Araz Abdulla oğlu Abdullayev (born 18 April 1992) is an Azerbaijani

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who last played as a winger for Azerbaijani club

Sumgayit Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Bak ...

and the Azerbaijan national team.

Career

Club

Early years

Born in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

, Abdullayev played for Neftchi Baku's

youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...

from January 2007 to December 2008. He made his

first team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

debut for Neftchi on 5 October 2008. In the November 2011, Neftchi Baku celebrated its 1000th goal, which is scored by Araz Abdullayev.

Everton

English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

club Everton agreed a deal on 4 July 2010 that gave them first option to sign Abdullayev over the next two years if a work permit could be attained. On 21 September, it was announced that he will start on an initial three-year contract, with the option for two more seasons, when the transfer window opens in January 2011. On 7 January 2011, it was announced that Everton signed long-term contract with Abdullayev subject to him being granted a work permit, even though the length of contract is not revealed and allowed him to play for the Neftchi until

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League ( az, Azərbaycan Premyer Liqası) is a professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Azerbaijan football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is conteste ...

's end. He returned to Everton for their 2011–12 Premier League campaign and featured in Everton Reserves first friendly of the season against

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

in the 2011 Lev Yashin Cup

=Loan to Panionios

= On 27 December 2011, Abdullayev joined

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

on a season-long loan. He debuted in friendly match on 30 December 2011, against

Koropi Koropi ( el, Κορωπί, ) is a suburban town in East Attica, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality Kropia. It has been home to the new training facilities of Panathinaikos football club since the summer of 2013. Geography Koropi is situa ...

, Abdullayev played 61 minutes in the starting lineup, Panionios won 3–2. Abdullayev made his Greece Superleague debut for

in a 2–0 home victory against

Asteras Tripoli Asteras Tripolis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Αστέρας Τρίπολης), commonly referred to as Asteras Tripolis (meaning "Star of Tripoli"), is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greec ...

on 3 January 2012.

Return to Neftchi

Abdullayev returned to Neftchi Baku in the summer of 2012 and soon became the main squad player. During the 2012–13 season, he helped his team to become the first Azerbaijani team to advance to the group stage of

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

. Neftchi was drawn in

Group H Group H may refer to: * A set of international motor racing regulations used in touring car racing * One of eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group H ** 2018 FIFA World Cup Group H ** 2014 FIFA Worl ...

alongside

Internazionale Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter is ...

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...

and

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

. Araz made five appearances in the UEFA Europa League group stage. On 20 September 2012, Abdullayev made his debut in the UEFA Europa League group stage game against

, entering as a substitute for Flavinho in the 78th minute. The same season, Neftchi Baku won both the

and

Azerbaijan Cup The Azerbaijan Cup is a major association football competition in Azerbaijan. In its original form, it started in 1936, when Azerbaijan was a republic of the Soviet Union and it was not disputed by Azerbaijani teams in the Soviet league pyramid. ...

. Abdullayev won the National Cup with Neftchi once again in the 2013–14 season and became a runner-up in 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons, losing to Qarabağ in the final match both times. During the 4.5 years spent at Neftchi, Araz Abdullayev played a total of 173 games in all tournaments and scored 25 goals. Araz scored his first European goal against Slovenian

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

in the second qualifying round of the

2014–15 UEFA Europa League The 2014–15 UEFA Europa League was the 44th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the sixth season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The 2015 UEFA Europa League Final was ...

. He scored 3 goals in 25 matches during the club's European matches.

Gabala

On 31 December 2016, Abdullayev signed a two-year contract with Gabala. Abdullayev made his

debut for Gabala played 84 minutes in the starting lineup, in a 1–1 away draw against

Kapaz Kapaz ( fa, كپز) is a village in Anguran Rural District, Anguran District, Mahneshan County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. ...

on 28 February 2017.

=Loan to Anorthosis

= On 12 August 2017,

Anorthosis Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fou ...

announced the signing of Abdullayev on a season-long loan deal. Abdullayev made his

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

debut for

played 83 minutes in the starting lineup, in a 1–1 away draw against Nea Salamis on 20 August 2017. He scored his first goal for

in the

match against

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintain ...

in a 1–1 home draw on 25 November 2017.

Panionios

On 7 July 2018, Abdullayev signed a two-year contract with Superleague side

=Loan to Qarabağ

= On 31 August 2018,

Qarabağ FK Qarabağ Futbol Klubu, commonly known as Qarabağ () is an Azerbaijani professional football club, based in Baku, that competes in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the top flight of Azerbaijani football. The club originates from Aghdam but has ...

announced the signing of Abdullayev on a two-year loan deal.

Boluspor

On 15 September 2020, Abdullayev signed a 1+1 year contract with Turkish club

Boluspor Boluspor is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Bolu. The clubs plays in red and white kits, and have done so since their formation in 1965.Sumgayit Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Bak ...

on a contract until the end of the 2021–22 season, with the option of an additional two-years.

International

After a string of impressive performances at club level, Abdullayev was called up to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

squad for the

2010 World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oce ...

match against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

scheduled for 11 October 2008, which made him the youngest ever Azerbaijan international, making his debut at 16 years 4 months. On 9 March 2017, he scored his first senior international goal for the

Azerbaijan national football team The Azerbaijan national football team ( az, Azərbaycan milli futbol komandası) is the national football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. It represents Azerbaijan in international footb ...

, in a 2–1 away win

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

in Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

Career statistics

Club

International

''Statistics accurate as of match played 8 September 2020''

International goals

:''Scores and results list Azerbaijan's goal tally first.''

Honours

Neftchi Baku *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, 2013–14 Qarabağ *

: 2018–19, 2019–20

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullayev, Araz 1992 births Living people Footballers from Baku Azerbaijani men's footballers Azerbaijani expatriate men's footballers Azerbaijani expatriate sportspeople in England Azerbaijan men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Everton F.C. players Gabala SC players Panionios F.C. players Anorthosis Famagusta FC players Qarabağ FK players Boluspor footballers Azerbaijan Premier League players Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players TFF First League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Azerbaijan men's under-21 international footballers Azerbaijan men's youth international footballers Neftçi PFK players