From Twente to Twente: 12 years of Qarabag in Europe

It happened exactly 12 years ago. August 28, 2014. The stadium in Enschede. The 51st minute of the Twente – Qarabag match.

Muarem Muarem sends the ball into the net of goalkeeper Nick Marsman and thereby takes the Aghdam side into the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. Back then the away goals rule had not yet been abolished, and there was no Conference League to drop into in case of failure. It was from that very moment that Qarabag's glorious history in Europe began. Every season the team played in one of the tournaments. Be it the Champions League, the Europa League, or the Conference League. We could not even imagine any other scenario in which the Aghdam side would not be playing in the final stage of a tournament; we especially could not have thought of it after the team reached the Champions League playoffs, but alas. Sometimes life is so unpredictable. That very circle closed precisely on Twente. This time the Dutch side overcame their opponents and left Qarabag out of the European autumn.

We began to notice the signs of this after several players from the main squad, who had written history in Europe's premier club tournament, left the camp of the "Horsemen." The newcomers who came in their place were unable to immediately replace the departed players at the same level, which in the end resulted in what happened the other day.

Losses also played a negative role. In the match against CSKA Sofia the team lost Swedish forward Savo, then in the game against Dynamo Kyiv Elvin Jafarguliyev was injured, Cefas was also sidelined, after which Pedro Bicalho picked up an injury. The latter, by the way, did appear in the return game against Twente, but came on as a substitute, with Lobato taking his place in the starting lineup. Musa Gurbanli, who played at the tip of the attack, recorded an assist, but apart from that his game clearly did not go the way he would have liked. Kady scored once again (and again from a Musa pass), but as it turned out, even a 2:0 score was slippery. The Aghdam side spent the closing minutes of the match playing to hold on to the score, which led them to sad consequences. The finish belonged to the Dutch club, just as in the first game. Only this time the players managed to find the net of Zlomislic. They did it twice in regulation time (Piazza and Bruns scored), and then twice in extra time (Van den Belt and Weghorst). At the end the "Horsemen" were even left a man down after the sending off of Marko Jankovic. The fourth goal was the result of a gross error by goalkeeper Zlomislic.

The only pleasant (if one can still put it that way) moment was the return of Bahlul Mustafazade, who had not played for several months because of injury. He came on as a substitute at the end; he still needs time to get back to his previous level. True, that time is now needed by the whole team as well.

GURBAN GURBANOV

HEAD COACH OF FC QARABAG

Unfortunately, we lost. We did not want such a result. Of course, we had mistakes, but I saw on the field a team that fights. We had shortcomings. I congratulate the opponent. We wanted at least to make it to the main stage of the Conference League. After this we need to approach our work even more responsibly. I thank my footballers and the fans, who created an amazing atmosphere at the stadium.

Qarabag president Tahir Gozal expressed confidence in the team's future. He noted that the club is capable of recovering after the setback, drawing the necessary conclusions and moving forward again with renewed strength. The Aghdam side will continue to work on strengthening the squad and developing the team.

TAHIR GOZAL

PRESIDENT OF FC QARABAG

Alas, it did not work out today. But we have good transfers. Qarabag is on the right path. There was very little time left, and the result would have been in our favor. We must draw conclusions and move on. There is still a whole season ahead.

It became known that several more footballers are joining the team. These are German midfielder Redu Hadru and Nigerian winger Taofik Ismaheel. Brazilian midfielder Diego Rosa may also join the club. But that is not the point right now. We all very much wanted Azerbaijan to be represented in European competitions by two teams. Sabah did its part of this job, while Qarabag, despite all its efforts, failed to achieve this goal. But football does not end with one match or one season. Ahead lie new challenges, new victories and new opportunities. The main thing is not to stop and to keep moving forward. Qarabag will still have a chance to prove that this team is capable of coming back even stronger.

EMIN AHMADOV