The 2012–13 Azerbaijan Premier League was the twenty-first season of the Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season began on 4 August 2012 and finished on 20 May 2013. Neftchi Baku, the champions from the previous season, defended their title.
Teams
A total of 12 teams contested the league, including all 12 sides from the 2011–12 season, as no teams were promoted from the 2011–12 Azerbaijan First Division.
On 10 April 2012, FK Qaradağ sealed promotion to the league after winning the first division. However, due to a decision by AFFA about licensing, no clubs were promoted which meant all clubs from the previous season remained in the league.
Stadia and locations Note: Table lists in alphabetical order. TeamLocationVenueCapacityAzərbaycan Peşəkar Liqası AZALBakuAZAL Stadium3,000BakuFC Baku's Training Base2,000GabalaGabalaGabala City Stadium4,000InterBakuShafa Stadium8,000KəpəzGanjaGanja City Stadium25,000KhazarLankaranLankaran City Stadium15,000NeftchiBakuBakcell Arena11,000QarabağBakuTofig Bahramov Stadium31,200Ravan BakuBakuBayil Stadium5,000SimurqZaqatalaZaqatala City Stadium3,500SumgayitSumqayitMehdi Huseynzade Stadium16,000TuranTovuzTovuz City Stadium6,800
Personnel and sponsoring
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. TeamManagerTeam captainKit manufacturerShirt sponsorAZAL Vagif Sadygov Jahangir Hasanzade Umbro Silk WayBaku Božidar Bandović Elvin Mammadov Macron Gabala Luis Aragón (caretaker) Vurğun Hüseynov Erreà HyundaiInter Baku Kakhaber Tskhadadze Vladimir Levin Umbro IBAKəpəz Mahmud Gurbanov Khayal Zeynalov Adidas Nakhchivan Car FactoryKhazar John Toshack Rahid Amirguliyev Puma PalmaliNeftchi Baku Boyukagha Hajiyev Rashad Sadigov Adidas SOCARQarabağ Gurban Gurbanov Rashad Sadygov Adidas AzersunRavan Baku Ramil Aliyev Tural Akhundov Legea NBC BankSimurq Giorgi Chikhradze Rasim Ramaldanov UmbroSumgayit Bernhard Raab Samir Abbasov Umbro AzerkimyaTuran Afghan Talybov Hafiz Aliyev Umbro Bank of Azerbaijan
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of appointment Ravan Baku Bahman HasanovSacked 8 June 2012Pre-season Cevat Güler 12 July 2011 Baku Novruz Azimov 19 July 2012 Božidar Bandović 19 July 2012 Kəpəz Fuad Ismayilov Resigned 19 August 2012 12th Mahmud Gurbanov 19 August 2012 Ravan Baku Cevat Güler Sacked 25 August 2012 8th Bahman Hasanov 25 August 2012 Ravan Baku Bahman Hasanov End of tenure as caretaker 24 September 2012 11th Kemal Alispahić 24 September 2012 Gabala Fatih Kavlak Sacked 24 September 2012 5th Ramiz Mammadov 24 September 2012 Turan Asgar AbdullayevResigned 12 October 2012 10th Afghan Talybov 12 October 2012 Khazar Yunis Huseynov 31 October 2012 7th Erik Roqueta Capilla (caretaker) 1 November 2012 Khazar Erik Roqueta Capilla End of tenure as caretaker 14 November 2012 4th Carles Martorell Baqués 14 November 2012 Ravan Baku Kemal Alispahić Sacked 21 December 2012 11th Ramil Aliyev 21 December 2012 Khazar Carles Martorell Baqués Resigned 26 February 2013 7th John Toshack 8 March 2013 Gabala Ramiz Mammadov Sacked 2 April 2013 6th Luis Aragón (caretaker) 2 April 2013
First round
League table
Results
Second round
Championship group The top six teams of the first phase participate in this group, which will decide which team will win the championship. Additionally, teams in this group compete for one 2013–14 Champions League and two Europa League spots.
The winners will qualify for the Champions League Second qualifying round, with the runners-up and third place team earning a spot in the Europa League first qualifying round.
Table
Results
Relegation group The bottom six teams of the first phase will determine the teams to be relegated to the 2013–14 Azerbaijan First Division. The two teams who finish in 11th and 12th position will be relegated to the 2013–14 Azerbaijan First Division.
Table
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Nicolás CanalesNeftchi Baku262 NildoAZAL213 Juan VareaRavan Baku144 Richard AlmeidaQarabağ135 Salif BalloTuran126 Pardis Fardjad-AzadSumgayit97 Yuriy FomenkoKəpəz / Inter Baku8 Bachana TskhadadzeInter Baku8 Julius WobayNeftchi Baku810 Zouhir BenouahiAZAL711 Mario BožićSimurq6 FlavinhoNeftchi Baku6 Marius PenaBaku6 Mindaugas KalonasRavan Baku6 Dimitris SialmasKhazar6 Victor MendyGabala6
Source: Azerbaijan Premier League
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Nildo4 AZAL Qarabağ 6–2 Nicolás Canales4 Neftchi Baku Sumgayit 8–1 Salif Ballo Turan Kəpəz 5–1 Pardis Fardjad-Azad4 Sumgayit Turan 4–0 Juan Varea Ravan Baku Turan 6–2 4 Player scored 4 goals
Scoring First goal of the season: Irakli Beraia for Kəpəz against Turan Tovuz (4 August 2012) Fastest goal of the season: 1st minute, Yannick Kamanan for Gabala against Khazar Lankaran (22 February 2013) Latest goal of the season: 94 minutes and 33 seconds, Slavčo Georgievski for Inter Baku against Turan Tovuz (25 August 2012) Largest winning margin: 7 goals Neftchi Baku 8–1 Sumgayit (17 November 2012) Highest scoring game: 9 goals Neftchi Baku 8–1 Sumgayit (17 November 2012) Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 8 goals Neftchi Baku 8–1 Sumgayit (17 November 2012) Most goals scored in a match by a losing team: 3 goals Turan Tovuz 3–5 Kəpəz (13 May 2013) Ravan Baku 3–5 AZAL (14 May 2013)
Clean sheets Most clean sheets: 16 Inter Baku Qarabağ Fewest clean sheets: 5 Kəpəz Turan Tovuz
Discipline
Most yellow cards (club): 96 Kəpəz Most yellow cards (player): 14 Samuel Barlay (Ravan Baku)
Most red cards (club): 8 Khazar Lankaran Simurq Most red cards (player): 3 Aleksandr Chertoganov (Gabala)
References