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In contrast club sides in the country are more
successful because of foreign imports.
Not until the 1960s, seen as the ‘Golden Age’ of
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team of the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan, did
players such as forward Anatoly Banishevsky (51
caps and 19 goals between 1965 and 1972) emerge
on the world scene.
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Bahramov, the linesman who helped to award the
third goal (by Geoff Hurst) for England in the 1966
World Cup Final at Wembley against West Germany.
He originally played for Neftchi Baku but a serious
leg injury prevented him from continuing his playing
career and he became a referee. After his death
in 1993, Azerbaijan’s then national stadium was
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In February 2004 Carlos Alberto Torres, captain
of the Brazil side which won the 1970 World Cup,
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occupy the position. Under him Azerbaijan played
twice against Northern Ireland in World Cup 2006
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Windsor Park.
Carlos Alberto, as he was better known in this part
of the world, sadly passed away last month after
suffering a sudden heart attack. One of the world’s
greatest footballers, he played 53 times for Brazil
between 1964 and 1977, scoring eight goals, the
most famous of which was his strike in the 1970
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Italy 4-1. A move which started in the Brazil half
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in a superb angled drive from the right side of the
penalty area.
April 2008 saw the appointment of former German
international player and national coach Berti Vogts
as the country’s new national coach. In the WC 2010
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ahead of last placed Liechtenstein.
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until 2012 and they broke their scoring and points
records with seven points and 10 goals in the Euro
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FIFA rankings, their best ever position.
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above Northern Ireland.
In July 2014, under Vogts, Azerbaijan achieved their
highest FIFA ranking to date (73rd). The German
was still in charge when Azerbaijan entered the Euro
2016 qualifying cycle but resigned from his post
following three straight losses at the start of the
campaign.
On 1 December 2014, former Croatia star Robert
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the Azerbaijan national team. An initial two-year
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cover the WC 2018 campaign.
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The only team below them was Malta.
Prosenicki made a bright start in his new role with
a 2-0 home win against the Maltese in March 2015
followed by a scoreless draw in Oslo in June. There
was another scoreless draw at home to Croatia in
September, followed three days later by a 2-2 draw in
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to Italy (3-1) and away to Bulgaria (2-0).
The WC 2018 campaign has certainly started well
for Azerbaijan. They have not conceded a goal
in their three matches to date in Group C and are
currently in second place in the table. They have
defeated both San Marino (away) and Norway
(home) 1-0 and drawn 0-0 with Czech Republic in
Ostrava.
The leading club in Azerbaijan at present is
Qarabagh FK (Qarabag), who have won the league
for the last three seasons and the cup in the last
two seasons. The leading scorer last season was
Spanish winger Dani Quintana with 15 league goals.
Qarabagh are currently playing in the Europa League
group stages where they are taking on Fiorentina,
PAOK and Liberec.
Also playing in the Europa League group stages are
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up against Anderlecht, St Etienne and Mainz.
Best known club is probably Neftci FK who have
won the league eight times - the last time was in
2013 - and the cup seven times. They were beaten
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to reach the group stage of the Europa League.
Founded in 1937, they represented Azerbaijan in the
USSR league system.
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