Football club
Khazar Lankaran FK (Talysh: Xəzər Lankon Futboli Klub, Azerbaijani: Xəzər Lənkəran Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani football club based in Lankaran that last played in the Azerbaijan Premier League during the 2015–16 season.
Since the summer of 2016 the club has concentrated on youth football.[1] It played in the Azerbaijan Premier League for twelve-seasons, winning the title once, and the Azerbaijan Cup three times.[2][3] Khazar were also a member of the European Club Association, an organization that replaced the previous G-14 which consists of major football clubs in Europe.
History
Early years (2004–2012)
The club was founded in 2004 by Azerbaijani entrepreneur Mubariz Mansimov and dubbed by the local media as "Caucasian Chelsea" because of its strong financial position.[4][5] Under Agaselim Mirjavadov club won Premier League title during the 2006–07 season and the Azerbaijan Cup twice. Khazar also won the CIS Cup in 2008, defeating Pakhtakor Tashkent in the final.[6][7]
After Fabian Veldwijk's appointment, a string of Romanian players and footballers were signed from Liga I, but the club did not find success in European cup competition.[8][9] On 4 December 2013, Khazar announced that Veldwijk had been sacked by the club due to a run of poor performances.[10][11]
Recent years (2014–2016)
In July 2014, the club under Yunis Huseynov earned their first win in European competition by beating Nõmme Kalju.[12] In March 2015, former Liverpool striker John Toshack was appointed as new manager after signing two-year deal with the club.[13][14] In 2015–16 season, Khazar finished in 12th place, the club's lowest finishing position to date.[15] Khazar Lankaran once again featured in European competitions during the 2015–16 season, featuring in the UEFA Europa League, where they were knocked out 3–0 on aggregate after suffering their heaviest European defeat ever, losing 8–0 to Maccabi Haifa.[16]
Following the Professional Football League of Azerbaijan's decision to deny Khazar a licence for the 2016–17 season, the club announced their withdrawal from professional football.[1]
