Marked for Qara Mammadov
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Mar 2027
3 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
The terraces1 Mar 2027
Supporters organise against the Inter 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.
Match1 Mar 2027
Inter are in real trouble now
Position 8, 17 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.
Match24 Feb 2027
The small margins put Inter out
Out, 2‑2 to Qarabag, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Match24 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Inter's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Inter has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Orkhan Nadirov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Inter have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Inter know it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Inter
Dimitrij Ismayilov 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Gabriel Melo in trouble away from the ground
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
59 days out for Renat Huseynov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Inter will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market11 Jan 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 The request is on a desk at Inter, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market11 Jan 2027
Inter get their man
The chase for Qara Mammadov ended with $170.0K changing hands and AZAL out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Inter have gone to Ravan with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The terraces11 Jan 2027
The town asked, and Inter paid $170.0K
Qara Mammadov was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $170.0K. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Qarabag have kept their man, and Inter go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Inter
Liam Shephard 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
A row about effort at Inter
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ruslan Ozobic was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Anton Zhuravlev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Inter will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Loan watch7 Dec 2026
“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 2 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Renat Ismayilov commits to AZAL for another 2 years.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at AZAL
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tamkin Amirguliyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 7.29. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Emin Nazarov
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Emin Nazarov has come out of that comparison in the side, and AZAL have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Kamran Abdullayev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Looking ahead7 Dec 2026
A test against the best for AZAL
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Qarabag.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Mahir Guseynov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AZAL have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at AZAL
Renat Nadirov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at AZAL
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Salman Ələsqərov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Salman Ələsqərov, and the manager let it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market16 Nov 2026
The Araz Ozobic story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Araz Ozobic signs something — a contract at AZAL or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market16 Nov 2026
AZAL shop where it costs nothing
Ryley Reynolds signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A new face in his position, and Rahid Ramazanov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. AZAL have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match3 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for AZAL
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Araz Ozobic at 20 — 7.87
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Araz Ozobic did not need any: 7.87, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
“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 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Renat Ismayilov and AZAL agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at AZAL
Orkhan Huseynov 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at AZAL training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tamkin 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Orkhan Huseynov is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Match3 Oct 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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Qara Mammadov
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The dugout
Orkhan Mammadov has become a man the manager trusts
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, 2 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.
Market28 Sep 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.
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
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A falling-out at AZAL
Orkhan Huseynov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout28 Sep 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.
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
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Kamran Abdullayev after 0‑5, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match9 Sep 2026
AZAL bow out of the cup
Sumgayit go through and AZAL go home, 3‑5 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Rahid Bayramov could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.43
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.43, 0 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Orkhan Mammadov, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.89
A mark of 7.89 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market14 Sep 2026
“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.
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.
Match9 Sep 2026
8 goals as AZAL and Sumgayit go for it
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between AZAL and Sumgayit, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market31 Aug 2026
AZAL say no — this time
The offer from Neftchi for Araz Ozobic was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad31 Aug 2026
There were 6 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.
Market31 Aug 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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
AZAL have gone to Sumgayit with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Market31 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Rahid Huseynov again, and this time the name on the line is Inter. AZAL are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match29 Aug 2026
AZAL come up short against Neftchi
Neftchi left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
AZAL asked and Santa Cruz said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Araz Ozobic 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.