Kapaz PFK explained

Clubname:Kapaz PFK
Current:2022–23 Kapaz PFK season
Fullname:Kapaz Professional Football Club
Nickname:Dağlılar (The Mountaineers)
Yenilməz Armada (Undefeatable Armada)
Qərblilər (The Westerners)
Sarı-Göylər (The Yellow-Blues)
Ground:Ganja City Stadium, Ganja, Azerbaijan
Capacity:26,120
Chrtitle:President
Season:2023–24
Position:9th of 10
Website:http://www.kapazpfc.az//
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Kapaz PFK (Azerbaijani: Kəpəz Peşəkar Futbol Klubu, in Azerbaijani pronounced as /cæˈpæs/), is an Azerbaijani football club based in Ganja, which competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the highest tier of Azerbaijan football. The club was founded as Toxucu in 1959. They have won the Azerbaijani Championship 3 times and the Azerbaijani Football Cup 4 times.

The team's colours are yellow and blue. The club plays at Ganja City Stadium which has a capacity of 26,120.[1]

History

Soviet era (1959–1991)

Kapaz PFC was founded in 1959 as Toxucu and played in the Soviet First League. However, the team were promoted to the Soviet Top League in 1968 as Dinamo Kirovobad after finishing first in the Soviet First League the previous season.[2] The club has been known as Taraggi and Toxucu during its history, however it became famous in more modern times as Kapaz when it was renamed in 1982.[3] [4]

Post-Soviet era (1993–1999)

In 1991, the club was once again renamed as Kapaz after Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union and won the Azerbaijan Premier League title three times.[5] At the end of the 1997–98 season, Kapaz finished the season unbeaten. Out of 26 games, the club's final record for the 1997–1998 league campaign stood at 22 wins, 4 draws and 0 losses. To date this has not been matched by any team in a single season in an Azerbaijani league division.[6]

Azerbaijan's longest league winning run belongs to Kapaz PFC.

Kapaz PFC remain the only team to win the league undefeated and, for ten months until 23 September 1998, opponents could not even take a point off them. Two of the 22 matches were technical victories awarded to Käpäz.[7]

Financial struggles (2002–present)

Kapaz, one of the most prominent football clubs in Azerbaijan, entered financial difficulties during the late 2000s. Since 2002, the club has found themselves slipping further and further down the table, which has been influenced by financial difficulties.[8] [9] The financial collapse of Kapaz resulted in a great deal of discussion within Azerbaijani football.[10] Major Azerbaijani companies, reportedly "concerned at the current uncertainty about the club's future and its backers" declined to provide Kapaz with the corporate banking facilities it needed.[11] [12]

In 2005, the club's new owners decided to rename the club Ganja despite facing criticism from the club's fans.[13] [14] In 2007, the club was excluded from Azerbaijan Premier League due to financial struggles. However, after help from the AFFA and local communities, the club participated in the Azerbaijan First Division during the 2009–10 season.[15] [16] In 2010 they became champions of the Azerbaijan First Division finishing the season with 47 points and promoted to the Azerbaijan Premier League. In 2011, it was decided that the club's name will be changed back to its old name of Kapaz PFC.[17] [18]

In April 2013, Kapaz were relegated to the Azerbaijan First Division. The ended the season in 12th place in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the club's lowest ever league finish.[19] [20] The club's financial situation didn't improve, which caused a lot of players to leave the club.[21]

On 18 November 2017, Shahin Diniyev resigned as manager[22] with Yunis Hüseynov being appointed as his replacement 2 days later on 20 November 2017.[23]

For the 2022/23 Azerbaijani Premier League season, an expansion of the league to 10 teams was implemented. As there are only five independent football clubs in the first division, and FK Zaqatala, Qaradag Lokbatan and MOIK Baku declined to play in the Premier league for financial reasons, Kapaz and Turan Tovuz were promoted for next season.

League and cup history

SeasonDiv.Pos.Pl.WDLGSGAPDomestic Cup
19921st5th3623859829541/8 Finals
19931st4th181341481330First round
1993–941st3rd302073742547Winners
1994–951st1st241941711942Semi-finals
1995–961st3rd20956342132Quarter-finals
1996–971st5th301848592658Winners
1997–981st1st262240671070Winners
1998–991st1st362655942483Quarter-finals
1999–001st2nd221426462444Winners
2000–011st8th208111342925Quarter-finals
2001–021st5th3214513515047Semi-finals
2003–041st11th266515224523Quarter-finals
2004–051st9th34119143737421/8 Finals
2005–061st10th2677123546281/8 Finals
2009–102nd1st224535115471/8 Finals
2010–111st9th32812123337361/8 Finals
2011–121st10th329518355532Quarter-finals
2012–131st12th3254232264191/8 Finals
2013–142nd13th307419293725Second round
2014–152nd9th3010812373738did not enter
2015–161st5th36151110484056Second round
2016–171st5th289910242736Quarter-finals
2017–181st8th283520184714Quarter-finals
2018–192nd11th265714214022First round
2019–202nd812534141318First round
2020–212nd8277713303828Quarterfinal
2021–222nd624996353136First round
2022-231st83661317346231Quarterfinal

European history

CompetitionPldWDLGFGA+/-
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League8116219–17
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup200202–2
UEFA Champions League410349–5
Total142111630–24
SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate
1995–96UEFA CupPR Austria Wien0–41–51–9
1997–98UEFA Cup Winners' Cup1Q Dinaburg Daugavpils0–10–10–2
1998–99UEFA Champions League1Q ŁKS Łódź1–31–42–7
1999–00UEFA Champions League Sloga Jugomagnat2–10–12–2
2000–01UEFA Cup1Q Antalyaspor0–20–50–7
2016–17UEFA Europa League1Q Dacia Chișinău0–01–01–0
2Q Admira Wacker0–2 0–10–3

Supporters

The club have one of the biggest number of supporters in Azerbaijan alongside Neftçi, Khazar Lankaran and Qarabağ.[24] Amongst all Azerbaijani professional football clubs, Kapaz PFC have the highest average fan attendance at their home games. According to official statistics for the first half of 2015–16 season, Kapaz PFC ranked first in fan attendance at nearly 15,000 fans per home game. This was almost triple that of their nearest rival.[25] [26]

The 2015–16 seasons attendance record was set in Ganja, as 20,400 Kapaz fans attended home game against Qarabag FC on February 14, 2016[27] The fanbase is large and generally loyal and like most major Azerbaijani football clubs, Kapaz have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Khamsa Supporters Club, which works closely with the club and maintains a more independent line.[28] [29] The club's most popular celebrity supporters are the likes of Olympic wrestling champion Toghrul Asgarov.[30]

Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers

YearsManufacturerSponsor
2010 – 2013 Adidas Nakhchivan Automobile Plant
2013 – 2016 Gəncə 4000
2016 – 2017 Umbro
2017 – 2018 Nike
2018 – 2022 Givova
2022 – Joma

Honours

Azerbaijan

USSR

Players

For a list of all former and current Kapaz PFC players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Kapaz PFC players.Azerbaijani teams are limited to nine players without Azerbaijani citizenship. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country.

Out on loan

Managers

Managers in Soviet League

Managers in modern history

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20140827081256/http://www.soccermanager.com/stadium.php?stadiumdid=2429 Ganja City Stadium
  2. Web site: Кяпаз Гянджа on Wildstat.ru. wildstat.ru. 7 August 2010. ru.
  3. http://navigator.az/news/5/19582.html Полностью сформировался состав вновь возвратившегося в футбол азербайджанского клуба "Гянджа"
  4. Web site: Azerbaycan çempionatlarının rekordçusu "KEPEZ"in möhteşem tarixi.. 7 August 2010. az. 3 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110703191629/http://kapazmania.narod.ru/tarix.html. live.
  5. Web site: Футбольный клуб "Кяпяз" предпочел называться "Гянджой". Day.az. 7 August 2010. 23 September 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050923045838/http://day.az/news/sport/20229.html. live.
  6. Web site: Годы независимости. Успехи Нефтчи, Кяпаза, Шамкира, и французский позор. Azerisport.com. 5 June 2011. 5 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110605091352/http://www.azerisport.com/football/20110604032742402.html. live.
  7. Web site: Europe's longest domestic winning streaks . 2016-09-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160901174053/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=1588768.html . 2016-09-01 .
  8. Web site: Mehman Allahverdiyev: "İsgəndər Cavadov Gəncəyə lazım deyil". xemsefans.com. 3 September 2013. az. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131103112414/http://xemsefans.com/?p=8187. 3 November 2013.
  9. Web site: Gəncə futbol ictimaiyyəti İsgəndər Cavadova qarşı çıxdı! (BƏYANAT). Sportinfo.az. 3 September 2013. az. dead. https://archive.today/20130903152626/http://sportinfo.az/news-5107. 3 September 2013.
  10. Web site: ru:Четыре причины, по которым Кяпаз не возродился. http://sport.day.az/football/20130422070528506.html. Day.az. ru. 2013-09-03. 2013-11-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20131105051345/http://sport.day.az/football/20130422070528506.html. live.
  11. Web site: ru:Товуз и Гянджа – две потери азербайджанского футбола. http://azerisport.com/football/20130514104624542.html. Azerisport.com. 3 September 2013. ru. 10 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150610203420/http://azerisport.com/football/20130514104624542.html. live.
  12. Web site: Fataliyev. Rustam. Почему в Гяндже "умер" футбол?. Zerkalo.az. 3 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130425171008/http://www.zerkalo.az/2013/pochemu-v-gyandzhe-umer-futbol/. 25 April 2013. dead.
  13. Web site: Nihat. "Gəncə", yoxsa "Kəpəz"?. futbol plus newspaper. 4 August 2010. az.
  14. Web site: Мехман Аллахвердиев: "Все достижения гянджинцев связаны с именем именно этой команды – "Кяпаз". sport24.az. 7 August 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120310081459/http://www.sport24.az/onnews.php?id=4101. 10 March 2012.
  15. Web site: Magsad. Футбольный клуб "Гянджа" вновь будет участвовать в чемпионате Азербайджана. Day.az. 2010-08-07. 2009-02-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20090211175035/http://day.az/news/football/146722.html. live.
  16. http://qol.az/site/?name=xeber&news_id=4012 “Gəncə”nin növbəti mövsüm I divizionda çıxış etməsi dəqiqləşdi
  17. Web site: Гянджа сменила название. Azerisport.com. 31 May 2011. 3 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110603074521/http://azerisport.com/football/20110531035529751.html. live.
  18. Web site: Gəncə klublarının adı dəyişdirildi. 31 May 2011. 3 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131103105108/http://fanat.az/?mod=view&id=29621. live.
  19. Web site: ru:Четыре причины, по которым Кяпаз не возродился. http://azerisport.com/football/20130422070528506.html. Azerisport.com. 22 April 2013. ru. 24 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130424112712/http://www.azerisport.com/football/20130422070528506.html. live.
  20. Web site: 10 по 4. Azerifootball.com. 15 March 2013. ru. 19 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130319031748/http://www.azerifootball.com/ru/9/news/18154.html. live.
  21. Web site: "Kəpəz" BİABIRÇI durumda: futbolçular yuyunmağa su, yeməyə çörək tapmırlar. rekord.az. 28 October 2014. az. 28 October 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141028090341/http://rekord.az/news/p:17605. dead.
  22. Web site: Şahin Diniyev istefa verdi. kapazpfc.az. Kapaz PFK. 19 November 2017. az. 18 November 2017. 21 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171121231822/http://www.kapazpfc.az/xeberler/%C5%9Fahin-diniyev-istefa-verdi. dead.
  23. Web site: Yunis Hüseynov baş məşqçi təyin edildi. kapazpfc.az. Kapaz PFK. az. 20 November 2017. 16 February 2021. 8 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190608184506/http://www.kapazpfc.az/xeberler/idar%C9%99-hey%C9%99tinin-q%C9%99rar%C4%B1-il%C9%99-yunis-h%C3%BCseynov-ba%C5%9F-m%C9%99%C5%9Fq%C3%A7i-t%C9%99yin-edildi. dead.
  24. Web site: Ali. Ulvi. Gəncənin ənənəsi, Lənkəranın çılğın azarkeşi var (ARAŞDIRMA). penalti.az. 17 September 2011. az.
  25. Web site: Peşəkar Futbol Liqası. www.pfl.az. 13 December 2017. 18 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018125316/http://www.pfl.az/news/5208/. live.
  26. Web site: Кяпаз – неоспоримый лидер. Azerisport.com. 13 December 2017. 18 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018125232/http://www.azerisport.com/football/20151221112926326.html. live.
  27. Web site: . Elan. Vital. Komanda.az. 13 December 2017. 18 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161018125349/http://komanda.az/xeber/17395/. dead.
  28. Web site: "Xəmsə" rəhbərindən ŞOK ittihamlar. Apasport.az. 3 September 2013. az. dead. https://archive.today/20130903155458/http://apasport.az/news.php?id=59398. 3 September 2013.
  29. Web site: Xəmsə" fan-klubu: "İskəndər Cavadovu kuratorluqdan azad edin!". Korner.az. 3 September 2013. az. https://web.archive.org/web/20130906084133/http://korner.az/v2/xeber/12541/#sthash.NRQKLBD5.dpuf. 6 September 2013. dead.
  30. Web site: Toğrul Əsgərov azarkeşlik etdiyi klubumuzun adını açıqladı. awf-az.org. 3 September 2013. az. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112640/http://awf-az.org/ru/m-tbuatdan/item/2172-to%C4%9Frul-%C9%99sg%C9%99rov-azarke%C5%9Flik-etdiyi-klubumuzun-ad%C4%B1n%C4%B1-a%C3%A7%C4%B1qlad%C4%B1. 4 March 2016. dead. dmy-all.