The Zira Herald
Market17 Aug 2026
Zira say no — this time
The offer from Neftchi for Guima 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.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Zira
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Zira training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Qismət Alıyev 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Zira
Ruan Renato 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
Zira promote Orkhan Mammadov from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Orkhan Mammadov 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
One of our own: Mahir Medvedev joins the Zira first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mahir Medvedev 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
One of our own: Qara Abdullayev joins the Zira first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Qara Abdullayev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Match15 Aug 2026
Zira get the job done against Neftchi
A 1‑0 win over Neftchi, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
One of those days for Eldar Kuliev
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.36, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
In brief
- Squad The manager makes an example of Ange Mutsinzi
- Squad Andrés Molinas has outgrown this division
- Player ratings A defender's afternoon for Issa Djibrilla