9th championship won after 8 years
Neftchi, having settled for silver medals in the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons, once again set its sights on the championship. In addition to foreign players such as Sabir Bugrin, Yusuf Lawal, Rener Alves de Sousa, Prince Ibara, and Bruno Telushi, the transfer of our national U-21 team member Mert Çelik and Jabir Amirli took place. Due to the pandemic, the team's pre-season preparations were organized not outside the country, but in Baku and Gabala.
Neftchi had a poor start to the championship. After a 6-0 defeat to Qarabag in the ninth round, head coach Fizuli Mammadov resigned. He was replaced by Samir Abbasov. Abbasov first brought in assistants he had once worked with – Seymur Rahimov and Vafadar Guliyev – and in January, Spanish fitness coach Eduardo Caro. Under the new head coach, the team won three of four games, drawing one. This put Neftchi one point ahead of Qarabag, which had played one game fewer, and led the team into the winter break.
During the winter, Neftchi attended a training camp at the Turkish Airlines Football Center. In February, they strengthened their squad with Bulgarian striker of Turkish descent Ahmed Ahmedov, and in March, they brought in world-renowned Japanese midfielder Keisuke Honda. Over the remaining 14 rounds of the championship, Neftchi won 10 matches, drew twice, and lost twice. With one match remaining, the flagship team had reduced its point difference with Qarabag to one. As a result, the final match of the round between the two teams took place at Dalga Arena on May 19, which would decide the championship. In the 90th minute, Akhmed Akhmedov, who entered the field midway through the match, scored a goal, sealing Neftchi's ninth championship title after eight years.
