# 2011–12 AZAL PFC season

The AZAL 2011–12 season was AZAL's seventh Azerbaijan Premier League season. AZAL finished the season in 7th place and were knocked out of the 2011–12 Azerbaijan Cup by FK Baku in the Quarter-finals and by FC Minsk of Belarus in the 1st Qualifying Round of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.
Nazim Suleymanov resigned as manager of AZAL during preseason, being replaced by Elkhan Abdullayev, who himself resigned in October, being replaced by Rafig Mirzayev. Mirzayev was the manager for 6 months before having his contract terminated by mutual consent in April 2012. Mais Azimov was appointed as a caretaker manager for one game before Vagif Sadygov was appointed manager on 6 April 2012. The team's kit was supplied by Umbro and their sponsor was Silk Way.

## Squad

    As of 7 February 2012
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AZE | Amil Ağacanov |
| 2 | DF | MKD | Robert Petrov |
| 3 | DF | AZE | Nduka Usim (2nd vice-captain) |
| 5 | DF | AZE | Aqil Nabiyev (captain) |
| 6 | DF | LTU | Mindavgas Daunoraviçius |
| 7 | MF | AZE | Tarlan Xalilov |
| 8 | FW | AZE | Əlşan Məmmədov |
| 10 | MF | RUS | Nuqzar Kvirtiya |
| 11 | MF | MAR | Zunair Benüahi |
| 12 | GK | AZE | Cəhangir Hasanzadə (1st vice-captain) |
| 13 | DF | AZE | Şəhriyar Rəhimov (on loan from Inter Baku) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | AZE | Orxan Safiyəroğlu |
| 15 | FW | MDA | Georqiy Boğiu |
| 16 | DF | SRB | Branişlav Arsənijeviç |
| 17 | MF | NGA | Viktor İqbekoyi |
| 19 | MF | AZE | Hüseyn Axundov |
| 20 | MF | SRB | Mənsur Limanı |
| 22 | MF | AZE | Elqun Abbaslı |
| 23 | FW | BRA | Tales Şutz |
| 25 | DF | AZE | Tural Nərimanov (on loan from Neftchi Baku) |
| 88 | MF | ALB | Ervin Bulku |

## Transfers
### Summer

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AZE | Amil Agajanov (from Mughan) |
| 6 | DF | LTU | Mindaugas Daunoravičius (from Tauras) |
| 8 | FW | AZE | Elshan Mammadov (from Mughan) |
| 15 | FW | MDA | Gheorghe Boghiu (from Milsami) |
| 16 | DF | SRB | Branislav Arsenijević (from Sarajevo) |
| 23 | FW | BRA | Tales Schutz (from South China AA) |
| 25 | FW | ARG | Christian Ruiz (from The Strongest) |
| 88 | MF | ALB | Ervin Bulku (from Hajduk Split) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 6 | DF | LVA | Ritus Krjauklis (to FK Liepājas Metalurgs) |
| 8 | FW | ALB | Eleandro Pema (to KS Kamza) |
| 13 | MF | SRB | Dragan Mandić (retired) |
| 14 | DF | AZE | Elvin Aliyev (to FK Baku) |
| 15 | FW | LTU | Gvidas Juska (to Banga) |
| 20 | FW | BLR | Gennadi Bliznyuk (to Belshina) |
| 21 | MF | SRB | Mirko Bunjevčević (to Zemun) |
| 22 | MF | AZE | Anar Hasanov (to FK Karvan) |
| 24 | FW | BUL | Enyo Krastovchev (to Inter Baku) |
| 96 | GK | AZE | Elshan Poladov (to FC Kəpəz) |

### Winter

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | DF | AZE | Shahriyar Rahimov (on loan from Inter Baku) |
| 25 | DF | AZE | Tural Narimanov (on loan from Neftchi Baku) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 9 | MF | AZE | Vusal Garayev (to Ravan Baku) |
| 23 | MF | NGA | Pius Ikedia (to Mağusa Türk Gücü) |
| 25 | FW | ARG | Cristian Ruiz (to Deportivo Pereira)} |

## 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: 13 August 2011. Source: Soccerway

#### 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 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | D | W | L | D | L | D | D | L | L | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W |
| Position | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 7 |

#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 5 | Baku | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 35 | Qualification for championship group |
| 6 | Gabala | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 27 | 23 | +4 | 35 | Qualification for championship group |
| 7 | AZAL | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 35 | 35 | 0 | 29 | Qualification for relegation group |
| 8 | Ravan Baku | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 25 | Qualification for relegation group |
| 9 | Kapaz | 22 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 38 | −12 | 22 | Qualification for relegation group |

### Azerbaijan Premier League Relegation Group
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 21 December 2011. Source: Soccerway

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Ground | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | L | W | W | D | D | W | D | L | W |
| Position | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |

#### Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 7 | AZAL | 32 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 44 | |
| 8 | Ravan Baku | 32 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 41 | |
| 9 | Simurq | 32 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 27 | 41 | −14 | 34 | |
| 10 | Kapaz | 32 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 35 | 55 | −20 | 32 | |
| 11 | Turan (R) | 32 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 42 | −16 | 25 | Qualification for relegation playoffs |
| 12 | Sumgayit (R) | 32 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 27 | 52 | −25 | 24 | Relegation to Azerbaijan First Division |

### Europa League
#### First qualifying round
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 14 May 2012
| 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 | Amil Agajanov | 12 | 0 | 10+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | MKD | Robert Petrov | 30 | 0 | 24+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | AZE | Nduka Usim | 32 | 0 | 28+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | AZE | Agil Nabiyev | 23 | 0 | 18+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | LTU | Mindaugas Daunoravičius | 14 | 0 | 8+5 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | AZE | Tarlan Khalilov | 32 | 2 | 15+14 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | AZE | Elshan Mammadov | 25 | 4 | 15+6 | 4 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | RUS | Nugzar Kvirtiya | 33 | 3 | 26+2 | 2 | 2+1 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | MAR | Zouhir Benouahi | 30 | 11 | 23+2 | 10 | 3+0 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | AZE | Jahangir Hasanzade | 25 | 0 | 21+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | AZE | Shahriyar Rahimov | 11 | 1 | 7+2 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | AZE | Orkhan Safiyaroglu | 16 | 3 | 5+9 | 2 | 1+1 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | MDA | Gheorghe Boghiu | 30 | 5 | 14+13 | 5 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | SRB | Branislav Arsenijević | 30 | 2 | 27+0 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | NGA | Victor Igbekoyi | 29 | 2 | 24+0 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | AZE | Elmin Chobanov | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | AZE | Huseyn Akhundov | 23 | 0 | 11+10 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | SRB | Mensur Limani | 17 | 0 | 9+5 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | AZE | Elgun Abbasli | 3 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | BRA | Tales Schutz | 23 | 10 | 20+2 | 10 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | AZE | Tural Narimanov | 10 | 1 | 8+2 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 88 | MF | ALB | Ervin Bulku | 24 | 3 | 20+2 | 3 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for AZAL no longer at the club: ||||||||||||
| 6 | DF | LVA | Ritus Krjauklis | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | AZE | Vusal Garayev | 9 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | NGA | Pius Ikedia | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 24 | FW | BUL | Enyo Krastovchev | 4 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | ARG | Cristian Ruiz | 7 | 0 | 2+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |

### Goal scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa League | Total |
| 1 | MF | 11 | Zouhir Benouahi | 10 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| 2 | FW | 23 | Tales Schutz | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | MF | 8 | Elshan Mammadov | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | FW | 15 | Gheorghe Boghiu | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | MF | 10 | Nugzar Kvirtiya | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | MF | 88 | Ervin Bulku | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | DF | 14 | Orkhan Safiyaroglu | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | | | Own goal | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | MF | 17 | Victor Igbekoyi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | 16 | Branislav Arsenijević | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | 7 | Tarlan Khalilov | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | DF | 13 | Tural Narimanov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | DF | 13 | Shahriyar Rahimov | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 43 | 4 | 2 | 49 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Europa League | Europa League | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | Amil Agajanov | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Robert Petrov | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Nduka Usim | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Agil Nabiyev | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| 6 | DF | Mindaugas Daunoravičius | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Tarlan Khalilov | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 8 | FW | Elshan Mammadov | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Nugzar Kvirtiya | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | Zouhir Benouahi | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 12 | GK | Jahangir Hasanzade | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | Shahriyar Rahimov | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Orkhan Safiyaroglu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | Gheorghe Boghiu | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Branislav Arsenijević | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Victor Igbekoyi | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 |
| 19 | MF | Huseyn Akhundov | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Mensur Limani | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Elgun Abbasli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Tales Schutz | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 25 | DF | Tural Narimanov | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | Cristian Ruiz | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 88 | MF | Ervin Bulku | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 82 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 93 | 7 |