Şamaxı Futbol Klubu (, ) is an Azerbaijani professional football club based in Shamakhi, which competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League. The club has won the Premier League title twice. Previously the club was known as Xəzər Universiteti FK (1999–2004), İnter Bakı PİK (2004–2017) and Keşlə FK (2017–2022).
History
Early years (1997–2004) The club has been functioning since 1997, initially as an amateur side that shared its name with Khazar University, the first private university in Azerbaijan, which founded the club. In 1999, Khazar University began to play in the Azerbaijan Premier League, finishing eleventh. In subsequent years, Inter finished in 7th place (2000/01 season) and 3rd place (2003–04 season).
In the 2003–04 season, the team finished in fourth place, thereby qualifying for the UEFA Intertoto Cup for the first time. In the first round of the 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup, they defeated Bregenz of Austria 3–0 on a forfeiture in the first leg, and 2–1 in the second leg. In the second round, they played Tampere United of Finland, losing the first leg 0–3; winning the return leg, played in Baku, 1–0; but going out on aggregate 1–3.
The Double and Tskhadadze years (2004–2014)
In the summer of 2004, all rights of the Khazar University club were transferred to the newly created Inter Baku Professional Football Club, and the team participated in the 13th championship of the Azerbaijani Premier League under the name of Inter Baku. Later in 2004, certain structural changes were made in the club's management, and Inter Baku was renamed the Inter Professional Club, finishing the 2004–2005 season in seventh place. Inter's progression up the standings continued in the 14th iteration of the Azerbaijan Premier League when Inter finished in fourth place.
The club finished fourth again in 2006–07, and first in 2007–08. Following its championship season, Inter qualified for its first-ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League in 2008 and advanced to the second qualifying round by defeating Rabotnički of the Republic of Macedonia on away goals.
2009 saw Inter Baku retain the Azerbaijan Premier League title, securing it for the second time in the club's history. The club's Champions League campaign was less successful – losing to Lech Poznań away on penalties. In 2011, Inter Baku also managed to win the CIS Cup after defeating Shakhtyor Soligorsk in the final.
In 2012, the club recorded an Azerbaijani record for the biggest win in a European competition by beating Narva Trans 5–0 in Estonia. The club had started the 2013–14 season with a three-game losing streak, setting a record for worst start to a season in its history. However, the team managed to clinch second spot in the league.
Downturn and financial difficulties of Inter Baku (2015–2017) During the 2015–16 season, Inter started experiencing financial difficulties at the same time with its main sponsor, The International Bank of Azerbaijan. In December 2015, the club's president, Georgi Nikolov was replaced by Rashad Gasimov. On 31 March 2016, Inter Baku were banned from participating in the next UEFA club competition that they would qualify for in the next three seasons, covering the 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons.
The situation continued during the 2016–17 season as Inter struggled to pay salaries to its players and make new transfers. Despite that, Inter was able to claim the bronze medal in the national championship and reach the semi-finals stage in the Cup. At the end of the season, IBA announced that it would no longer sponsor the club, and this led to new changes in the administration. Zaur Akhundov, former director of the National Futzal Federation, was appointed as the head of the supervisory board and Ramish Maliyev became the new executive director of the club. Despite the rumors about the liquidation, Inter was able to find sponsorship for the 2017–18 season and play in the Europe League, where it eliminated Serbian Mladost Lučani in the first qualifying round before getting eliminated by Fola Esch in the second round.
Keşlə FK (2017–2022) On 28 October 2017, Inter Baku PIK officially changed its name to Keşlə FK. The club also replaced its logo and jersey colors. In its first match, Keşlə lost 0–2 against Kapaz. The next day, the team's manager Zaur Svanadze was replaced by Ramiz Mammadov. On 25 December 2017, Keşlə announced that Mammadov had become the club's Sporting Director, with Yuriy Maksymov coming in as the club's new manager. On 17 July 2018, Maksymov was sacked, and Mladen Milinković appointed the new manager on 25 July 2018. On 29 October 2018, Milinković was sacked as manager, with Tarlan Ahmadov being appointed as his replacement on 30 October 2018. On 8 August 2020, Ahmadov left Keşlə.
On 16 August 2020, Keşlə announced Yunis Huseynov's appointment as the new manager. On 24 January 2021, Huseynov resigned; Sanan Gurbanov was appointed the club's new manager on 25 January 2021.
Şamaxı FK (2022–present) On 6 April 2022, the Azerbaijan Premier League approved the name change of Keşlə FK to Şamaxı FK.
Domestic history
Team name Season League Azerbaijan Cup Top goalscorer Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Name LeagueXəzər Universiteti1999–20001st11th2253141941181/8 Finals Samir Alakbarov72000–011st7th209292638291/8 Finals R. Nasibov82001–021st6th221138332436Semi-finals2002–03 Season was not played2003–041st4th2615654316511/8 Finals A. Sokhadze6İnter Bakı2004–051st7th341996442466Runner-up Elshan Mammadov102005–061st4th261484351450Quarter-finals Lucky Idahor62006–071st4th241365361245Semi-finals Samir Aliyev62007–081st1st261844551858Runner-up Khagani Mammadov192008–091st2nd261871541661Runner-up Walter Guglielmone172009–101st1st3222128583778Semi-finals Robertas Poškus122010–111st5th3213109292449Runner-up Robertas Poškus52011–121st3rd321688292156Semi-finals Bachana Tskhadadze72012–131st3rd321697382257Quarter-finals Bachana Tskhadadze82013–141st2nd362079603767Quarter-finals Vagif Javadov162014–151st2nd3217123552063Semi-finals Mikel Álvaro92015–161st4th3616119392859Semi-finals Nizami Hajiyev Mirsahib Abbasov62016–171st3rd2811107393343Semi-finals Rauf Aliyev11Keşlə2017–181st6th288713293931Winner Pardis Fardjad-Azad Adrian Scarlatache Slavik Alkhasov42018–191st8th286517294523Quarter-finals Amil Yunanov Jonathan Ayité52019–201st3rd20866272130Quarter-finals Lorenzo Frutos62020–211st6th2851112254026Winner Azer Salahli5Şamaxı2021–221st7th285716254922Quarter-finals Felipe Santos62022–231st10th3641319265225Semi-finals Amil Yunanov72023–242nd1st1692196022571/8 finals2024–251st7th3699183246361/8 finals
European history
Competition Pld W D L GF GA UEFA Champions League 6 1 3 2 3 5 UEFA Europa League 27 12 8 7 37 29 UEFA Europa Conference League 2 0 0 2 2 7 UEFA Intertoto Cup 4 3 0 1 6 4 Total 39 16 11 12 48 45
Games of Shamakhi in UEFA competitions SeasonCompetitionRound Club Home Away Aggregate 2004 Intertoto Cup R1 Bregenz 2–1 3–0 5–1 R2 Tampere United 1–0 0–3 1–3 2008–09 Champions League 1Q Rabotnički 0–0 1–1 1–1(a) 2Q Partizan 1–1 0–2 1–3 2009–10 Europa League 2Q Spartak Trnava 1–2 1–3 2–5 2010–11 Champions League 2Q Lech Poznań 0–1 1–0 1–1 (8–9 p) 2012–13 Europa League 1Q Narva Trans 5–0 2–0 7–0 2Q Asteras Tripolis 1–1 1–1 2–2 (2–4 p) 2013–14 Europa League 1Q IFK Mariehamn 1–1 2–0 3–1 2Q Tromsø 1–0 0–2 1–2 2014–15 Europa League 1Q Tiraspol 3–1 3–2 6–3 2Q IF Elfsborg 0–1 1–0 1–1 (3–4 p) 2015–16 Europa League 1Q Laçi 0–0 1–1 1–1 (a) 2Q FH 2–2 2–1 4–3 3Q Athletic Bilbao 0–0 0–2 0–2 2017–18 Europa League 1Q Mladost Lučani 2–0 3–0 5–0 2Q Fola Esch 1–0 1–4 2–42018–19 Europa League 1Q Balzan 2–1 1–4 3–52020–21 Europa League 1Q Laçi 0–0 (4–5 p) 2021–22 Europa Conference League 2Q Sochi 2–4 0–3 2–7
Stadium
Shamakhi's home ground is Shamakhi City Stadium, which has a capacity of 2,200.
Shirt sponsor and kit manufacturer YearsManufacturerSponsor2004–2011 Adidas IBA2011–2015 Umbro2015–2017 Joma2017–2022 Samaya LTD2022–2023none2023–2024Kirpi Tekstil2024–Joma
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
Club officials
Management PositionStaffChairman of the Board Elchin UsubGeneral Manager Kamran IsmayılovPress secretary Yusif Huseynov
Coaching staff Position NameHead coach Aykhan AbbasovAssistant coach Elnur Chodarov Khayal Garayev Vusal Garayev Jeyhun RzayevGoalkeeping coach Kamil Gafarov
Records Top goalscorers
NameYearsLeagueAzerbaijan CupEuropeTotal1 Bachana Tskhadadze2011–20152 Nizami Hajiyev2007–2008 2010–2013 2014–20173 Walter Guglielmone2007–20094 Khagani Mammadov2007–20095 Robertas Poškus2009–20115 César Meza2013–2015, 2016 2018, 2019–20215 Vagif Javadov2013–2014 2018–20208 Rauf Aliyev2016–20179 Ģirts Karlsons2009–201510 Petar Zlatinov2008–2013
+ Top Ten Players With Most Appearances Player Period Caps Goals 1 Volodimir Levin 2004–13 204 11 2 Asif Mammadov 2008–10; 2011–2015 118 7 3 Bachana Tskhadadze 2010–2015 117 47 4 Giorgi Lomaia 2009–2016 108 0 5 Arif Dashdemirov 2010–2015 98 5 6 Petar Zlatinov 2008–13 97 10 7 Ilia Kandelaki 2010–13 75 3 8 Elmar Bakhshiev 2004–07 74 1 9 Ģirts Karlsons 2009–12 73 36 10 Bronislav Červenka 2007–12 72 5
Notable managers Information correct as of match played 23 February 2019. Only competitive matches are counted. NameNat.FromToPWDLGSGA%WHonoursNotesIsmail Aliyev19971998N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ASamir Alakbarov19992000N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ABoyukagha Aghayev20012004N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAnatoly Konjkov20042006N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AOleg Smolyaninov20062006N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AValentyn Khodukin2006Jun 2009N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AAzerbaijan Premier LeagueKakhaber TskhadadzeJul 2009Jun 2015Azerbaijan Premier LeagueCIS CupZaur SvanadzeJun 201529 October 2017Ramiz Mammadov29 October 201725 December 2017Yuriy Maksymov25 December 201717 July 2018Azerbaijan CupMladen Milinković25 July 201829 October 2018Tarlan Ahmadov30 October 20188 August 2020Yunis Huseynov16 August 202024 January 2021Sanan Gurbanov24 January 2021
Notes: 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).
Honours
National Azerbaijan League Winners (2): 2007–08, 2009–10 Azerbaijan Cup Winners (2): 2017–18, 2020–21
Regional CIS Cup Winners (1): 2011
References
External links Official Shamakhi FK website Inter Baku at Weltfussball.de (archived) Dynamicsport.eu