# 2015–16 Gabala FC season

The 2015–16 season was Gabala FK's 11th season, and their 10th in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top-flight of Azerbaijani football. Domestically, Gabala finished 3rd in the Premier League for the third season in a row and reached the semifinals of the Azerbaijan Cup where they were defeated by Neftchi Baku. In Europe Gabala reached the group stages of the UEFA Europa League where they faced PAOK, Krasnodar and Borussia Dortmund before finishing bottom of the group.

## Season review

In September 2015, Gabala announced a new one-year shirt sponsorship deal with QafqaZ Hotels and Resorts.

### Transfers

The summer transfer window saw a lot of transfer movement from Gabala, with 14 players leaving the club and 9 players arriving. The most notable departures were the club's all-time leading goalscorer Victor Mendy returning to France, Ruslan Fomin moving to FC Atyrau in Kazakhstan, and Ekigho Ehiosun returning to parent club Gençlerbirliği S.K. Alexandru Benga, Ruslan Abışov, Adrian Ropotan, Pavol Farkaš and Mikhail Sivakow also left the clubs at the end of their contracts.
Arif Dashdemirov, Magomed Mirzabekov, Asif Mammadov all joined from Inter Baku PIK permanently, whilst Vojislav Stanković also joined from Inter Baku on an 18-month loan deal. Andrey Popovich and Samir Zargarov also joined from other Azerbaijan Premier League clubs, Sumgayit FK and Simurq PFC respectively. Sergei Zenjov moved from recently relegated Russian Premier League side FC Torpedo Moscow, Vitaliy Vernydub from FC Zorya Luhansk, Oleksiy Antonov from FC Aktobe, and George Florescu from Astra Giurgiu.

## Transfers
### Summer

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AZE | Andrey Popovich (from Sumgayit) |
| 3 | DF | SRB | Vojislav Stanković (loan from Inter Baku) |
| 5 | MF | ROU | George Florescu (from Astra Giurgiu) |
| 7 | FW | BIH | Ermin Zec (from Balıkesirspor) |
| 8 | MF | AZE | Magomed Mirzabekov (from Inter Baku) |
| 9 | FW | EST | Sergei Zenjov (from Torpedo Moscow) |
| 11 | MF | AZE | Asif Mammadov (from Inter Baku) |
| 15 | DF | UKR | Vitaliy Vernydub (from Zorya Luhansk) |
| 17 | FW | AZE | Vüqar Nadirov (from Khazar Lankaran) |
| 18 | MF | AZE | Vadim Abdullayev (from Simurq) |
| 21 | MF | AZE | Arif Dashdemirov (from Inter Baku) |
| 32 | FW | ARG | Facundo Pereyra (loan from PAOK) |
| 33 | GK | POL | Dawid Pietrzkiewicz |
| 66 | MF | AZE | Samir Zargarov (from Simurq) |
| 69 | FW | UKR | Oleksiy Antonov (from Aktobe) |
| 70 | FW | AZE | Vagif Javadov (loan from Khazar Lankaran) |
| 87 | DF | AZE | Ruslan Abışov (from Khazar Lankaran) |
| 88 | MF | PAR | David Meza (from Inter Baku) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 5 | DF | AZE | Sadig Guliyev (loan to Zira) |
| 7 | DF | AZE | Ruslan Amirjanov (to Inter Baku) |
| 9 | FW | SEN | Victor Mendy |
| 12 | DF | ROU | Alexandru Benga (to Petrolul Ploiești) |
| 14 | FW | AZE | Javid Huseynov (Jailed) |
| 15 | DF | AZE | Ruslan Abışov (to Khazar Lankaran) |
| 16 | MF | AZE | Ruslan Tagizade (to Zira) |
| 18 | FW | UKR | Ruslan Fomin (to Atyrau) |
| 25 | MF | ROU | Adrian Ropotan (to Petrolul Ploiești) |
| 26 | DF | SVK | Pavol Farkaš (to Skoda Xanthi) |
| 27 | FW | AZE | Bakhtiyar Soltanov (to Kapaz) |
| 28 | DF | AZE | İbrahim Aslanli |
| 30 | GK | AZE | Anar Nazirov (to Zira) |
| 32 | MF | BLR | Mikhail Sivakow (to Zorya Luhansk) |
| 55 | GK | AZE | Javidan Huseynzadeh |
| 88 | MF | AZE | Mushfig Teymurov (loan to AZAL) |
| 90 | FW | NGA | Ekigho Ehiosun (loan return to Gençlerbirliği) |
| 99 | MF | AZE | Tellur Mutallimov (loan to Zira) |
| — | DF | AZE | Rashid Amiraslanov |
| — | MF | AZE | Tarzin Jahangirov (loan to Zira, previously on loan to Sumgayit) |

### Winter

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 5 | DF | AZE | Pavlo Pashayev (from Metalurh Zaporizhya) |
| 32 | FW | AZE | Rashad Eyyubov (from Kapaz) |
| — | FW | BRA | Emerson (Trial) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 5 | MF | ROU | George Florescu (to Omonia) |
| 17 | FW | AZE | Vüqar Nadirov (to Inter Baku) |
| 32 | FW | ARG | Facundo Pereyra (loan return to PAOK) |
| 70 | FW | AZE | Vagif Javadov (loan return to Khazar Lankaran) |
| 88 | MF | PAR | David Meza (to Cerro Porteño) |
| — | MF | AZE | Mushfig Teymurov (to Shamkir, previously on loan to AZAL) |

## Squad

    As of match played 20 May 2016
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Andrey Popovich | GK | (1992-03-04)4 March 1992 (aged 24) | Sumgayit | 2015 | | 10 | 0 |
| 22 | Dmytro Bezotosnyi | GK | (1983-11-15)15 November 1983 (aged 32) | Chornomorets Odesa | 2015 | 2016 | 61 | 0 |
| 33 | Dawid Pietrzkiewicz | GK | (1988-02-09)9 February 1988 (aged 28) | Free Agent | 2015 | | 12 | 0 |
| 36 | Suleyman Suleymanov | GK | (1997-03-20)20 March 1997 (aged 19) | Trainee | 2015 | | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | Sahil Mirzoyev | DF | (1997-01-18)18 January 1997 (aged 19) | Trainee | 2015 | | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Vojislav Stanković | DF | (1987-09-22)22 September 1987 (aged 28) | loan from Inter Baku | 2015 | 2017 | 39 | 0 |
| 5 | Pavlo Pashayev | DF | (1988-01-04)4 January 1988 (aged 28) | Metalurh Zaporizhya | 2016 | 2016 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Murad Musayev | DF | (1994-06-13)13 June 1994 (aged 21) | Trainee | 2012 | | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | Vitaliy Vernydub | DF | (1987-10-17)17 October 1987 (aged 28) | Zorya Luhansk | 2015 | 2016 | 22 | 0 |
| 20 | Ricardinho | DF | (1984-09-09)9 September 1984 (aged 31) | Malmö | 2015 | | 42 | 1 |
| 21 | Arif Dashdemirov | DF | (1987-02-10)10 February 1987 (aged 29) | Inter Baku | 2015 | | 64 | 1 |
| 34 | Urfan Abbasov | DF | (1992-10-14)14 October 1992 (aged 23) | Qarabağ | 2011 | | 126 | 2 |
| 44 | Rafael Santos | DF | (1984-11-10)10 November 1984 (aged 31) | Arsenal Kyiv | 2014 | 2017 | 84 | 2 |
| 74 | Yusif Nabiyev | DF | | Trainee | 2015 | | 0 | 0 |
| 87 | Ruslan Abışov | DF | (1987-10-10)10 October 1987 (aged 28) | Khazar Lankaran | 2015 | 2016 | 51 | 4 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 4 | Elvin Jamalov | MF | (1995-02-04)4 February 1995 (aged 21) | Trainee | 2013 | | 73 | 0 |
| 6 | Rashad Sadiqov | MF | (1983-10-08)8 October 1983 (aged 32) | Khazar Lankaran | 2015 | | 56 | 2 |
| 8 | Magomed Mirzabekov | MF | (1990-11-16)16 November 1990 (aged 25) | Inter Baku | 2015 | | 29 | 0 |
| 11 | Asif Mammadov | MF | (1986-08-05)5 August 1986 (aged 29) | Inter Baku | 2015 | 2016 | 26 | 3 |
| 16 | Emin Zamanov | MF | (1997-12-26)26 December 1997 (aged 18) | Trainee | 2015 | | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Vadim Abdullayev | MF | (1994-12-17)17 December 1994 (aged 21) | Simurq | 2015 | | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | Oleksiy Gai | MF | (1982-11-06)6 November 1982 (aged 33) | Chornomorets Odesa | 2015 | 2016 | 71 | 18 |
| 25 | Gismat Aliyev | MF | (1996-10-24)24 October 1996 (aged 19) | Trainee | 2014 | | 8 | 0 |
| 37 | Kamal Mirzayev | MF | (1994-09-14)14 September 1994 (aged 21) | Trainee | 2012 | | 5 | 0 |
| 66 | Samir Zargarov | MF | (1986-08-29)29 August 1986 (aged 29) | Simurq | 2015 | | 122 | 14 |
| 77 | Ehtiram Şahverdiyev | MF | (1996-10-01)1 October 1996 (aged 19) | Trainee | 2015 | | 2 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 7 | Ermin Zec | ST | (1988-02-18)18 February 1988 (aged 28) | Balıkesirspor | 2015 | 2016 | 36 | 10 |
| 9 | Sergei Zenjov | ST | (1989-04-20)20 April 1989 (aged 27) | Torpedo Moscow | 2015 | 2017 | 42 | 5 |
| 10 | Dodô | ST | (1987-10-16)16 October 1987 (aged 28) | Lokomotiva | 2011 | 2016 | 161 | 30 |
| 32 | Rashad Eyyubov | ST | (1995-12-03)3 December 1995 (aged 20) | Kapaz | 2016 | | 21 | 2 |
| 69 | Oleksiy Antonov | ST | (1986-05-08)8 May 1986 (aged 30) | Aktobe | 2015 | 2017 | 49 | 8 |
| 90 | Ramil Hasanov | ST | (1996-02-15)15 February 1996 (aged 20) | Trainee | 2015 | | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | Roman Huseynov | ST | (1997-12-26)26 December 1997 (aged 18) | Trainee | 2015 | | 4 | 0 |
| Left during the season ||||||||||
| 5 | George Florescu | MF | (1984-05-21)21 May 1984 (aged 31) | Astra Giurgiu | 2015 | 2017 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | Javid Huseynov | ST | (1988-03-09)9 March 1988 (aged 28) | FK Baku | 2014 | | 40 | 15 |
| 17 | Vüqar Nadirov | ST | (1987-06-15)15 June 1987 (aged 28) | Khazar Lankaran | 2015 | 2015 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Facundo Pereyra | ST | (1987-10-03)3 October 1987 (aged 28) | loan from PAOK | 2015 | 2016 | 21 | 5 |
| 70 | Vagif Javadov | ST | (1989-05-25)25 May 1989 (aged 26) | loan from Khazar Lankaran | 2015 | 2015 | 5 | 1 |
| 88 | David Meza | MF | (1988-08-15)15 August 1988 (aged 27) | Inter Baku | 2015 | 2016 | 10 | 1 |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | AZE | Sadig Guliyev (at Kapaz) |
| — | MF | AZE | Tarzin Jahangirov (at Zira) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | AZE | Tellur Mutallimov (at Zira) |

## Competitions
### Azerbaijan Premier League
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 15 May 2016. Source: Soccerway

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Qarabağ (C) | 36 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 66 | 21 | +45 | 84 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Zira | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 42 | 31 | +11 | 62 | |
| 3 | Gabala | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 44 | 28 | +16 | 59 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 4 | Inter Baku | 36 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 59 | |
| 5 | Kapaz | 36 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 56 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
* ↑ Qarabağ qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Azerbaijan Cup. However, since they already qualified for European competition based on their league position, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed down the league.
* ↑ Zira would have qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round, but failed to obtain a UEFA licence as the club has existed professionally for less than three season.
* 1 2 Gabala ahead of Inter Baku on head-to-head record: Inter Baku–Gabala 2–1, Gabala–Inter Baku 1–1, Inter Baku–Gabala 0–1, Gabala–Inter Baku 0–0.
* ↑ On 31 March 2016, the Adjudicatory Chamber of the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) announced that Inter Baku will be excluded from participating in the next UEFA club competition for which they would otherwise qualify in the next three seasons (i.e. the 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons).

### UEFA Europa League
#### Qualifying rounds
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Krasnodar | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 13 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 5 | +5 | 10 | Advance to knockout phase |
| 3 | PAOK | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | |
| 4 | Gabala | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 12 | −10 | 2 | |

## Squad statistics

    As of Match played 20 May 2016

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa League | Europa League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | AZE | Andrey Popovich | 10 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SRB | Vojislav Stanković | 39 | 0 | 22+2 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | AZE | Elvin Jamalov | 37 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | AZE | Pavlo Pashayev | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | AZE | Rashad Sadiqov | 42 | 2 | 23+4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8+4 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | BIH | Ermin Zec | 36 | 10 | 16+7 | 7 | 3+1 | 3 | 4+5 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | AZE | Magomed Mirzabekov | 29 | 0 | 18+7 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | EST | Sergei Zenjov | 42 | 5 | 22+4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 10 | FW | BRA | Dodô | 34 | 7 | 18+1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8+5 | 4 |
| 11 | MF | AZE | Asif Mammadov | 26 | 3 | 12+7 | 2 | 3+1 | 1 | 0+3 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | AZE | Murad Musayev | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | UKR | Vitaliy Vernydub | 22 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | AZE | Vadim Abdullayev | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | UKR | Oleksiy Gai | 53 | 14 | 34+1 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | BRA | Ricardinho | 32 | 1 | 11+5 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 13 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | AZE | Arif Dashdemirov | 46 | 1 | 27+3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10+4 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | UKR | Dmytro Bezotosnyi | 44 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | AZE | Gismat Aliyev | 7 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | AZE | Rashad Eyyubov | 21 | 2 | 7+10 | 1 | 1+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | GK | POL | Dawid Pietrzkiewicz | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | AZE | Urfan Abbasov | 30 | 0 | 18+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | BRA | Rafael Santos | 33 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 2+1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 66 | MF | AZE | Samir Zargarov | 38 | 4 | 16+10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3+6 | 0 |
| 69 | FW | UKR | Oleksiy Antonov | 49 | 8 | 19+13 | 7 | 2+1 | 0 | 14 | 1 |
| 77 | MF | AZE | Ehtiram Şahverdiyev | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 87 | DF | AZE | Ruslan Abışov | 19 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | FW | AZE | Roman Huseynov | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players away from Gabala on loan: ||||||||||||
| Players who appeared for Gabala no longer at the club: ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | ROU | George Florescu | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | AZE | Javid Huseynov | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| 32 | FW | ARG | Facundo Pereyra | 20 | 5 | 7+7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3+2 | 0 |
| 70 | FW | AZE | Vagif Javadov | 5 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 88 | MF | PAR | David Meza | 10 | 1 | 2+2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 |

### Goal scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa League | Total |
| 1 | MF | 19 | Oleksiy Gai | 10 | 4 | 0 | 14 |
| 2 | FW | 7 | Ermin Zec | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | FW | 69 | Oleksiy Antonov | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| 4 | FW | 10 | Dodô | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| 5 | FW | 32 | Facundo Pereyra | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | FW | 9 | Sergei Zenjov | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 | MF | 66 | Samir Zargarov | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | MF | 11 | Asif Mammadov | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | FW | 14 | Javid Huseynov | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 10 | DF | 44 | Rafael Santos | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | | | Own goal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | 32 | Rashad Eyyubov | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | 6 | Rashad Sadiqov | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | DF | 21 | Arif Dashdemirov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | MF | 88 | David Meza | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | DF | 20 | Ricardinho | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 14 | FW | 70 | Vagif Javadov | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 44 | 16 | 11 | 71 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa League | Europa League | Total | Total |
| 3 | DF | Vojislav Stanković | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Elvin Jamalov | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Rashad Sadiqov | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 7 | FW | Ermin Zec | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Magomed Mirzabekov | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Sergei Zenjov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Dodô | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Asif Mammadov | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Vitaliy Vernydub | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Oleksiy Gai | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Ricardinho | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Arif Dashdemirov | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 22 | GK | Dmytro Bezotosnyi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Rashad Eyyubov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Urfan Abbasov | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 44 | DF | Rafael Santos | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 66 | MF | Samir Zargarov | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 69 | FW | Oleksiy Antonov | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 87 | DF | Ruslan Abışov | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Players who left Gabala during the season: ||||||||||||
| 5 | MF | George Florescu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Javid Huseynov | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Facundo Pereyra | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | MF | David Meza | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 78 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 121 | 3 |