Marked for Afran Mammadov
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at AZAL, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.98 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at AZAL
Agil Amirguliyev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Joni Montiel left out for the big one
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Joni Montiel will call it something else in private.
Match28 Nov 2026
Honours even between AZAL and Ravan
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Afran Ramazanov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the AZAL dressing room was either.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AZAL, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at AZAL training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rahid Amirguliyev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Oct 2026
Chastening afternoon for AZAL
A 0‑3 beating by Neftchi was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match31 Oct 2026
No clean sheets in sight for AZAL
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Afran Mammadov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AZAL this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Nobody left the AZAL dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Afran Ramazanov to a room that had heard them before.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Kamran Garayev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market17 Aug 2026
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Afran Ismayilov had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Match15 Aug 2026
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Afran Mammadov scored in the 85th minute, Khazar had already begun thinking about the journey home, and AZAL took the lot.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Gabala, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The offer went to Ravan this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at AZAL
Richard Dadashov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Graduation day at AZAL
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Araz Guseynov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bahlul Guseynov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rahid Sadygov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.