2010–11 Azerbaijan Premier League

The 2010–11 Azerbaijan Premier League (known as the Unibank Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons) was the nineteenth season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The fixtures were announced on 29 July 2010; the season began on 7 August 2010 and ended on 28 May 2011.[1] Neftchi Baku were the eventual champions, winning their first Azerbaijani championship since 2005.

Azerbaijan Premier League
Season2010–11
ChampionsNeftchi Baku
RelegatedSimurq Zaqatala
MOIK Baku
Champions LeagueNeftchi Baku
Europa LeagueKhazar Lankaran
Qarabağ
AZAL Baku
Matches played192
Goals scored302 (1.57 per match)
Top goalscorerGeorgi Adamia (18)
Biggest home winAZAL 5–0 Inter
Biggest away winMOIK 0–5 Ganja
Highest scoringNeftchi 6–2 Ganja

The league was competed over two stages. The first stage consisted of a regular home-and-away round-robin schedule for a total of 22 matches per team. The competition was then split in half, with the teams ranked first through sixth playing out the championship and the European spots while the bottom six teams having to avoid one of the two relegation places.[2] In contrast to the previous season, each team transferred their full record from the first to the second stage.[3]

Adidas provided their Jabulani match ball for the season.[4]

Teams

Standard Sumgayit and Karvan were relegated to the Azerbaijan First Division after finishing 11th and 12th, respectively, at the end of last season. They were replaced by First Division champions Ganja and runners-up MOIK Baku.

Olimpik-Shuvalan Baku were renamed AZAL Baku prior to the start of the season.[5][6]

Stadia and locations
Location of teams in Azerbaijan Premier League 2010-11
Team Location Venue Capacity[7]
AZAL Baku AZAL Stadium 3,000
FK Baku Baku Tofig Bahramov Stadium 30,000
Ganja Ganja Ganja City Stadium 25,000
Inter Baku Shafa Stadium 8,150
Khazar Lankaran Lankaran City Stadium 15,000
MOIK Baku Baku MOIK Stadium 1,000
Mughan Salyan Salyany Olympic Stadium 2,000
Neftchi Baku Ismat Gayibov Stadium 5,000
Qarabağ Aghdam Guzanli Olympic Stadium 2,000
Gabala FC Gabala Gabala City Stadium 2,000
Simurq Zaqatala Zaqatala City Stadium 3,500
Turan Tovuz Tovuz City Stadium 10,000

Personnel and sponsoring
Team Head coach Team captain Kitmaker Shirt sponsor
AZAL Azerbaijan Nazim Suleymanov Azerbaijan Agil Nabiyev Umbro Silk Way
FK Baku Latvia Aleksandrs Starkovs Azerbaijan Jamshid Maharramov Kappa
FK Ganja Azerbaijan Mehman Allahverdiyev Azerbaijan Azer Mammadov Adidas
Inter Georgia (country) Kakhaber Tskhadadze Azerbaijan Vladimir Levin Adidas IBA
Khazar Romania Mircea Rednic Azerbaijan Kamran Agaev Puma Palmali
MOIK Baku Azerbaijan Gahraman Aliyev Azerbaijan Farid Hashimzadeh Umbro
Mughan Azerbaijan Bahman Hasanov Azerbaijan Elnur Abdullayev Olympikus Nissan
Neftchi Azerbaijan Arif Asadov Azerbaijan Rail Malikov Adidas SOCAR
Qarabağ Azerbaijan Gurban Gurbanov Azerbaijan Aslan Kerimov Adidas Azersun Holding
Qabala England Tony Adams Azerbaijan Kanan Karimov Erreà Hyundai
Simurq North Macedonia Gjoko Hadžievski Azerbaijan Rasim Ramaldanov Umbro
Turan Azerbaijan Asgar Abdullayev Azerbaijan Vurgun Huseynov Umbro

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Replaced by Date of appointment
Gabala Azerbaijan Ramiz Mammadov End of contract 10 May 2010 England Tony Adams[8] 12 May 2010
FK Baku Turkey Cüneyt Biçer End of contract 10 June 2010 Germany Winfried Schäfer[9] 10 June 2010
Simurq PFC Ukraine Roman Pokora Sacked 18 June 2010 North Macedonia Gjoko Hadžievski[10] 18 June 2010
Turan Tovuz Azerbaijan Nizami Sadygov Sacked 29 June 2010 Azerbaijan Sakit Aliyev[11] 29 June 2010
Khazar Lankaran Azerbaijan Agaselim Mirjavadov[12] Resigned 8 July 2010 Romania Mircea Rednic[13] 15 July 2010
Turan Tovuz Azerbaijan Sakit Aliyev[14] Sacked 30 September 2010 Georgia (country) Revaz Dzodzuashvili[14] 30 September 2010
FK Mughan Bosnia and Herzegovina Almir Hurtić[15] Resigned 13 November 2010 Azerbaijan Bahman Hasanov 13 November
Turan Tovuz Georgia (country) Revaz Dzodzuashvili End of contract 23 December 2010 Turkey Naci Şensoy[16] 25 December 2010
FK Baku Germany Winfried Schäfer[17] Sacked 6 January 2011 Latvia Aleksandrs Starkovs[18] 16 January 2011
FK Ganja Azerbaijan Fuad Ismayilov Resigned 17 March 2011 Azerbaijan Mehman Allahverdiyev[19] 18 March 2011
Turan Tovuz Turkey Naci Şensoy Sacked 6 May 2011 Azerbaijan Asgar Abdullayev 6 May 2011

First round

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Neftçi Baku 22 14 6 2 40 9 +31 48 Qualification for championship group
2 Khazar Lankaran 22 14 5 3 28 12 +16 47
3 Qarabağ 22 13 3 6 30 14 +16 42
4 Inter Baku 22 12 4 6 24 16 +8 40
5 AZAL 22 9 9 4 27 16 +11 36
6 Baku 22 9 6 7 28 21 +7 33
7 Gabala 22 8 7 7 19 14 +5 31 Qualification for relegation group
8 Mughan 22 7 6 9 14 23 −9 27
9 Ganja 22 5 9 8 23 27 −4 24
10 Turan 22 3 6 13 17 35 −18 15
11 Simurq 22 2 6 14 12 34 −22 12
12 MOIK Baku 22 1 3 18 6 47 −41 6
Source: Soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results
Home \ Away AZL BAK GAN INT KHA MOI MUG NEF QAR GAB SIM TUR
AZAL 0–0 0–0 5–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 2–2 2–1 1–0
Baku 2–3 1–1 1–2 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–1 0–1 3–1
Ganja 1–1 1–3 1–0 4–1 1–0 3–0 0–4 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–1
Inter Baku 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–0 1–0 0–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 3–0
Khazar Lankaran 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 3–0 2–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–0
MOIK Baku 1–1 0–4 0–5 0–4 0–2 3–2 0–4 0–1 0–3 0–2 0–2
Mughan 3–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 0–3 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–0
Neftçi Baku 1–0 0–2 6–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 4–0 2–0
Qarabağ 0–0 2–0 3–0 1–0 0–1 3–0 2–0 0–1 3–0 3–2 5–1
Gabala 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–0 0–2 2–1 4–0 1–0
Simurq 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–3 0–1 0–2 2–2
Turan 1–2 0–1 2–1 0–3 1–2 2–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 0–1 1–1
Source: Soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second round

The league was split into two groups; however, each team retained its record from the first round.[3]

Championship group

The top six teams of the first phase participate in this group, which will decide which team will win the championship. Additionally, teams in this group compete for one 2011–12 Champions League and two Europa League spots.

The winners will qualify for the Champions League Second qualifying round, with the runners-up and third place team earning a spot in the Europa League first qualifying round.

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Neftçi Baku (C) 32 19 10 3 53 17 +36 67 Qualification for Champions League second qualifying round
2 Khazar Lankaran 32 16 12 4 38 18 +20 60 Qualification for Europa League second qualifying round[lower-alpha 1]
3 Qarabağ 32 17 7 8 41 22 +19 58 Qualification for Europa League first qualifying round
4 AZAL 32 13 10 9 36 28 +8 49
5 Inter Baku 32 13 10 9 29 24 +5 49
6 Baku 32 10 10 12 33 32 +1 40
Source: Soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. Khazar Lankaran won the 2010–11 Azerbaijan Cup and therefore qualified for the second qualifying round of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.

Results
Home \ Away AZL BAK INT KHA NEF QAR
AZAL 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–3 3–1
Baku 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–0
Inter Baku 0–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2
Khazar Lankaran 3–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1
Neftçi Baku 2–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 2–0
Qarabağ 1–0 2–2 1–0 0–0 3–0
Source: Soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Relegation
7 Gabala 32 13 12 7 31 18 +13 51
8 Mughan 32 13 8 11 29 31 −2 47
9 Ganja 32 8 12 12 33 37 −4 36
10 Turan 32 7 6 19 24 47 −23 27
11 Simurq (R) 32 4 7 21 20 52 −32 19 Relegation to Azerbaijan First Division
12 MOIK Baku (R) 32 4 6 22 14 55 −41 18
Source: Soccerway.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(R) Relegated

Results
Home \ Away GAB GAN MOI MUG SIM TUR
Gabala 1–1 0–0 2–1 3–0 1–0
Ganja 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–0
MOIK Baku 1–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 4–1
Mughan 1–2 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–1
Simurq 0–0 4–3 1–2 1–3 0–1
Turan 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–1 2–1
Source: Soccerway.com
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers
As of 18 May 2011[20]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Georgia (country) Georgi Adamia Qarabağ 18
2 Uzbekistan Bahodir Nasimov Neftchi Baku 15
3 Brazil Flavinho Neftchi Baku 11
4 Azerbaijan Rauf Aliyev Qarabağ 10
Lithuania Gvidas Juška AZAL 10
Brazil Junivan Gence 10
5 Jamaica Deon Burton Gabala 9
Azerbaijan Sabir Allahquliyev FK Gence 9
6 Costa Rica Winston Parks Khazar 8
7 Azerbaijan Rashad Abdullayev Neftchi Baku 7
Brazil Jabá FK Baku 7

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Uzbekistan Bahodir NasimovNeftchi BakuSimurq4–0[21]21 August 2010
Georgia (country) Giorgi AdamiaQarabağNeftchi Baku3–0[22]13 May 2011

Scoring

Clean sheets

Discipline

Monthly awards
Month Player of the Month
Player Club
September Uzbekistan Bahodir Nasimov Neftchi Baku[29]
October Brazil Flavinho Neftchi Baku[30]
November Morocco Zouhir Benouahi AZAL[31]
December Azerbaijan Samir Aliyev Simurg[31]
February Brazil Flavinho Neftchi Baku
March Azerbaijan Rauf Aliyev FK Qarabag
April Costa Rica Winston Parks Khazar
May Georgia (country) Giorgi Adamia Qarabağ

References
  1. 19-cu Azərbaycan Premyer Liqasının təqvimi Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
  2. "Unibank Premyer Liqasının formatı saxlanıldı" (in Azerbaijani). pfl.az. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  3. Ibrahimov, Erkin (6 August 2010). Азербайджан с новыми силами (in Russian). uefa.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  4. "Yeni mövsüm "Jabulani" ilə oynanılacaq" (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
  5. "Olimpik-Şüvəlan" adını dəyişib, AZAL oldu Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
  6. АЗАЛ в премьер-лиге (in Russian)
  7. Azərbaycan Peşəkar Liqası (in Azerbaijani)
  8. "Tony Adams, a mysterious tycoon and their grand plan for small-town Azerbaijan". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  9. Бакы выбрал Винфрида Шефера (ОБНОВЛЕНО) (in Russian)
  10. Хаджиевски возглавил Симург (in Russian)
  11. Смена тренера в клубе премьер-лиги (in Russian)
  12. Агасалим Мирджавадов: Я ухожу из Хазар-Лянкярана (in Russian)
  13. “Xəzər Lənkəran”ın yeni baş məşqçisi Mirça Rednik oldu (in Azerbaijani)
  14. Реваз Дзодзуашвили назначен на пост главного тренера «Турана» Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
  15. Мугань осталась без главного тренера (in Russian)
  16. "Шенсой подпишет с Тураном контракт". Azerisport.com. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  17. "Vinfred Şafer həsrətlə getdi". Apasport.az. Archived from the original on 2011-01-09. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  18. "Старков везет в Баку бывшего тренера Спартака (ФОТО)". azerisport.com. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  19. "Mehman Allahverdiyev "Gəncə"nin baş məşqçisi oldu". fanat.az. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  20. "Bombardirlər" (in Azerbaijani). pfl.az. Archived from the original on 2010-08-09. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
  21. "Neftchi 4-0 Simurq". Soccerway. 21 August 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  22. "Qarabağ 3-0 Neftchi". Soccerway. 13 May 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  23. "Simurq 1 - 3 Muğan". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  24. "MOIK 0 - 5 Kapaz". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  25. "AZAL 5 - 0 Inter Baku". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  26. "Neftchi Baku 6- 2 Ganja". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  27. "Simurq 4 - 3 Ganja". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  28. "Summary - Premyer Liqa - Azerbaijan - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway".
  29. "Nasimovla Tsxadadze mükafat aldı". FANAT.AZ. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  30. Флавинью стал лучшим в октябре (in Russian). Azerisport.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  31. Suleymanov, Mehman. "Benouahi&Əliyev". apasport.az. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
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