The AZAL Courier
Market10 Aug 2026
Gabala come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and AZAL did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Andriy Shtogrin is a medical away from AZAL
The deal with Neftchi is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Maksim Nazarov signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Maksim Nazarov commits to AZAL for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tempers go at AZAL
Qara Ramazanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Maksim Nazarov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
No hiding place for Kamran Madatov
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kamran Madatov, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
A loan move for Jérémie Gnali is in the works
AZAL have made the call to Qarabag. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
Maksim Nazarov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market10 Aug 2026
AZAL put Rashad Madatov up for sale
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Rashad Madatov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
In brief
- Squad Bahlul Guseynov is not doing himself any favours
- Looking ahead AZAL travel to Khazar