# 2023–24 Zira FK season

The Zira FK 2023–24 season was Zira's ninth Azerbaijan Premier League season, and tenth season in their history.

## Season events

On 22 June, Zira announced the loan signing of Ismayil Ibrahimli from Qarabağ, and the permanent signing of Magsad Isayev who'd last played for Gabala.
On 23 June, Hajiagha Hajili joined Zira permanently on a two-year contract from Qarabağ, after spending the previous three season with the club, whilst Rustam Akhmedzade extended his loan from Qarabağ for an additional season.
On 24 June, Zira announced the signing of Ruan Renato from Gabala, to a two-year contract.
On 25 June, Fuad Bayramov joined Zira on loan from Shamakhi for the season.
On 20 July, Zira announced the signing of Tiago Silva from Trofense, to a two-year with an option of a third.
On 1 August, Zira announced the signing of Stephane Acka from Sektzia Ness Ziona, to a one-year contract with the option of a second, and the signing of Pierre Zebli from Lokomotiv Plovdiv to a two-year contract with the option of a third year. The following day, 2 August, Salifou Soumah joined Zira from Le Havre on a two-year contract with the option of a third year.
On 26 December, Ceyhun Nuriyev left Sabah to sign for Zira on a 2.5 year contract.
On 5 January, Andrija Lukovic left the club by mutual consent. The following day, 6 January, Zira announced the signing of Raphael Utzig to an 18-month contract.
On 1 March, Zira announced the signing of free agent César Meza Colli on a contract until the end of the season.
On 24 March, Zira announced the signing of free agent Araz Abdullayev on a contract until the end of the season.

## Squad

    As of match played 2 June 2024
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 41 | Anar Nazirov | GK | (1985-09-08)8 September 1985 (aged 38) | Gabala | 2021 | 2024 | 24 | 0 |
| 97 | Tiago Silva | GK | (2000-03-28)28 March 2000 (aged 24) | Trofense | 2023 | 2025 (+1) | 41 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 4 | Ruan Renato | DF | (1994-01-14)14 January 1994 (aged 30) | Gabala | 2023 | 2025 | 40 | 2 |
| 5 | Stephane Acka | DF | (1990-10-11)11 October 1990 (aged 33) | Sektzia Ness Ziona | 2023 | 2024 (+1) | 30 | 0 |
| 16 | Fuad Bayramov | DF | (1998-05-20)20 May 1998 (aged 26) | on loan from Shamakhi | 2023 | | 31 | 2 |
| 44 | Dimitrios Chantakias | DF | (1995-01-04)4 January 1995 (aged 29) | Cherno More | 2020 | | 127 | 7 |
| 77 | Magsad Isayev | DF | (1994-06-07)7 June 1994 (aged 29) | Gabala | 2023 | 2025 | 29 | 1 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 6 | Eldar Kuliyev | MF | (2002-03-24)24 March 2002 (aged 22) | Mynai | 2023 | 2026 | 51 | 3 |
| 8 | Ilkin Muradov | MF | (1996-03-05)5 March 1996 (aged 28) | Academy | 2019 | | 158 | 5 |
| 10 | Ragim Sadykhov | MF | (1996-07-18)18 July 1996 (aged 27) | Sumgayit | 2022 | | 81 | 12 |
| 15 | Pierre Zebli | MF | (1997-07-12)12 July 1997 (aged 26) | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | 2023 | 2025 (+1) | 38 | 0 |
| 17 | Araz Abdullayev | MF | (1992-04-18)18 April 1992 (aged 32) | Unattached | 2024 | 2024 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | Salifou Soumah | MF | (2003-10-03)3 October 2003 (aged 20) | Le Havre | 2023 | 2025 | 41 | 6 |
| 20 | Ismayil Ibrahimli | MF | (1998-02-13)13 February 1998 (aged 26) | on loan from Qarabağ | 2023 | | 35 | 1 |
| 21 | Hajiagha Hajili | MF | (1998-01-30)30 January 1998 (aged 26) | Qarabağ | 2023 | 2025 | 103 | 0 |
| 24 | César Meza Colli | MF | (1991-10-05)5 October 1991 (aged 32) | Unattached | 2024 | 2024 | 32 | 6 |
| 28 | Abbas Ibrahim | MF | (1998-01-02)2 January 1998 (aged 26) | Paços de Ferreira | 2023 | 2025 (+1) | 35 | 1 |
| 29 | Ceyhun Nuriyev | MF | (2001-03-30)30 March 2001 (aged 23) | Sabah | 2023 | 2026 | 22 | 2 |
| 32 | Qismət Alıyev | MF | (1996-10-24)24 October 1996 (aged 27) | Gabala | 2020 | 2022 | 136 | 10 |
| 38 | Ramiz Muradov | MF | (2005-07-06)6 July 2005 (aged 18) | Trainee | 2022 | | 1 | 0 |
| 66 | Parviz Azadov | MF | (2000-10-19)19 October 2000 (aged 23) | Shamakhi | 2023 | | 2 | 0 |
| | Omar Gurbanov | MF | (2005-04-06)6 April 2005 (aged 19) | Neftçi | 2023 | | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 7 | Filipe Pachtmann | FW | (2000-04-11)11 April 2000 (aged 24) | Lviv | 2022 | | 23 | 3 |
| 9 | Vladyslav Kulach | FW | (1993-05-07)7 May 1993 (aged 31) | Dynamo Kyiv | 2023 | 2024 | 38 | 6 |
| 11 | Rustam Akhmedzade | FW | (2000-12-25)25 December 2000 (aged 23) | on loan from Qarabağ | 2022 | 2024 | 62 | 6 |
| 23 | Raphael Utzig | FW | (1996-08-08)8 August 1996 (aged 27) | Chungnam Asan | 2024 | 2025 | 21 | 5 |
| 70 | Issa Djibrilla | FW | (1996-01-01)1 January 1996 (aged 28) | Ankara Keçiörengücü | 2023 | | 30 | 1 |
| Out on loan ||||||||||
| Left during the season ||||||||||
| 17 | Toni Gomes | FW | (1998-11-16)16 November 1998 (aged 25) | Tuzlaspor | 2022 | | 26 | 3 |
| 18 | Slavik Alkhasov | DF | (1993-02-06)6 February 1993 (aged 31) | Sabah | 2022 | | 25 | 0 |
| 23 | Andrija Luković | MF | (1994-10-24)24 October 1994 (aged 29) | Belenenses SAD | 2022 | | 38 | 0 |
| 56 | Samir Aghayev | MF | (2002-05-25)25 May 2002 (aged 22) | Trainee | 2021 | | 2 | 0 |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 22 June 2023 | DF | Magsad Isayev | Unattached | Free |
| 23 June 2023 | DF | Hajiagha Hajili | Qarabağ | Undisclosed |
| 24 June 2023 | DF | Ruan Renato | Gabala | Undisclosed |
| 20 July 2023 | GK | Tiago Silva | Trofense | Undisclosed |
| 1 August 2023 | DF | Stephane Acka | Sektzia Ness Ziona | Undisclosed |
| 1 August 2023 | MF | Pierre Zebli | Lokomotiv Plovdiv | Undisclosed |
| 2 August 2023 | MF | Salifou Soumah | Le Havre | Undisclosed |
| 6 September 2023 | MF | Omar Gurbanov | Neftçi | Undisclosed |
| 26 December 2023 | MF | Ceyhun Nuriyev | Sabah | Undisclosed |
| 6 January 2024 | FW | Raphael Utzig | Chungnam Asan | Undisclosed |
| 1 March 2024 | MF | César Meza Colli | Unattached | Free |
| 24 March 2024 | MF | Araz Abdullayev | Unattached | Free |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Name | From | Date to |
| 22 June 2023 | MF | Ismayil Ibrahimli | Qarabağ | End of the season |
| 23 June 2023 | FW | Rustam Akhmedzade | Qarabağ | End of the season |
| 25 June 2023 | DF | Fuad Bayramov | Shamakhi | End of the season |

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 12 June 2023 | DF | Cəlal Hüseynov | Arda Kardzhali | Undisclosed |
| 1 August 2023 | MF | Samir Aghayev | Shamakhi | Undisclosed |
| 23 August 2023 | FW | Toni Gomes | Hapoel Hadera | Undisclosed |

### Released

| Date | Position | Name | Joined | Date |
| 2 June 2023 | GK | Mekhti Dzhenetov | Sumgayit | 5 June 2023 |
| 2 June 2023 | DF | Moïse Adiléhou | Maccabi Petah Tikva | 20 June 2023 |
| 2 June 2023 | MF | Loris Brogno | Sangiuliano City | |
| 2 June 2023 | MF | Hamidou Keyta | Qarabağ | 3 June 2023 |
| 2 June 2023 | MF | Mirsahib Abbasov | Iravan | |
| 2 June 2023 | MF | Coşqun Diniyev | Sabail | 21 June 2023 |
| 14 June 2023 | DF | Sertan Taşqın | Turan Tovuz | |
| 14 June 2023 | MF | Ruslan Abishov | Retired | |
| 14 June 2023 | MF | Wilde-Donald Guerrier | Panevėžys | |
| 14 June 2023 | FW | Mo Hamdaoui | ADO Den Haag | 30 August 2023 |
| 30 June 2023 | GK | Nail Alishov | Difai Agsu | 1 July 2024 |
| 30 June 2023 | MF | Ramiz Muradov | | |
| 10 August 2023 | DF | Slavik Alkhasov | Turan Tovuz | 11 August 2023 |
| 5 January 2024 | MF | Andrija Lukovic | Radnički Niš | |

## 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 | 5 August 2023 | 25 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | 2nd | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 33 | 22 | +11 | 044.44 |
| Azerbaijan Cup | December 2023 | 2 June 2024 | Last 16 | Runners up | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 083.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 42 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 45 | 27 | +18 | 050.00 |
Last updated: 2 June 2024 Source: Competitions

### 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: 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 | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | L | W | D | L | W | D | D | W | W | D | L | D | L | L | D | L | D | D | L | W | D | L | W | W | W | D | W | L | W | L | W | W |
| Position | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Qarabağ (C) | 36 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 97 | 37 | +60 | 83 | Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round |
| 2 | Zira | 36 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 33 | 22 | +11 | 58 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Sabah | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 50 | 40 | +10 | 58 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 4 | Sumgayit | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 57 | Qualification for the Conference League second qualifying round |
| 5 | Neftçi | 36 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 56 | |
* 1 2 Zira are ahead of Sabah on head-to-head points: Zira 1–0 Sabah, Sabah 0–1 Zira, Zira 0–1 Sabah, Sabah 0–1 Zira
* ↑ The 2023–24 Azerbaijan Cup winners qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round. Since the cup winners (Qarabağ) qualified based on league position, the Europa League spot was passed to the second-placed team, and the second Conference League second round spot was passed to the fourth-placed team.

### Azerbaijan Cup
## Squad statistics

    As of match played 2 June 2024

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 4 | DF | BRA | Ruan Renato | 40 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | CIV | Stephane Acka | 30 | 0 | 18+8 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | UKR | Eldar Kuliyev | 38 | 0 | 21+12 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | BRA | Filipe Pachtmann | 7 | 2 | 3+3 | 1 | 0+1 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | AZE | Ilkin Muradov | 20 | 1 | 7+12 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | UKR | Vladyslav Kulach | 29 | 3 | 11+14 | 2 | 1+3 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | AZE | Ragim Sadykhov | 40 | 4 | 22+12 | 3 | 5+1 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | AZE | Rustam Akhmedzade | 26 | 3 | 14+9 | 2 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | CIV | Pierre Zebli | 38 | 0 | 29+3 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | AZE | Fuad Bayramov | 31 | 2 | 15+11 | 2 | 4+1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | AZE | Araz Abdullayev | 4 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | GUI | Salifou Soumah | 41 | 6 | 26+9 | 5 | 4+2 | 1 |
| 20 | MF | AZE | Ismayil Ibrahimli | 35 | 1 | 23+7 | 0 | 3+2 | 1 |
| 21 | MF | AZE | Hajiagha Hajili | 16 | 0 | 1+14 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | BRA | Raphael Utzig | 21 | 5 | 14+2 | 2 | 3+2 | 3 |
| 24 | MF | PAR | César Meza Colli | 10 | 2 | 2+6 | 2 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | NGA | Abbas Ibrahim | 27 | 1 | 16+6 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 |
| 29 | MF | AZE | Ceyhun Nuriyev | 22 | 2 | 14+3 | 2 | 2+3 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | AZE | Qismət Alıyev | 40 | 6 | 34 | 6 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 41 | GK | AZE | Anar Nazirov | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | GRE | Dimitrios Chantakias | 32 | 1 | 24+4 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 66 | MF | AZE | Parviz Azadov | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 70 | FW | NIG | Issa Djibrilla | 21 | 1 | 10+7 | 1 | 0+4 | 0 |
| 77 | DF | AZE | Magsad Isayev | 29 | 1 | 22+3 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 97 | GK | POR | Tiago Silva | 41 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||
| Players who left Zira during the season: ||||||||||
| 17 | FW | GNB | Toni Gomes | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | SRB | Andrija Luković | 8 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |

### Goal scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Total |
| 1 | MF | 32 | Qismət Alıyev | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| 1 | MF | 19 | Salifou Soumah | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | FW | 23 | Raphael Utzig | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 4 | MF | 10 | Ragim Sadykhov | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | FW | 11 | Rustam Akhmedzade | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | FW | 9 | Vladyslav Kulach | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | MF | 29 | Ceyhun Nuriyev | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | 16 | Fuad Bayramov | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | 24 | César Meza Colli | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | FW | 7 | Filipe Pachtmann | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | DF | 4 | Ruan Renato | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | | | Own goal | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | DF | 44 | Dimitrios Chantakias | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | 77 | Magsad Isayev | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | FW | 70 | Issa Djibrilla | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | MF | 8 | Ilkin Muradov | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | MF | 28 | Abbas Ibrahim | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | MF | 20 | Ismayil Ibrahimli | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 33 | 12 | 45 |

### Clean sheets

| Place | Position | Nation | Number | Name | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Total |
| 1 | GK | | 97 | Tiago Silva | 17 | 1 | 18 |
| | | | | TOTALS | 17 | 1 | 18 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | Premier League | Premier League | Azerbaijan Cup | Azerbaijan Cup | Total | Total |
| 4 | DF | Ruan Renato | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Stephane Acka | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Eldar Kuliyev | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Ilkin Muradov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Vladyslav Kulach | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Ragim Sadykhov | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Rustam Akhmedzade | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Pierre Zebli | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 |
| 16 | DF | Fuad Bayramov | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Araz Abdullayev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Salifou Soumah | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Ismayil Ibrahimli | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Raphael Utzig | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | César Meza Colli | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | Abbas Ibrahim | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Ceyhun Nuriyev | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 32 | MF | Qismət Alıyev | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 41 | GK | Anar Nazirov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | Dimitrios Chantakias | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 66 | MF | Parviz Azadov | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 70 | FW | Issa Djibrilla | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 77 | DF | Magsad Isayev | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 97 | GK | Tiago Silva | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||
| Players who left Zira during the season: ||||||||||
| | | TOTALS | 85 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 97 | 3 |