FC Baku

Led by Shamil Heydarov, Dinamo finished 2nd and entered the 1998-99 UEFA Cup, but was eliminated by Argeş Piteşti 1-7 on aggregate in the preliminary round. In the 1997–98 season, Dinamo appointed Ruslan Abdullayev as their new head coach. Under the management of Abdullayev, the team passed the first part of tournament well, although 3rd place and 52 points were not enough for medals or European cups, and Dinamo finished the season in 6th place.[1] The following two seasons, Dinamo also finished 6th, but since 2000, the team was managed by Ruslan Abdullayev's son Elkhan Abdullayev, and was renamed to Dinamo Bakılı. In the 2001–02 season, after a disastrous performance, Dinamo Bakılı were relegated to the Azerbaijan First Division, but due to conflict between clubs and the AFFA, the next championship was held just two years later, in which the team participated under the name of Dinamo for the last time in its history.[2][3][4][5]

In 2004, the club renamed to FC Baku, after changes by the new chairman. New management began from radical changes. Elkhan Abdullayev was replaced by Asgar Abdullayev immediately after the second week of the season. FC Baku gained some important victories over the opponents and was holding a pole position until February 2005. At the end of the season Asgar Abdullayev concentrated on the Azerbaijan Cup, where his team reached the final. In the 2004–05 season, Baku managed to finish in 5th.[6]

The return to European competition proved to be unsuccessful. In the 2004-05 UEFA Cup first qualifying match, Baku lost to Slovakian side MŠK Žilina 2–3 on aggregate, although they won the first leg 1–0 in Baku. [7][8]

Baku's line up before a 2009–10 UEFA Champions League 2QR match against Ekranas

In 2008, Baku appointed Gjoko Hadžievski as their manager, and after a poor first season, the club celebrated their second title. Under his charge, FC Baku became the first Azerbaijani team to qualify for the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. The team beat FK Ekranas in the second qualifying round after a 2–2 draw in Lithuania and 4–2 win in the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium in the second leg,[9] although they lost to Levski Sofia in the next round 2-0 on aggregate, with Baku drawing the first leg 0-0 at home.[10]

In 2010, the club was handed a two-match suspension by UEFA for fielding Joël Epalle in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the Europa League against FK Budućnost, who was ineligible to play at the time.[11][12] Baku won the first leg 2-1, but UEFA awarded Budućnost a 3-0 win due to Baku fielding an suspended player. Although Baku went on to win the second leg 2-1, they lost 4-2 on aggregate due to the awarded win.

A long period of decline followed the success of the 2008 to the end of the decade. Despite the appointment of famous names such as Bülent Korkmaz, Winfried Schäfer, Aleksandrs Starkovs, Božidar Bandović and Milinko Pantić, the club did not achieve any success and squandered large sums of money on unsuccessful signings.[13]

In 2014, the club owner Hafiz Mammadov's financial difficulties forced number of players and personnel to seek new clubs, leaving the club's future uncertain.[14][15] The club was relegated from the Premier League in the 2014-15 season, and played in the Azerbaijani First Division in the 2015-16 season. The club became defunct as a professional club the next year.