Kapaz PFK
Kapaz PFK (, ), is an Azerbaijani football club based in Ganja, that currently plays in the Azerbaijan First Division. History. Soviet era (1959–1991). Kapaz PFC was founded in 1959 as "Toxucu" and played in the Soviet First League. However, the team were promoted to the Soviet Top League in 1968 after finishing first in the Soviet First League the previous season. The club has been known as "Taraggi" and "Toxucu" during its history, however it became famous in more modern times as "Kapaz" when it was renamed in 1982. Post-Soviet era (1993–1999). In 1991, the club was once  again renamed as Kapaz after Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union and won the Azerbaijan Premier League title three times. At the end of the 1997-98 season, Kapaz finished the season unbeaten. Out of 28 games, the club's final record for the 1997–1998 league campaign stood at 22 wins, 4 draws and 0 losses. To date this has not been matched by any team in a single season in an Azerbaijani league division. Azerbaijan's longest league winning run belongs to Kapaz PFC. Kapaz PFC remain the only team to win the league undefeated and, for ten  months until 23 September 1998, opponents could not even take a point off them. Two of the 22 matches were technical victories awarded to Käpäz. Financial struggles (2002–present). Kapaz, one of the most prominent football clubs in Azerbaijan, entered financial difficulties during the late 2000s. Since 2002, the club has found themselves slipping further and further down the table, which has been influenced by financial difficulties. The financial collapse of Kapaz resulted in a great deal of discussion within Azerbaijani football. Major Azerbaijani companies, reportedly "concerned at the current uncertainty about the club's future and its backers" declined  to provide Kapaz with the corporate banking facilities it needed. In 2005, the club's new owners decided to rename the club "Ganja" despite facing criticism from the club's fans. In 2007, the club was excluded from Azerbaijan Premier League due to financial struggles. However, after help from the AFFA and local communities, the club participated in the Azerbaijan First Division during the 2009-10 season. In 2010 they became champions of the Azerbaijan First Division finishing the season with 47 points and promoted to the Azerbaijan Premier League. In 2011, it was decided that the club's name  will be changed back to its old name of "Kapaz PFC". In April 2013, Kapaz were relegated to the Azerbaijan First Division. The ended the season in 12th place in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the club's lowest ever league finish. The club's financial situation didn't improve, which caused a lot of players to leave the club. On 18 November 2017, Shahin Diniyev resigned as manager with Yunis Hüseynov being appointed as his replacement 2 days later on 20 November 2017. Supporters. The club have one of the biggest number of supporters in Azerbaijan alongside Neftçi, Khazar Lankaran  and Qarabağ. Amongst all Azerbaijani professional football clubs, Kapaz PFC have the highest average fan attendance at their home games. According to official statistics for the first half of 2015-16 season, Kapaz PFC ranked first in fan attendance at nearly 15,000 fans per home game. This was almost triple that of their nearest rival. The 2015-16 seasons attendance record was set in Ganja, as 20,400 Kapaz fans attended home game against Qarabag FC on February 14, 2016 The fanbase is large and generally loyal and like most major Azerbaijani football clubs, Kapaz have a number of domestic supporters ' clubs, including the Khamsa Supporters Club, which works closely with the club and maintains a more independent line. The club's most popular celebrity supporters are the likes of Olympic wrestling champion Toghrul Asgarov. Rivalry with Neftçi Baku. "Tarixi Derbi" (Historical derby) is an Azerbaijani football derby between Neftçi and Kapaz. The match between these two teams is always in the spotlight of the Azerbaijani football community and is always distinguished by its principledness. Known as the most radical and competitive derby in the history of Azerbaijani football, this derby is played between the two most successful and influential football  clubs in the country, coming from the two largest cities of Azerbaijan, such as Baku and Ganja. While Neftchi's supporters are generally from the capital Baku and the Absheron Peninsula, Kapaz's supporters have a larger map. Although the club represents Ganja, the entire western region of Azerbaijan, the Aran region and people in many districts and provincial cities support Kapaz in the Neftçi-Kapaz matches. Even in Soviet times, Kapaz's supporters were mostly the working class. Therefore, Westerners have always been the most popular football club in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus. The roots of the competition go  back to the Soviet era. Thus, Kapaz fans always say that the main reason for Kapaz's inability to succeed in the USSR as Neftçi is that Neftchi is the capital's representative and the most talented football player in the country, especially in Ganja. Therefore, there was a great competition between Kapaz and Neftçi. This derby was the first big derby in Azerbaijan. Players. For a list of all former and current Kapaz PFC players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Kapaz PFC players. Azerbaijani teams are limited to nine players without Azerbaijani citizenship. The squad list includes only  the principal nationality of each player; several non-European players on the squad have dual citizenship with an EU country. Current squad. "(captain)"