500th victory

Gurban Gurbanov records his 500th coaching victory

Head coach Gurban Gurbanov has reached the milestone of 500 victories in his managerial career. The jubilee coincided with Matchday 7 of the UEFA Champions League League Phase.

The Azerbaijani champions defeated Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany) 3:2 at home. This marked Qarabag’s 471st victory under Gurbanov’s leadership. The specialist has also recorded 25 wins with Neftchi and 4 victories while in charge of the Azerbaijan national team. Of his 496 club-level wins, 364 were achieved in the Premier League, 54 in the national cup and 78 in European competitions. Gurbanov’s 500th victory came in the 857th match of his coaching career. His teams have won 58.34 percent of the matches they have played.

It should be noted that Gurbanov earned his first victory as a head coach in the 2006/07 season while in charge of Neftchi. On August 6, 2006, the Baku-based club recorded a convincing 6:1 home win over Genclerbirliyi.

150th goal in the Champions League

The total number of goals scored by Azerbaijani clubs in the UEFA Champions League has reached 150. The jubilee goal was scored by Bahlul Mustafazade.

Qarabag’s defender netted the winning goal in the Matchday 7 League Phase home match against Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), securing a 3:2 victory. Azerbaijani teams reached the 150-goal mark in their 116th match played in the qualifying and main stages of Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

Seven clubs have contributed to these goals. Qarabag lead the list with 110 goals, followed by Neftchi with 18, Baku with 7, Shamkir with 6, Kapaz with 4, Shamakhi with 3 and Khazar Lankaran with 2 goals. Of the 150 goals, 135 were scored in the qualifying and play-off rounds, while 15 came in the main stages (group and league phases).

It is also worth noting that the first-ever goal scored by an Azerbaijani club in the Champions League was netted by Imamyar Suleymanov. He achieved this milestone on July 22, 1998, in the LKS (Poland) vs Kapaz match, which ended 4:1.