# 2023–24 Gabala FK season

The 2023–24 season was Gabala FK's 19th season, and their 18th in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top-flight of Azerbaijani football.

## Season overview

On 23 June, Gabala announced the signing of Ahmed Isaiah from Kapaz to a one-year contract. The following day, 24 June, Gabala announced the signing of Zurab Ochihava from Sabah to a two-year contract.
On 2 July, Gabala announced the signing of Lucas Áfrico from Estoril to a one-year contract with the option of a second.
On 4 July, Gabala announced the signings of Gilad Avramov from Hapoel Hadera to a two-year contract and with Osama Khalaila from Maccabi Tel Aviv on a one-year contract with the option of another.
On 9 July, Gabala announced the signing of Rauf Hüseynli from Shamakhi to a one-year contract.
On 14 July, Gabala announced the signing of Bilel Aouacheria from Gil Vicente to a two-year contract.
On 25 July, Gabala announced the signing of Rashad Azizli from Shamakhi to a one-year contract.
On 5 September, Gabala announced the singing of Samuel Tetteh to a two-year contract from Adanaspor.
On 9 January 2024, Gabala announced that Omar Hani had left the club by mutual consent. Later the same day, Clésio returned to Gabala, having previously played for the club during the 2019–20 season, on a 2.5-year contract.
On 24 February, following a 2-1 defeat to Kapaz the previous day that left Gabala eight points a drift at the bottom of the league, Elmar Bakhshiyev resigned as Head Coach of the club. The following day, 25 February, Gabala announced Kakhaber Tskhadadze as their new Head Coach on a contract until the summer of 2025.
On 8 March, Gilad Avramov left Gabala by mutual consent.
On 19 April, Fares Abu Akel left Gabala by mutual consent.
On 27 May, Gabala announced that Lucas Áfrico, Ahmed Isaiah, Ayyoub Allach, Clésio, Yaovi Akakpo and Osama Khalaila had all left the club with their contracts expiring.

## Squad

    As of match played 25 May 2024
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Rashad Azizli | GK | (1994-01-01)1 January 1994 (aged 30) | Shamakhi | 2023 | 2024 | 22 | 0 |
| 13 | Christophe Atangana | GK | (2000-03-02)2 March 2000 (aged 24) | Bilbao Athletic | 2021 | 2023 | 36 | 0 |
| 36 | Elməddin Sultanov | GK | (2001-05-07)7 May 2001 (aged 23) | Academy | 2021 | | 0 | 0 |
| 94 | Habib Hushanov | GK | | Academy | 2023 | | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | Ilkin Qirtimov | DF | (1990-11-04)4 November 1990 (aged 33) | Shamakhi | 2022 | 2025 | 68 | 0 |
| 3 | Zurab Ochihava | DF | (1995-05-18)18 May 1995 (aged 29) | Sabah | 2023 | 2025 | 24 | 0 |
| 4 | Lucas Áfrico | DF | (1995-02-05)5 February 1995 (aged 29) | Estoril | 2023 | 2024 (+1) | 35 | 1 |
| 5 | Rauf Hüseynli | DF | (2000-01-25)25 January 2000 (aged 24) | Shamakhi | 2023 | 2024 | 35 | 1 |
| 12 | Nicat Aliyev | DF | (2001-09-24)24 September 2001 (aged 22) | Sumgayit | 2022 | | 22 | 0 |
| 24 | Khayal Khudaverdiyev | DF | (2003-01-22)22 January 2003 (aged 21) | Academy | 2023 | | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | İbrahim Ramazanov | DF | (2004-10-10)10 October 2004 (aged 19) | Academy | 2023 | | 4 | 0 |
| 28 | Murad Musayev | DF | (1994-06-13)13 June 1994 (aged 29) | Zira | 2019 | | 139 | 4 |
| 33 | Huseyn Mursalov | DF | (2002-07-12)12 July 2002 (aged 21) | Academy | 2021 | | 7 | 0 |
| 34 | Urfan Abbasov | DF | (1992-10-14)14 October 1992 (aged 31) | Sabail | 2021 | | 305 | 6 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 9 | Ayyoub Allach | MF | (1998-01-28)28 January 1998 (aged 26) | Virton | 2023 | 2024 | 56 | 10 |
| 11 | Asif Mammadov | MF | (1986-08-05)5 August 1986 (aged 37) | Inter Baku | 2015 | | 252 | 17 |
| 17 | Yaovi Akakpo | MF | (1999-03-11)11 March 1999 (aged 25) | | 2019 | | 30 | 3 |
| 20 | Bilel Aouacheria | MF | (1994-04-02)2 April 1994 (aged 30) | Gil Vicente | 2023 | 2025 | 42 | 6 |
| 27 | Eşqin Ahmadov | MF | (2005-11-06)6 November 2005 (aged 18) | Academy | 2023 | | 5 | 0 |
| 30 | Shahin Shahniyarov | MF | (2005-01-01)1 January 2005 (aged 19) | Academy | 2023 | | 9 | 0 |
| 77 | Okan Tahmazli | MF | (2005-02-03)3 February 2005 (aged 19) | Academy | 2023 | | 2 | 0 |
| 97 | Emil Süleymanov | MF | (2004-03-15)15 March 2004 (aged 20) | Academy | 2023 | | 1 | 0 |
| 99 | Ahmed Isaiah | MF | (1995-10-10)10 October 1995 (aged 28) | Sabah | 2023 | 2024 | 26 | 1 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 7 | Emil Safarov | FW | (2002-10-30)30 October 2002 (aged 21) | Academy | 2021 | | 93 | 5 |
| 10 | Clésio | FW | (1994-10-11)11 October 1994 (aged 29) | Honka | 2024 | 2026 | 35 | 4 |
| 14 | Ulvi Isgandarov | FW | (1998-04-17)17 April 1998 (aged 26) | Academy | 2017 | | 140 | 21 |
| 18 | Mehrac Bakhshali | FW | (2003-06-11)11 June 2003 (aged 20) | Academy | 2022 | | 19 | 1 |
| 19 | Samuel Tetteh | FW | (1996-07-28)28 July 1996 (aged 27) | Adanaspor | 2023 | 2025 | 25 | 3 |
| 71 | Senan Ağalarov | FW | (2005-05-12)12 May 2005 (aged 19) | Academy | 2023 | | 1 | 0 |
| 72 | Osama Khalaila | FW | (1998-04-06)6 April 1998 (aged 26) | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2023 | 2024 (+1) | 40 | 10 |
| Out on loan ||||||||||
| 12 | Rufat Ahmadov | DF | (2002-09-22)22 September 2002 (aged 21) | Academy | 2020 | | 30 | 0 |
| Left during the season ||||||||||
| 6 | Fares Abu Akel | MF | (1997-02-08)8 February 1997 (aged 27) | Ashdod | 2022 | 2024 | 47 | 3 |
| 8 | Gilad Avramov | MF | (2000-03-30)30 March 2000 (aged 24) | Hapoel Hadera | 2023 | 2025 | 23 | 0 |
| 10 | Omar Hani | MF | (1999-06-27)27 June 1999 (aged 24) | APOEL | 2021 | 2022 (+1) | 85 | 4 |

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | AZE | Rufat Ahmadov (at Kapaz) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 23 June 2023 | MF | Ahmed Isaiah | Kapaz | Undisclosed |
| 24 June 2023 | DF | Zurab Ochihava | Sabah | Undisclosed |
| 2 July 2023 | DF | Lucas Áfrico | Estoril | Undisclosed |
| 4 July 2023 | MF | Gilad Avramov | Hapoel Hadera | Undisclosed |
| 4 July 2023 | FW | Osama Khalaila | Maccabi Tel Aviv | Undisclosed |
| 9 July 2023 | DF | Rauf Hüseynli | Shamakhi | Undisclosed |
| 14 July 2023 | MF | Bilel Aouacheria | Gil Vicente | Undisclosed |
| 25 July 2023 | GK | Rashad Azizli | Shamakhi | Undisclosed |
| 5 September 2023 | FW | Samuel Tetteh | Adanaspor | Undisclosed |
| 9 January 2024 | FW | Clésio | Honka | Undisclosed |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Date to | Ref. |
| 5 July 2023 | DF | | Rufat Ahmadov | Kapaz | End of season | |

### Released

| Date | Position | Name | Joined | Date |
| 3 July 2023 | FW | Raphael Utzig | Chungnam Asan | 7 July 2023 |
| 22 July 2023 | MF | Rauf Rustamli | Sabah | |
| 9 January 2024 | MF | Omar Hani | Doxa Katokopias | 19 January 2024 |
| 8 March 2024 | MF | Gilad Avramov | Ironi Tiberias | |
| 19 April 2024 | MF | Fares Abu Akel | Ironi Tiberias | |
| 27 May 2024 | DF | Lucas Áfrico | Farense | 28 June 2024 |
| 27 May 2024 | MF | Ayyoub Allach | Sheriff Tiraspol | 4 July 2024 |
| 27 May 2024 | MF | Ahmed Isaiah | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | |
| 27 May 2024 | MF | Yaovi Akakpo | | |
| 27 May 2024 | FW | Osama Khalaila | LNZ Cherkasy | 30 August 2024 |
| 27 May 2024 | FW | Clésio | Al-Arabi | |
| 15 June 2024 | MF | Bilel Aouacheria | Al-Najma | 20 September 2024 |
| 30 June 2024 | GK | Rashad Azizli | Sumgayit | 27 September 2024 |
| 30 June 2024 | DF | Urfan Abbasov | Araz-Naxçıvan | 1 July 2024 |
| 30 June 2024 | FW | Ulvi Isgandarov | Araz-Naxçıvan | 1 July 2024 |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier League | 6 August 2023 | 25 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | 10th | 36 | 7 | 5 | 24 | 30 | 64 | −34 | 019.44 |
| Azerbaijan Cup | 19 December 2023 | 24 April 2024 | Last 16 | Semifinal | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | +0 | 040.00 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 27 July 2023 | 3 August 2023 | Second qualifying round | Second qualifying round | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 43 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 38 | 76 | −38 | 020.93 |
Last updated: 25 May 2024 Source: Competitions

### Premier League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Turan Tovuz | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 48 | |
| 7 | Sabail | 36 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 42 | |
| 8 | Araz-Naxçıvan | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 31 | 50 | −19 | 36 | |
| 9 | Kapaz | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 39 | 67 | −28 | 35 | |
| 10 | Gabala (R) | 36 | 7 | 5 | 24 | 30 | 64 | −34 | 26 | Relegation to Azerbaijan First Division |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 25 May 2024. Source: See Results

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
| Ground | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | W | L | L | D | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | D | L | W | W | W | L |
| Position | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |

#### Results
### UEFA Europa Conference League
#### Second qualifying round
## Squad statistics

    As of match played 25 May 2024

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa Conference League | Europa Conference League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | AZE | Rashad Azizli | 22 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | AZE | Ilkin Qirtimov | 30 | 0 | 20+4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | UKR | Zurab Ochihava | 24 | 0 | 15+6 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | BRA | Lucas Áfrico | 35 | 1 | 29+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | AZE | Rauf Hüseynli | 35 | 1 | 26+4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | AZE | Emil Safarov | 36 | 1 | 27+2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | MAR | Ayyoub Allach | 40 | 7 | 33 | 5 | 4+1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | MOZ | Clésio | 13 | 1 | 6+5 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | AZE | Asif Mammadov | 19 | 0 | 4+11 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | AZE | Nicat Aliyev | 22 | 0 | 8+10 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | CMR | Christophe Atangana | 21 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | AZE | Ulvi Isgandarov | 26 | 1 | 10+11 | 1 | 0+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | TOG | Yaovi Akakpo | 20 | 1 | 2+14 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | AZE | Mehrac Bakhshali | 18 | 1 | 0+15 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | GHA | Samuel Tetteh | 25 | 3 | 13+8 | 2 | 3+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | FRA | Bilel Aouacheria | 42 | 6 | 29+6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | AZE | İbrahim Ramazanov | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | AZE | Eşqin Ahmadov | 5 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | AZE | Murad Musayev | 35 | 1 | 20+9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | AZE | Shahin Shahniyarov | 9 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | AZE | Huseyn Mursalov | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | AZE | Urfan Abbasov | 38 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 4+1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 71 | FW | AZE | Senan Ağalarov | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 72 | FW | ISR | Osama Khalaila | 40 | 10 | 28+5 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 77 | MF | AZE | Okan Tahmazli | 2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 97 | MF | AZE | Emil Süleymanov | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 99 | MF | NGA | Ahmed Isaiah | 26 | 1 | 20+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||||
| Players who left Gabala during the season: ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | ISR | Fares Abu Akel | 9 | 1 | 3+3 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ISR | Gilad Abramov | 23 | 0 | 12+7 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | JOR | Omar Hani | 20 | 0 | 13+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

### Goal scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa Conference League | Total |
| 1 | FW | 72 | Osama Khalaila | 9 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | MF | 9 | Ayyoub Allach | 6 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | MF | 20 | Bilel Aouacheria | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | FW | 19 | Samuel Tetteh | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | DF | 34 | Urfan Abbasov | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | DF | 5 | Rauf Hüseynli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | 4 | Lucas Áfrico | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | 28 | Murad Musayev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | FW | 7 | Emil Safarov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | FW | 14 | Ulvi Isgandarov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | 17 | Yaovi Akakpo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | FW | 10 | Clésio | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | FW | 18 | Mehrac Bakhshali | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | 6 | Fares Abu Akel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | 99 | Ahmed Isaiah | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 30 | 5 | 3 | 38 |

### Clean sheets

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa Conference League | Total |
| 1 | GK | 1 | Rashad Azizli | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | GK | 13 | Christophe Atangana | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| | | | TOTALS | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa Conference League | Europa Conference League | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | Rashad Azizli | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Ilkin Qirtimov | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 3 | DF | Zurab Ochihava | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Lucas Áfrico | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 5 | DF | Rauf Hüseynli | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Emil Safarov | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 9 | MF | Ayyoub Allach | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | Asif Mammadov | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Nicat Aliyev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | Christophe Atangana | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Ulvi Isgandarov | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Yaovi Akakpo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Mehrac Bakhshali | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | Samuel Tetteh | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | Bilel Aouacheria | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | İbrahim Ramazanov | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Eşqin Ahmadov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Murad Musayev | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | Shahin Shahniyarov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Urfan Abbasov | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 36 | GK | Elməddin Sultanov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 72 | FW | Osama Khalaila | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 99 | MF | Ahmed Isaiah | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||||
| Players who left Gabala during the season: ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | Fares Abu Akel | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | Gilad Abramov | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Omar Hani | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 97 | 9 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 10 |