Qarabag FC ahead of European football giants in UEFA ranking
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
Azerbaijani football club Qarabag continues to be present the country at a high level in the European arena.
In the updated ranking of football clubs for the 2018-2019 season, Qarabag FC took its place ahead of the several giants of European football.
The national club from Agdam region has 22,000 points, thanks to which the club has retained its 70th place. The current champion of Azerbaijan has surpassed such European football giants as Dutch Feyenoord, who is the 71st with 22,000 points in the ranking, and Italian Milan that took the 78th place with 19,000 points.
In addition, such prominent clubs as the Spanish Real Sociedad (75th place, 20,713 points), English Everton (84th, 17,092 points), and Russian Spartak (89th, 16,080 points) are behind Qarabag FC.
As for other Azerbaijani clubs, Qabala FC with 6.250 points is the 173rd, while Keshla, Neftchi and Zira football clubs occupy the 273rd, 274th and 275th places, respectively.
Real Madrid leads the ranking with 146,000 points, followed by another representative of Spain, Barcelona, with 138,000 points. Bayern Munich FC with 128,000 points ranks the third.
The club ranking is calculated based on the performances of football clubs in European Cup competitions over the past five years.
It should be noted that Qarabag FC will represent Azerbaijan in UEFA Champions League in 2019-2020 season, while Neftchi, Qabala and Sabail clubs will test their chances in UEFA Europa League.
In 2017-2018 season, Qarabag FC opened a new page in the history of Azerbaijani football by reaching the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.
The club is named after Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, which has been kept under Armenian occupation for over two decades.
Qarabag FC is among few clubs worldwide with a refugee status. After the occupation of Agdam in 1993, the team was compelled to leave its hometown and settled in different cities. Today Qarabag FC plays home matches in Baku.
---
Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz