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Khazar Lankaran

Full name	Xəzər Lənkəran Futbol Klubu
Nickname(s)	Gəmiçilər (The Shipbuilders) Dəniz piyadaları (The Marines) Ağ-yaşıllar (The Green-whites)
Founded	20 April 2004; 20 years ago (2004-04-20)
Dissolved	2016
Ground	Lankaran City Stadium, Lankaran, Azerbaijan
Capacity	15,500
Owner	Armin Rezanezhad
League	Azerbaijan Premier League
2015–16	10th (relegated)
Home colours Away colours

Khazar Lankaran FK (Azerbaijani: Xəzər Lənkəran Futbol Klubu) was an Azerbaijani football club based in Lankaran that last played in the Azerbaijan Premier League during the 2015–16 season.

Since the summer of 2016 the club has concentrated on youth football. It played in the Azerbaijan Premier League for twelve-seasons, winning the title once, and the Azerbaijan Cup three times. Khazar were also a member of the European Club Association, an organization that replaced the previous G-14 which consists of major football clubs in Europe.

History

Early years (2004–2012)

The club was founded in 2004 by Azerbaijani entrepreneur Mubariz Mansimov and dubbed by the local media as "Caucasian Chelsea" because of its strong financial position. Under Agaselim Mirjavadov club won Premier League title during the 2006–07 season and the Azerbaijan Cup twice. Khazar also won the CIS Cup in 2008, defeating Pakhtakor Tashkent in the final.

After Fabian Veldwijk's appointment, a string of Romanian players and footballers were signed from Liga I, but the club did not find success in European cup competition. On 4 December 2013, Khazar announced that Veldwijk had been sacked by the club due to a run of poor performances.

Recent years (2014–2016)

In July 2014, the club under Yunis Huseynov earned their first win in European competition by beating Nõmme Kalju. In March 2015, former Liverpool striker John Toshack was appointed as new manager after signing two-year deal with the club. In 2015–16 season, Khazar finished in 12th place, the club's lowest finishing position to date. Khazar Lankaran once again featured in European competitions during the 2015–16 season, featuring in the UEFA Europa League, where they were knocked out 3–0 on aggregate after suffering their heaviest European defeat ever, losing 8–0 to Maccabi Haifa.

Following the Professional Football League of Azerbaijan's decision to deny Khazar a licence for the 2016–17 season, the club announced their withdrawal from professional football.

League and cup history

Season	League									Azerbaijan Cup	Top goalscorer
	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P		Name	League
2004–05	1st	2	34	24	6	4	68	15	78	Semi-finals	Samir Aliyev	20
2005–06	1st	7	26	9	9	8	27	18	36	Semi-finals	Samir Aliyev	4
2006–07	1st	1	24	17	5	2	50	16	56	Winners	Zaur Ramazanov	20
2007–08	1st	4	26	14	10	2	44	16	52	Winners	Zaur Ramazanov	11
2008–09	1st	4	26	15	5	6	49	21	50	Quarter-finals	Ivan Tsvetkov	15
2009–10	1st	4	42	18	17	7	48	25	71	Runners-up	Mario Sergio	9
2010–11	1st	2	32	16	12	4	38	18	60	Winners	Winston Parks	8
2011–12	1st	2	32	17	8	7	44	28	59	Quarter-finals	Branimir Subašić	6
2012–13	1st	8	32	10	10	12	40	37	40	Runners-up	Dimitris Sialmas	6
2013–14	1st	6	36	12	13	11	44	49	49	Semi-finals	Mbilla Etame	11
2014–15	1st	7	32	8	8	16	35	46	32	Quarter-finals	Galin Ivanov	6
2015–16	1st	10	36	3	6	27	16	51	15	Quarter-finals	Rahid Amirguliyev	4

European history

As of 17 July 2013

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2005–06	UEFA Cup	1Q	FC Nistru Otaci	1–2	1–3	2–5
2007–08	UEFA Champions League	1Q	NK Dinamo Zagreb	1–1	1–3 (aet)	2–4
2008–09	UEFA Cup	1Q	Lech Poznań	0–1	1–4	1–5
2010–11	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Olimpia	1–1	0–0	1–1 (a)
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Maccabi Tel Aviv	0–0	1–3	1–3
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Nõmme Kalju	2–2	2–0	4–2
		2Q	Lech Poznań	1–1	0–1	1–2
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	1Q	Sliema Wanderers	1–0	1–1	2–1
		2Q	Maccabi Haifa	0–8	0–2	0–10

Crest and colours

The club's crest includes stockless anchor with a football ball. The badge shaped like traditional compass with white-green background elements.

Shirt sponsors and kit manufacturers

Khazar's traditional kit is composed of white shirts, green shorts and white socks. The club's kits are manufactured by Puma and sponsored by Palmali, a multinational shipping company in Istanbul.

Stadium

Lankaran City Stadium

Fırtınalar Meydanı (Arena of Storms)
Location	Lankaran, Azerbaijan
Owner	Khazar Lankaran
Operator	Khazar Lankaran
Capacity	15,000 seated
Construction
Broke ground	2005
Opened	11 August 2006
Construction cost	$15 million
Tenants
Khazar Lankaran (2006–present)

Khazar Lankaran's home ground is Lankaran City Stadium. It has a capacity of 15,000 and is the third largest stadium in Azerbaijan. The stadium also known as Fırtınalar meydanı (Arena of Storms), named after club's local supporters Fırtına fan group.

On 17 July 2009, UEFA approved stadium for the usage during international football matches. The stadium hosted its first senior international match on 5 September 2009, between Azerbaijan and Finland.

Supporters

Khazar is one of the best supported clubs in Azerbaijan, having the highest attendance after FC Kapaz in the Caucasus region. Supporters of Khazar Lankaran are drawn from all over the Southern Region and beyond, with supporters' clubs all across the world. The club's supporters are also known as the Fırtına(Storm) the first established independent fan club in Azernaijan. Fan club's first president Ravan Bashirov also been appointed as vice- president of Khazar Lankaran FC. .

Rivalry

There is often a fierce rivalry between the two strongest teams in the Azerbaijan Premier League, and this is particularly the case in Azerbaijan, where the game between Khazar Lankaran and Neftchi Baku is known as Böyük Oyun (The Great Game).

Honours

National

• Azerbaijan Premier League
  • Winners (1): 2006–07
• Azerbaijan Cup
  • Winners (3): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2010–11
• Azerbaijan Supercup
  • Winners (1): 2013

Regional

• CIS Cup
  • Winners (1): 2008

Individual records

Lists of the players with the most caps and top goalscorers for the club, as of 30 August 2014 (players in bold signifies current Khazar player). Zaur Ramazanov is the club's all-time top scorer with 33 goals in 69 games.

Top Ten Highest Goalscorers

Player		Period	Appearances	Goals
1	Zaur Ramazanov	2005–08; 2011	69	33
2	Ivan Tsvetkov	2008–10	50	22
3	Rahid Amirguliyev	2006–present	189	20
4	Mario Sergio	2008–10	58	18
5	Oktay Derelioğlu	2004–05	17	16
6	Branimir Subašić	2011–13	51	14
7	Rashad Abdullayev	2004–09	116	12
8	Mbilla Etame	2013–14	35	11
9	Allan Lalín	2009–11	43	11
10	Sadio Tounkara	2011–present	81	11

Top Ten Players With Most Appearances

Player		Period	Caps	Goals
1	Rahid Amirguliyev	2006–present	189	20
2	Radomir Todorov	2007–10; 2012–13	136	1
3	Kamran Agayev	2006–13	122	0
4	Alim Qurbanov	2004–12	121	11
5	Rashad Abdullayev	2004–09	116	12
6	Elnur Abdullayev	2011–present	109	10
7	Adrian Scarlatache	2011; 2012–2015	96	11
8	Sadio Tounkara	2011–present	81	11
9	Adrian Piț	2011–14	75	8
10	Emin Quliyev	2005–09	70	10

Notable managers

The following managers have all won at least one trophy when in charge of FK Khazar Lankaran:

Name	Period	Trophies
Agaselim Mirjavadov	2007–09	Azerbaijan Premier League, Azerbaijan Cup (2), CIS Cup
Mircea Rednic	2010–11	Azerbaijan Cup
John Toshack	2013	Azerbaijan Supercup

In popular culture

A number of television programmes have included references to Khazar Lankaran over the past few decades. In the sitcom Aramizda Galsin, the character Jasarat is a Khazar supporter. Khazar have also featured on several occasions in meykhana.

References

1. ^ "Statement of Khazar Lankaran FC". lankaranfc.com. Khazar Lankaran. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
2. "Хет-трик ХЛ, черный покер Интера". Retrieved 25 May 2011.
3. Ibrahimov, Erkin. "Xäzär beat İnter to win Azerbaijani Cup". UEFA.
4. Наставник сборной Молдавии отрицает переход в "кавказский "Челси" (in Russian)
5. Кавказский "Челси": миф или реалность? Archived 13 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Russian)
6. "Хазар" выиграл Кубок Содружества (in Russian). Trend News Agency. 27 January 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
7. Лянкаранский Хазар выиграл Кубок Содружества! (in Russian). Bakililar.az. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
8. "Azerii au dat afara toti strainii. Veldwijk, pe faras!". Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
9. "Probleme mari pentru Veldwijk in "Tara Focurilor"". Retrieved 22 July 2013.
10. ХЛ отправляет Редника в отставку. Azerisport.com (in Russian). Retrieved 4 December 2013.
11. "ŞOK! ŞOK! ŞOK! Fabian Veldwijk istefa verdi". fanat.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 4 December 2013.
12. "Xäzär Länkäran earn maiden European win". UEFA. Uefa.com. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
13. Тошак возглавил "Хазар-Ленкорань". Footballtop.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 17 March 2015.
14. Джон Тошак возглавил азербайджанский футбольный клуб. ua-football.com (in Russian). 8 March 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
15. ""Xəzər Lənkəran"a açıq məktub". futbolpress.az (in Azerbaijani). 7 February 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
16. "Men in Black: an historic 8:0 for Maccabi Haifa against Khazar Lankaran". Maccabi Haifa's Official Site. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
17. "Fırtınalar meydanı"nda qol şousu Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
18. "Fırtınalar meydanı" niyə dolmur... Archived 5 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
19. Azərbaycan – Finlandiya oyunu Lənkəranda keçiriləcək Archived 19 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
20. affa.az:Azərbaycan – Finlandiya oyunu Lənkəranda keçiriləcək (in Azerbaijani)
21. Khazar Lankaran FC’s Baku Fan Club Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
22. "FIRTINA" Fan Club Archived 1 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
23. “Xəzər Lənkəran”a zərbə yox, dəstək lazımdır! Archived 1 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine (in Azerbaijani)
24. Раиль МЕЛИКОВ: «Это главное дерби Азербайджана и его невозможно сравнить с другим матчем» Archived 1 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine(in Russian)
25. “XƏZƏR-LƏNKƏRAN”-"NEFTÇİ" DERBİSİ İTV-dən YAYIMLANACAQ Archived 24 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine(in Azerbaijani)
26. pfl.az:50 saat qalmış Archived 11 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine(in Azerbaijani)
27. "Azerbaijan Premier League Stats". PFL.az. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
28. ""Aramızda qalsın"da "Böyük oyun" həyəcanı – VİDEO". korner.az (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
29. "Xəzər Lənkəran"ın qapıçısından bədahətən meyxana". avropa.info (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 9 November 2014.
30. "Meyxana ustası: "Xəzər Lənkəran"da türk futbolçular çox olmalıdır"". sportarena.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 9 November 2014.

External links

• Official website

• Khazar Lankaran FK
• Football clubs in Azerbaijan
• Lankaran
• Association football clubs established in 2004
• 2004 establishments in Azerbaijan
• Defunct football clubs in Azerbaijan
• Association football clubs disestablished in 2016
• 2016 disestablishments in Azerbaijan