Scouting Chelsea’s opponents: The Barcelona of the Caucasus, Qarabag FK
Chelsea return to the Champions League to face an opponent for the first time in club history. Qarabag FK will be an enigmatic side in their first trip to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea took advantage of their year away from the Champions League, concentrating on domestic matters to win the Premier League. As England’s top league is one of the highest ranking in Europe, Chelsea were one of the seeded teams. This, theoretically, gave them an easier passage through the group stages.
Playing in Group C of the competition, the draw could have been kinder. The Blues will face Atletico Madrid, Roma and Qarabag Futbol Klubu. Chelsea have never faced Qarabag before, so this is unknown territory as far as they are concerned.
London rivals Tottenham Hotspur have, however, faced the Azerbaijani team before. Two years ago, Tottenham and Qarabag were in the same Europa League group. Neither game was a walkover. Tottenham won their home game 3-1 and laboured to a 1-0 win in Azerbaijan.
Must Read: Chelsea sneak back into title race with little fuss or controversy
Qarabag are the first Azerbaijani team to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. A single away goal in Copenhagen, in the play-off on August 23, turned South African Dino Ndlovu into a hero of the Qarabag faithful.
Ndlovu is a key player for the Baku-based outfit. Currently in his second season with the club, the striker has scored 20 goals in his 43 appearances.
Qarabag’s coach since 2008 is Gurban Gurbanov. Throughout his playing career, to say Gurbanov was journeyman player would be an understatement. He played for a different team in every season of his 18 year career. He began coaching Qarabag at age 36. He moved from playing straight into coaching, and with so little experience he did much learning on the job. Under his stewardship, though, Qarabag became regulars in European competition.
Qarabag are renowned for having a playing style that is akin to FC Barcelona. They are known as the “Barcelona of the Caucasus.” Gurbanov likes his side to play short passes and build up attacks slowly. They regularly play without a true striker, using the ‘false nine’ system Chelsea have sometimes adopted, with Eden Hazard in that free-striking role.
The Qarabag squad mainly consists of Azerbaijani players. Along with Ndlovu, new in the team this season is Ukrainian goalkeeper Anton Kanibolotskiy. Whether he actually plays at Stamford Bridge is debatable, as he has only made one appearance in Qarabag’s six Champions League qualification games. He has played in all three of the club’s league games, though.
Qarabag could feature one player that has played at Stamford Bridge before. On a cold January night back in 2010, Birmingham City were Chelsea’s opponents in a Premier League game. On the bench was Spanish-born Michel. The defensive midfielder came on for the final eighteen minutes of his side’s 3-0 defeat. After stints at Getafe and Maccabi Haifa, he joined Qarabag in 2015.
Next: Chelsea's predicted XI vs. Qarabag: Debuts for Caballero, Drinkwater and Musonda
This ought to be an easy win for Chelsea. Then again, the game against Burnley on day one of the Premier League campaign was supposed to be easy. The current market value of the Qarabag side is £15.55 million. By comparison Chelsea’s squad have a market value of £553m. The financial odds – as well as all footballing odds – favour Chelsea.