Araz sunk as season starts

MKT Araz's failure to progress to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup had an unexpected knock-on effect, prompting the dissolution of the Azeri club.

Close ties
Ukrainian coach Igor Nakonechniy had seen his side hold their own against Polish side Groclin Grodzisk Wielkopolski for almost 180 minutes of their European tie before Amadeusz Klodawski scored the only goal of the tie two minutes from the end of the second leg. With PFC Neftchi losing out to Austria's SV Ried in the closing minutes of their tie, 2 August was to be a dark day for Azeri football.

Club disbanded
The following days would see things get darker still for Imishli-based Araz, with president Ikram Kerimli and his board of directors deciding to quit financing the club. Araz were thus disbanded, much to Nakonechniy's disappointment. "It is a great pity that club dissolved," he said. "The team was growing stronger from year to year and I would like to have carried on."

Players move on
Araz disbanded with hours to go before the start of the new season. FC ABN Barda were quickly promoted to take their place while many Araz players were able to quickly negotiate free transfer moves to other clubs. Thus Vitali Kovalyov, Kamal Guliyev, Anatolie Doros and Ruslan Poladov moved to FK Standart Baku while Azar Jabbarov, Jeyhun Adishirinov and Jamal Mammadov joined FK Gabala.

Poland calls
The luckless Nakonechniy, meanwhile, packed his things and returned home, but there was a happier ending for Araz's 22-year-old Azerbaijan international defender Sasha Yunisoglu who impressed Groclin coach Jacek Zieliński enough in the UEFA Cup tie to earn a three-year contract with the Polish club. "I did not expect a player like him to come from Azerbaijan," he said.

Gabala surprise
Back in the Azeri league, the Araz players who chose to join promoted Gabala have received a pleasant surprise with their new side winning both of their opening league games, against Standart and FK Baku, to join the traditionally strong FK Khazar Lenkoran at the top of the nascent league table. Araz may be gone, but something of their spirit looks set to live on.