The Gabala Gazette
The dugout16 Aug 2027
Murad Musayev says Gabala went back on their word
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
Rufat Ismayilov signs on for the long haul
Gabala moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Rufat Ismayilov, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Giulio Perinetto 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Abderrahmane Ndaw 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 Gabala this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market16 Aug 2027
One of our own: Shahriyar Bayramov joins the Gabala first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Shahriyar Bayramov 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
Bahlul Ozobic steps up from the Gabala academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bahlul Ozobic 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
Gabala promote Emin Mammadov from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Emin 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
Javid Mammadov steps up from the Gabala academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Javid 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 200 appearances for Jaime Sierra
- Boardroom Gabala let a promise lapse
- Player ratings Nobody on the pitch touched Turan Manafov