Marked for Bahlul Ismayilov
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Aug 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mahir Nazarov is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Lechia, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A row about effort at AZAL
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Qara Garayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Tempers go at AZAL
Stanislav Anokhin 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Chriso can feel the drop
The table is being checked before the results are in, which is always the tell. Nobody at AZAL says the word and every senior player in the building is thinking it.
Market9 Aug 2027
The name of Afran Jafarov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. AZAL say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Bahlul Ismayilov has written the date down.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 May 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at AZAL, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout31 May 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad31 May 2027
Caio César in a row with a teammate
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.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at AZAL
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Qara Garayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad31 May 2027
42 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout31 May 2027
Rufat Garayev is still paying for one afternoon at AZAL
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Squad31 May 2027
5 new faces, and AZAL are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout31 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout31 May 2027
Zico Asare knocks on the manager's door
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 May 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AZAL will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market17 May 2027
“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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at AZAL
Liam Shephard 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.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at AZAL
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chriso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch17 May 2027
“I watch every AZAL game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sumgayit runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout17 May 2027
Rufat Garayev 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market3 May 2027
“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.
The dugout3 May 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad3 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Caio César and AZAL agree another 2 years.
Squad3 May 2027
71 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad3 May 2027
Qara Garayev 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 dugout3 May 2027
Rufat Garayev is still paying for one afternoon at AZAL
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout3 May 2027
Caio César 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.
Market3 May 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. AZAL know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Apr 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. AZAL will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market19 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Tempers go at AZAL
Caio César 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Chriso 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.
Loan watch19 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at AZAL, and 10 appearances in 34 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bahlul Ismayilov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. AZAL will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The terraces29 Mar 2027
Supporters organise against the AZAL board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at AZAL
Liam Shephard 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Rufat Garayev
“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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Liam Shephard 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.
Market29 Mar 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. AZAL know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Mar 2027
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AZAL lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match15 Mar 2027
AZAL sink to position 10
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Jacopo Busi breaks a bone — 36 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Chriso 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A falling-out at AZAL
Stanislav Anokhin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Elvin Camalov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Elvin Camalov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
The knee: Caio César out for 20 days
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AZAL lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AZAL can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at AZAL
Caio César and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Chriso 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.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
AZAL asked and Neftchi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at AZAL can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Market11 Jan 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Rufat Garayev is still paying for one afternoon at AZAL
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
A loan move for Samuel Lobato 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Marcus Uberaba arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Marcus Uberaba has, at AZAL, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at AZAL
Caio César and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Qara Garayev 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.
Market16 Nov 2026
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jacopo Busi and AZAL agree another 3 years.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. AZAL told Shahriyar Nazarov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Neftchi in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Anderson Pico knocks on the manager's door
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ruslan Medvedev
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AZAL lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match17 Oct 2026
No end in sight to AZAL's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at AZAL has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Oct 2026
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at AZAL
Caio César and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at AZAL training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chriso 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
AZAL are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match17 Oct 2026
A bad afternoon for AZAL against Sumgayit
0‑2 to Sumgayit, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Mahir Abdullayev after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Caio César'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
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
Nowhere to hide for AZAL
0‑5 against Qarabag, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match28 Sep 2026
AZAL are in real trouble now
Position 10, 1 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to AZAL's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at AZAL has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Caio César in a row with a teammate
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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Chriso 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Liam Shephard
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The formation has left Caio César behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. AZAL will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
Inquest at AZAL
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑5, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Sep 2026
The cup run ends for AZAL
0‑1 against Sumgayit, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad14 Sep 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to AZAL's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at AZAL has to find a result from somewhere.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Market14 Sep 2026
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Sumgayit moved on, Samir Huseynov reports back to AZAL, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at AZAL
Liam Shephard 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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match12 Sep 2026
AZAL caught on 90 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Kapaz scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 7.86. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.