллахвердиев: "Все достижения гянджинцев связаны с именем именно этой команды – "Кяпаз"". sport24.az. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  13. ↑ "Футбольный клуб "Гянджа" вновь будет участвовать в чемпионате Азербайджана". Day.az. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 “Gəncə”nin növbəti mövsüm I divizionda çıxış etməsi dəqiqləşdi (Azerbaijani)
  15. ↑ "Гянджа сменила название". Azerisport.com. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  16. ↑ "Gəncə klublarının adı dəyişdirildi". Retrieved 31 May 2011.
  17. ↑ Четыре причины, по которым Кяпаз не возродился. Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  18. ↑ "10 по 4". Azerifootball.com (in Russian). Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  19. ↑ ""Kəpəz" BİABIRÇI durumda: futbolçular yuyunmağa su, yeməyə çörək tapmırlar". rekord.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  20. ↑ Ali, Ulvi. "Gəncənin ənənəsi, Lənkəranın çılğın azarkeşi var (ARAŞDIRMA)". penalti.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  21. ↑ ""Xəmsə" rəhbərindən ŞOK ittihamlar". Apasport.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  22. ↑ "Xəmsə" fan-klubu: "İskəndər Cavadovu kuratorluqdan azad edin!"". Korner.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  23. ↑ "Toğrul Əsgərov azarkeşlik etdiyi klubumuzun adını açıqladı". awf-az.org (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 3 September 2013.

External links