The Gabala Gazette
Squad16 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Roi Kehat
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Gabala lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Gabala lose Jaime Sierra
17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match14 Aug 2027
Nobody wants to play Gabala right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Gabala
Ismahil Akinade 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.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
Graduation day at Gabala
5 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
Namig Mammadov steps up from the Gabala academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Namig 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
One of our own: Rufat Garayev joins the Gabala first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Rufat Garayev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market16 Aug 2027
One of our own: Afran Mammadov joins the Gabala first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Afran Mammadov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market16 Aug 2027
Gabala promote Maksim Mammadov from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Maksim 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.
In brief
- Match Bruno Silva the difference as Gabala beat Kapaz
- Squad Nicat Əliyev falls out with a teammate over standards
- Player ratings Nothing got past Eduardo Kunde