Long-serving Gurban Gurbanov brings Qarabag to Anfield with Champions League place in sight

Qarabag travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on the final matchday of the Champions League league phase under long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov, nicknamed the “Azeri Sir Alex Ferguson”. The club sit 18th on 10 points — one ahead of clubs such as Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen and PSV Eindhoven — and have a very good chance of progressing; the report says even a defeat may be enough to stay in the playoff places.

Gurbanov has been Qarabag’s head coach for almost 18 years and has overseen 190 of the club’s 204 European matches. He inherited a modest side and gradually built it into a domestic dominant force: Qarabag won their first title under him in 2014 and have taken the league 10 of the past 11 seasons, while featuring regularly in the Europa League group stage and reaching the Champions League proper in 2017.

Players and local commentators credit Gurbanov’s strict, team-first approach. Maksim Medvedev said: “For Gurbanov, all the players are equal,” describing him as strict, disciplined and fair; Kenan Mastaliyev said Gurbanov “would never destroy the balance” and picks players to fit his system.

The team’s possession-based, proactive style has delivered notable European results, including a 3-0 win at Legia Warsaw in 2020, a 4-2 victory at Braga, a near comeback against Leverkusen in the last 16, a 7-2 win at Ludogorets last season, and this campaign’s wins and draws against Benfica, Copenhagen, Chelsea and Eintracht Frankfurt.