Khazar Lankaran FK

Khazar Lankaran

Full name	Xəzər Lənkəran Futbol Klubu
Nickname(s)	Gəmiçilər (The Shipbuilders)
Founded	2004 (2004)
Dissolved	27 May 2016 (2016-05-27)
Ground	Lankaran City Stadium, Lankaran, Azerbaijan
Capacity	12,500
Owner	Mubariz Mansimov
President	Mais Mansimov
League	Azerbaijan Premier League
2015–16	10th (relegated)
Website	http://www.lankaranfc.com/
Home colours Away colours

Khazar Lankaran FK (Template:Lang-az) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Lankaran, who last played in the Azerbaijan Premier League during the 2015–16 season. Since the summer of 2016 the club has concentrated on youth football. After the being founded in 2004, they played in the Azerbaijan Premier League for twelve-seasons, winning the title once, and the Azerbaijan Cup three times. Khazar were also a member of the European Club Association, an organization that replaced the previous G-14 which consists of major football clubs in Europe.

History

Early years (2004–2012)

The club was founded in 2004 by Azerbaijani entrepreneur Mubariz Mansimov and dubbed by the local media as "Caucasian Chelsea" due Khazar's strong financial position. Under Agaselim Mirjavadov club won Premier League title during 2006–07 season as well as clinched 2 Azerbaijan Cups. Khazar also managed to win the CIS Cup in 2008 after defeating Pakhtakor Tashkent in the final.

After Mircea Rednic's appointment, who have signed a string of Romanian players and footballers from Liga I, club did not found success in European cups. On 4 December 2011, Khazar announced that Rednic had been sacked by the club due to a run of poor performances.

Recent years (2012––2016)

In July 2012, the club under Yunis Huseynov earned their first win in European competition by beating Nõmme Kalju. In March 2013, former Liverpool striker John Toshack was appointed as new manager after signing two-year deal with the club. In 2012–13 season, Khazar finished in 8th place, the club's lowest finishing position to date. Khazar Lankaran once again featured in European competitions during the 2013–14 season, featuring in the UEFA Europa League, where they were knocked out 10–0 on aggregate after suffering their heaviest European defeat ever, losing 8–0 to Maccabi Haifa. On 23 October John Toshack guided Khazar to their first trophy in two years with victory over Neftchi Baku in the revitalised Azerbaijan Supercup. A month later Toshack resigned from his position after only 14 points from 14 games in the 2013–14 season.

Following the Professional Football League of Azerbaijan's decision to deny Khazar a license for the 2016–17 season, the club announced their withdrawal from professional football.

League and cup history

Season	League									Azerbaijan Cup	Top goalscorer
	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P		Name	League
2004–05	1st	2	34	24	6	4	68	15	78	Semi-finals	Samir Aliyev	20
2005–06	1st	7	26	9	9	8	27	18	36	Semi-finals	Samir Aliyev	4
2006–07	1st	1	24	17	5	2	50	16	56	Winners	Zaur Ramazanov	20
2007–08	1st	4	26	14	10	2	44	16	52	Winners	Zaur Ramazanov	11
2008–09	1st	4	26	15	5	6	49	21	50	Quarter-finals	Ivan Tsvetkov	15
2009–10	1st	4	42	18	17	7	48	25	71	Runners-up	Mario Sergio	9
2010–11	1st	2	32	16	12	4	38	18	60	Winners	Winston Parks	8
2011–12	1st	2	32	17	8	7	44	28	59	Quarter-finals	Branimir Subašić	6
2012–13	1st	8	32	10	10	12	40	37	40	Runners-up	Dimitris Sialmas	6
2013–14	1st	6	36	12	13	11	44	49	49	Semi-finals	Mbilla Etame	11
2014–15	1st	7	32	8	8	16	35	46	32	Quarter-finals	Galin Ivanov	6
2015–16	1st	10	36	3	6	27	16	51	15	Quarter-finals	Rahid Amirguliyev	4

European history

As of 17 July 2013.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2005–06	UEFA Cup	1Q	FC Nistru Otaci	1–2	1–3	2–5
2007–08	UEFA Champions League	1Q	NK Dinamo Zagreb	1–1	1–3 (aet)	2–4
2008–09	UEFA Cup	1Q	Lech Poznań	0–1	1–4	1–5
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Olimpia	1–1	0–0	1–1
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Maccabi Tel Aviv	0–0	1–3	1–3
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Nõmme Kalju	2–2	2–0	4–2
		2Q	Lech Poznań	1–1	0–1	1–2
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Sliema Wanderers	1–0	1–1	2–1
		2Q	Maccabi Haifa	0–8	0–2	0–10

Crest and colours

The club's crest includes stockless anchor with a football ball. The badge shaped like traditional compass with white-green background elements.

Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers

Khazar's traditional kit is composed of white shirts, green shorts and white socks. The club's kits are manufactured by Puma and sponsored by Palmali, a multinational shipping company in Istanbul.

Stadium

Main article: Lankaran City Stadium

Lankaran City Stadium

Fırtınalar Meydanı (Arena of Storms)
Location	Lankaran, Azerbaijan
Owner	Khazar Lankaran
Operator	Khazar Lankaran
Capacity	15,000 seated
Construction
Broke ground	2005
Opened	11 August 2006
Construction cost	$15 million
Tenants
Khazar Lankaran (2006–present)

Khazar Lankaran's home ground is Lankaran City Stadium. It has a capacity of 15,000 and is the third largest stadium in Azerbaijan. The stadium also known as Fırtınalar meydanı (Arena of Storms), named after club's local supporters Fırtına fan group.

On 17 July 2009, UEFA approved stadium for the usage during international football matches. The stadium hosted its first senior international match on 5 September 2009, between Azerbaijan and Finland.

Supporters

Khazar is one of the best supported clubs in Azerbaijan, having the highest attendance after FC Kapaz in the Caucasus region. Supporters of Khazar Lankaran are drawn from all over the Southern Region and beyond, with supporters' clubs all across the world. The club's supporters are also known as the Fırtına (Storm).

Rivalry with Neftchi Baku

Main article: Böyük Oyun

There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in the Azerbaijan Premier League, and this is particularly the case in Azerbaijan, where the game between Khazar Lankaran and Neftchi Baku is known as Böyük Oyun (The Great Game).

Honours

National

• Azerbaijan Premier League

Winners (1): 2006–07

• Azerbaijan Cup

Winners (3): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11

• Azerbaijan Supercup

Winners (1): 2013

Regional

• CIS Cup

Winners (1): 2008

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 30 August 2014 (players in bold signifies current Khazar player). Zaur Ramazanov is the club's all-time top scorer with 33 goals in 69 games.

Rahid Amirguliyev is one of the most capped players for the club.

Top Ten Highest Goalscorers

Player		Period	Appearances	Goals
1	Zaur Ramazanov	2005–08; 2011	69	33
2	Ivan Tsvetkov	2008–10	50	22
3	Rahid Amirguliyev	2006–present	189	20
4	Mario Sergio	2008–10	58	18
5	Oktay Derelioğlu	2004–05	17	16
6	Branimir Subašić	2011–13	51	14
7	Rashad Abdullayev	2004–09	116	12
8	Mbilla Etame	2013–14	35	11
9	Allan Lalín	2009–11	43	11
10	Tounkara Sadio	2011–present	81	11

Kamran Agayev is one of the most capped players for the club.

Top Ten Players With Most Appearances

Player		Period	Caps	Goals
1	Rahid Amirguliyev	2006–present	189	20
2	Radomir Todorov	2007–10; 2012–13	136	1
3	Kamran Agayev	2006–13	122	0
4	Alim Qurbanov	2004–12	121	11
5	Rashad Abdullayev	2004–09	116	12
6	Elnur Abdullayev	2011–present	109	10
7	Adrian Scarlatache	2011; 2012–2015	96	11
8	Tounkara Sadio	2011–present	81	11
9	Adrian Piț	2011–14	75	8
10	Emin Quliyev	2005–09	70	10

Notable managers

Further information: List of FK Khazar Lankaran managers

The following managers have all won at least one trophy when in charge of FK Khazar Lankaran:

Name	Period	Trophies
Agaselim Mirjavadov	2007–09	Azerbaijan Premier League, Azerbaijan Cup (2), CIS Cup
Mircea Rednic	2010–11	Azerbaijan Cup
John Toshack	2013	Azerbaijan Supercup

In popular culture

A number of television programmes have included references to Khazar Lankaran over the past few decades. In the sitcom Aramizda Galsin, the character Jasarat is a Khazar supporter. Khazar have also featured on several occasions in meykhana.

References

External links

• Official website