The appointment of Ukrainian specialist Andriy Demchenko as head coach of Araz-Nakhchivan has led to a situation unique for the past decade in Azerbaijani football.
As reported by İdman.Biz, in the 2025/26 season of the Azerbaijan Premier League the number of foreign head coaches has exceeded the number of local specialists for the first time in 12 years.
Following Demchenko’s arrival, the ratio of coaches in Azerbaijan’s top division now stands at seven foreigners against five local coaches. Prior to this appointment, the league maintained parity at six to six, and it was precisely the replacement of Elmar Bakhshiyev with Demchenko at Araz-Nakhchivan that tipped the balance in favor of foreign coaches.
At present, local coaches are in charge of Qarabag (Gurban Gurbanov), Zira (Rashad Sadygov), Shamakhi (Aykhan Abbasov), Kapaz (Azer Bagirov) and Karvan-Evlakh (Fuzuli Mammadov).
The remaining teams have entrusted their squads to foreign specialists: Lithuanian Valdas Dambrauskas at Sabah, Ukrainian Yuriy Vernydub at Neftchi, Kurban Berdyev (Turkmenistan, Russia) at Turan-Tovuz, Serbian Sasa Ilic at Sumgayit, Ukrainian Andriy Demchenko at Araz-Nakhchivan, Portuguese Jorge Casquilha at Imishli, and Georgian Kakha Tskhadadze at Gabala.
The last time foreign specialists formed the majority in the Azerbaijan championship was during the 2013/2014 season. At that time, the league was experiencing a period of active investment, and clubs employed internationally renowned coaches, including Yuriy Semin, John Toshack, Mustafa Denizli, Milinko Pantic, and others. That season, the ratio stood at six foreign coaches against four local ones.
After 2014, amid financial difficulties and the closure of clubs such as Baku, Khazar-Lankaran, and Simurq, the league entered a prolonged period dominated by local coaching staff. In some seasons, the number of foreign coaches dropped to zero or just one or two specialists.
The current trend can be explained by the expansion of the Misli Premier League to 12 teams in the 2025/26 season, as well as the growing ambitions of some clubs and the desire of others to change the existing state of affairs.
Teymur Tushiyev
