Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

Sabah Futbol Klubu (pronounced [sɑbɑh]), commonly known as Sabah FK, Sabah FC, or simply Sabah, is a professional football club based in Masazir, Azerbaijan. The team plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top tier of Azerbaijani football league system. Its home ground is the Bank Respublika Arena in Masazir.

Source: Wikipedia

Article

Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

History

Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

Sabah were formed on 8 September 2017, joining the Azerbaijan First Division for the 2017–18 season, in which they finished 5th. After the four teams above them in the league failed or declined promotion, Sabah were granted a license to participate in Azerbaijan Premier League on 12 May 2018. Sabah won their first game 1–0 in the Azerbaijan Premier League, against Keşlə FK (currently known as Şamaxı FK), on 12 August 2018, thanks to a Marko Dević goal. Sabah went on to finish their first Premier League season in 7th position, avoiding relegation.

On 16 September 2019, Elshad Ahmadov resigned as manager, with Igor Ponomaryov taking over on an interim basis.

On 26 November 2019, Sabah announced that Željko Sopić had been appointed manager on an 18-month contract. On 3 July 2020, Sopić resigned as manager.

On 10 July 2020, Sabah signed a two-year contract with Vicente Gómez. On 11 March 2021, Gómez left his role as Head Coach by mutual agreement, with Ramin Guliyev being placed in temporary charge. At the end of the season, Guliyev was confirmed as the club's new Head Coach on a two-year contract Guliyev resigned from his position on 21 October 2021, with Murad Musayev being appointed as the club's new Head Coach on 30 October 2021, signing a two-year contract.

On 1 February 2024, Sabah announced that Murad Musayev had left his role as Head Coach after his resignation had been accepted.

On 5 March 2024, Sabah announced the appointment of Krunoslav Rendulić as their new Head Coach, on an 18-month contract. Rendulić left Sabah on 25 November 2024 by mutual agreement, with Vasili Berezutski being appointed as his replacement on the same day to a two-and-a-half year contract. On 14 June 2025, Berezutski left the club by mutual consent due to personal reasons. On 20 June 2025, Sabah announced the appointment of Lithuanian specialist Valdas Dambrauskas as the new Head Coach, signing a three-year contract.

Domestic history

<table><thead><tr><th>Season</th><th>League</th><th>Azerbaijan Cup</th><th>Top goalscorer</th><th>Manager</th><th>Manufacturer</th><th>Sponsor</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Div.</td><td>Pos.</td><td>Pl.</td><td>W</td><td>D</td><td>L</td><td>GS</td><td>GA</td><td>P</td><td>Name</td><td>League</td></tr><tr><td>2017–18</td><td>2nd</td><td>5th</td><td>27</td><td>11</td><td>7</td><td>9</td><td>41</td><td>33</td><td>40</td><td>Second round</td><td></td><td></td><td>Arif Asadov</td><td>Joma</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2018–19</td><td>1st</td><td>7th</td><td>28</td><td>7</td><td>6</td><td>15</td><td>20</td><td>41</td><td>27</td><td>Quarter-final</td><td>Marko Dević</td><td>8</td><td>Elshad Ahmadov</td><td>Macron</td></tr><tr><td>2019–20</td><td>1st</td><td>6th</td><td>20</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>9</td><td>19</td><td>27</td><td>21</td><td>Quarter-final</td><td>Ulysse Diallo Amadou Diallo Hendrick Ekstein</td><td>3</td><td>Elshad Ahmadov Igor Ponomaryov (interim) Željko Sopić</td><td>Bank Respublika</td></tr><tr><td>2020–21</td><td>1st</td><td>5th</td><td>28</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>13</td><td>28</td><td>38</td><td>29</td><td>Round of 16</td><td>Ramil Sheydayev</td><td>6</td><td>Vicente Gómez Ramin Guliyev (interim)</td><td>Nike</td></tr><tr><td>2021–22</td><td>1st</td><td>5th</td><td>28</td><td>12</td><td>5</td><td>11</td><td>42</td><td>34</td><td>41</td><td>Quarter-final</td><td>Joy-Lance Mickels</td><td>11</td><td>Ramin Guliyev Murad Musayev</td></tr><tr><td>2022–23</td><td>1st</td><td>2nd</td><td>36</td><td>25</td><td>6</td><td>5</td><td>75</td><td>24</td><td>81</td><td>Quarter-final</td><td>Joy-Lance Mickels</td><td>17</td><td>Murad Musayev</td></tr><tr><td>2023–24</td><td>1st</td><td>3rd</td><td>36</td><td>17</td><td>7</td><td>12</td><td>50</td><td>40</td><td>58</td><td>Quarter-final</td><td>Davit Volkovi Anatoliy Nuriyev</td><td>6</td><td>Murad Musayev Ruslan Qafitullin (interim) Krunoslav Rendulić</td></tr><tr><td>2024–25</td><td>1st</td><td>5th</td><td>36</td><td>10</td><td>18</td><td>8</td><td>50</td><td>46</td><td>48</td><td>Winners</td><td>Jesse Sekidika</td><td>11</td><td>Krunoslav Rendulić Vasili Berezutski</td></tr></tbody></table>

European record

<table><thead><tr><th>Competition</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GF</th><th>GA</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>UEFA Europa League</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>UEFA Conference League</td><td>12</td><td>6</td><td>0</td><td>6</td><td>18</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>Total</td><td>14</td><td>6</td><td>1</td><td>7</td><td>23</td><td>21</td></tr></tbody></table>

Colours and badge

Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

Sabah's badge features rays of sunshine encased in a shield.

The team's main colours are black-pink, with their kit being made by Spanish clothing company Joma during their first season, and Macron from the start of the 2018–19 season.

Shirt sponsor and kit manufacturer

Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

<table><thead><tr><th>Years</th><th>Manufacturer</th><th>Sponsor</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2017–2018</td><td>Joma</td><td>none</td></tr><tr><td>2018–2020</td><td>Macron</td><td>Bank Respublika</td></tr><tr><td>2020–</td><td>Nike</td></tr></tbody></table>

Stadium

Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

View of Alinja Arena

The club play their home games at the Bank Respublika Arena in Masazır, which has a capacity of 8.969.

Players

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Pos.</th><th>Nation</th><th>Player</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>2</td><td>DF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Amin Seydiyev</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>DF</td><td> GLP</td><td>Steve Solvet</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>DF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Rahman Dashdamirov</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>MF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Abdulakh Khaybulayev</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>MF</td><td> UZB</td><td>Umarali Rakhmonaliev</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>MF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Khayal Aliyev</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>MF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Aleksey Isayev</td></tr><tr><td>11</td><td>MF</td><td> JAM</td><td>Kaheem Parris</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>MF</td><td> CRO</td><td>Ivan Lepinjica</td></tr><tr><td>17</td><td>DF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Tellur Mutallimov</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>FW</td><td> SVK</td><td>Pavol Šafranko</td></tr><tr><td>19</td><td>FW</td><td> FRA</td><td>Aaron Malouda</td></tr><tr><td>No.</td><td>Pos.</td><td>Nation</td><td>Player</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>MF</td><td> RWA</td><td>Joy-Lance Mickels</td></tr><tr><td>21</td><td>MF</td><td> SRB</td><td>Veljko Simić (loan from Sivasspor)</td></tr><tr><td>22</td><td>MF</td><td> FRA</td><td>Zinédine Ould Khaled</td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>DF</td><td> POL</td><td>Tymoteusz Puchacz (loan from Holstein Kiel)</td></tr><tr><td>40</td><td>DF</td><td> BRA</td><td>Ygor Nogueira</td></tr><tr><td>53</td><td>DF</td><td> BRA</td><td>Andrey Santos</td></tr><tr><td>55</td><td>GK</td><td> AZE</td><td>Nicat Mehbalıyev</td></tr><tr><td>70</td><td>MF</td><td> NGA</td><td>Jesse Sekidika</td></tr><tr><td>80</td><td>DF</td><td> ALG</td><td>Akim Zedadka</td></tr><tr><td>92</td><td>GK</td><td> KAZ</td><td>Stas Pokatilov</td></tr><tr><td>99</td><td>FW</td><td> GAB</td><td>Orphé Mbina (loan from Maribor)</td></tr></tbody></table>

For recent transfers, see Transfers winter 2025–26.

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.

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Pos.</th><th>Nation</th><th>Player</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>14</td><td>MF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Rauf Rustamli (at Sumgayit)</td></tr><tr><td>33</td><td>DF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Abdulla Rzayev (at Turan Tovuz)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

<table><thead><tr><th>No.</th><th>Pos.</th><th>Nation</th><th>Player</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>8</td><td>MF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Seymur Mammadov</td></tr><tr><td>15</td><td>DF</td><td> AZE</td><td>Fakhri Mammadli</td></tr></tbody></table>

Club officials

Management

<table><thead><tr><th>Position</th><th>Staff</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Founder</td><td>Yagub Huseynov</td></tr><tr><td>President</td><td>Magsud Adigozalov</td></tr><tr><td>Supervisory Board Member</td><td>Yagub Huseynov Firudin Gurbanov Igor Ponomaryov Rahman Hajiyev Rauf Khalilov</td></tr><tr><td>Chief executive officer</td><td>Ramin Hasanov</td></tr><tr><td>General Manager</td><td>Nasimi Musayev</td></tr><tr><td>Director of sport</td><td>Igor Ponomaryov</td></tr><tr><td>Press secretary</td><td>Elnur Hamidov</td></tr></tbody></table>

Coaching staff

<table><thead><tr><th>Position</th><th>Name</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Head coach</td><td>Valdas Dambrauskas</td></tr><tr><td>Assistant of head coach</td><td>Valerio Zuddas Cristian Ceballos</td></tr><tr><td>Goalkeeping coach</td><td>Justinas Gasiūnas</td></tr><tr><td>Fitness coach</td><td>Domagoj Peric</td></tr><tr><td>Video analyst</td><td>Oleksandr Panchuk Nikita Vasyukhin</td></tr></tbody></table>

Honours

Sabah FK (Azerbaijan)

• Azerbaijan Cup (1): 2024–25

Club records

Most appearances

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>Name</th><th>Years</th><th>League</th><th>Azerbaijan Cup</th><th>European</th><th>Total</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Amin Seydiyev</td><td>2020–Present</td><td>156 (4)</td><td>14 (2)</td><td>10 (0)</td><td>180 (6)</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Joy-Lance Mickels</td><td>2021–2023, 2024–Present</td><td>104 (53)</td><td>14 (6)</td><td>12 (8)</td><td>130 (67)</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Aleksey Isayev</td><td>2020–2024, 2025–Present</td><td>114 (13)</td><td>9 (0)</td><td>4 (1)</td><td>127 (14)</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Bojan Letić</td><td>2022–2026</td><td>104 (5)</td><td>8 (0)</td><td>13 (2)</td><td>125 (7)</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Anatoliy Nuriyev</td><td>2022–2026</td><td>98 (11)</td><td>10 (1)</td><td>10 (0)</td><td>118 (12)</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Elvin Camalov</td><td>2021–2025</td><td>98 (2)</td><td>9 (0)</td><td>6 (0)</td><td>113 (2)</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Jesse Sekidika</td><td>2023–Present</td><td>81 (17)</td><td>11 (3)</td><td>10 (1)</td><td>102 (21)</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Jon Irazabal</td><td>2022–2025</td><td>85 (5)</td><td>6 (1)</td><td>8 (0)</td><td>99 (6)</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Tellur Mutallimov</td><td>2022–Present</td><td>83 (4)</td><td>12 (1)</td><td>3 (0)</td><td>98 (5)</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Yusif Imanov</td><td>2020–2025</td><td>80 (0)</td><td>6 (0)</td><td>8 (0)</td><td>94 (0)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Top goalscorers

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>Name</th><th>Years</th><th>League</th><th>Azerbaijan Cup</th><th>European</th><th>Total</th><th>Ratio</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td>Joy-Lance Mickels</td><td>2021–2023, 2024–Present</td><td>53 (104)</td><td>6 (14)</td><td>8 (12)</td><td>67 (130)</td><td>0.52</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td>Jesse Sekidika</td><td>2023–Present</td><td>17 (81)</td><td>3 (11)</td><td>1 (10)</td><td>21 (102)</td><td>0.21</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td>Davit Volkovi</td><td>2022–2024</td><td>16 (63)</td><td>2 (4)</td><td>1 (4)</td><td>19 (71)</td><td>0.27</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Oleksiy Kashchuk</td><td>2022–2023</td><td>18 (39)</td><td>0 (2)</td><td>0 (0)</td><td>18 (41)</td><td>0.44</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td>Pavol Šafranko</td><td>2024–Present</td><td>10 (39)</td><td>2 (5)</td><td>6 (10)</td><td>18 (54)</td><td>0.33</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Emmanuel Apeh</td><td>2022–2024</td><td>11 (65)</td><td>4 (6)</td><td>1 (4)</td><td>16 (75)</td><td>0.21</td></tr><tr><td>7</td><td>Kaheem Parris</td><td>2023–2024, 2024–Present</td><td>11 (72)</td><td>2 (10)</td><td>2 (8)</td><td>15 (90)</td><td>0.17</td></tr><tr><td>8</td><td>Aleksey Isayev</td><td>2020–2024, 2025–Present</td><td>13 (114)</td><td>0 (9)</td><td>1 (4)</td><td>14 (127)</td><td>0.11</td></tr><tr><td>9</td><td>Anatoliy Nuriyev</td><td>2022–2026</td><td>11 (98)</td><td>1 (10)</td><td>0 (10)</td><td>12 (118)</td><td>0.1</td></tr><tr><td>10</td><td>Veljko Simić</td><td>2025–Present</td><td>10 (23)</td><td>0 (3)</td><td>0 (8)</td><td>10 (26)</td><td>0.38</td></tr></tbody></table>

Managerial statistics

<table><thead><tr><th>Name</th><th>Nat.</th><th>From</th><th>To</th><th>Duration</th><th>P</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>GS</th><th>GA</th><th>%W</th><th>Honours</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Arif Asadov</td><td> Azerbaijan</td><td>8 September 2017</td><td>1 July 2018</td><td>296 days</td><td>28</td><td>11</td><td>7</td><td>10</td><td>41</td><td>36</td><td>039.29</td><td>(Promotion)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Elshad Ahmadov</td><td> Azerbaijan</td><td>1 July 2018</td><td>16 September 2019</td><td>1 year, 77 days</td><td>35</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>19</td><td>25</td><td>47</td><td>022.86</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Igor Ponomaryov (Interim)</td><td> Azerbaijan</td><td>16 September 2019</td><td>26 November 2019</td><td>71 days</td><td>8</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>12</td><td>11</td><td>037.50</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Željko Sopić</td><td> Croatia</td><td>26 November 2019</td><td>3 July 2020</td><td>230 days</td><td>11</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>6</td><td>12</td><td>18</td><td>027.27</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Vicente Gómez</td><td> Spain</td><td>10 July 2020</td><td>11 March 2021</td><td>244 days</td><td>20</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>12</td><td>20</td><td>29</td><td>020.00</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ramin Guliyev (Interim)</td><td> Azerbaijan</td><td>11 March 2021</td><td>26 May 2021</td><td>76 days</td><td>9</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>9</td><td>11</td><td>033.33</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ramin Guliyev</td><td> Azerbaijan</td><td>26 May 2021</td><td>21 October 2021</td><td>224 days</td><td>7</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>12</td><td>000.00</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ilkin Huseynov (Interim)</td><td> Azerbaijan</td><td>21 October 2021</td><td>30 October 2021</td><td>9 days</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>100.00</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Murad Musayev</td><td> Russia</td><td>30 October 2021</td><td>1 February 2024</td><td>2 years, 94 days</td><td>87</td><td>48</td><td>16</td><td>23</td><td>157</td><td>88</td><td>055.17</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ruslan Qafitullin (Interim)</td><td> Azerbaijan</td><td>1 February 2024</td><td>5 March 2024</td><td>33 days</td><td>6</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>1</td><td>13</td><td>11</td><td>050.00</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Krunoslav Rendulić</td><td> Croatia</td><td>5 March 2024</td><td>25 November 2024</td><td>2 years, 27 days</td><td>29</td><td>13</td><td>7</td><td>9</td><td>18</td><td>10</td><td>044.83</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Vasili Berezutski</td><td> Russia</td><td>25 November 2024</td><td>14 June 2025</td><td>201 days</td><td>28</td><td>10</td><td>13</td><td>5</td><td>39</td><td>32</td><td>035.71</td><td>Azerbaijan Cup (1)</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Valdas Dambrauskas</td><td> Lithuania</td><td>1 July 2025</td><td></td><td>274 days</td><td>34</td><td>22</td><td>8</td><td>4</td><td>76</td><td>31</td><td>064.71</td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

P – Total of played matches W – Won matches D – Drawn matches L – Lost matches GS – Goal scored GA – Goals against %W – Percentage of matches won

Nationality is indicated by the corresponding FIFA country code(s).