The AZAL Courier
Squad17 Aug 2026
A fracture rules Qara Nazarov out for 98 days
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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Chastening afternoon for AZAL
A 1‑4 beating by Khazar was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market17 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at AZAL
Afran Jafarov 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.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Graduation day at AZAL
4 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Rahid Nadirov 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
AZAL promote Agil Huseynov from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Agil Huseynov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market17 Aug 2026
Rufat Ramazanov steps up from the AZAL academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rufat Ramazanov 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
Rashad Mammadov steps up from the AZAL academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rashad Mammadov 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.
In brief
- Squad Qara Nazarov gets it from the manager
- Boardroom Nobody left the AZAL dressing room in a hurry
- Player ratings Rahid Nadirov runs at them all day