Turan Tovuz will face one of Türkiye's most decorated clubs, Fenerbahce, in a friendly at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku today, October 3.
The match will kick off at 20:00 Baku time, with proceeds from the game to be donated to the Karabakh Revival Fund.
As reported by İdman.Biz, the two clubs will meet for the first time in 32 years. Their previous encounters came in 1994 in the preliminary round of the UEFA Cup. Fenerbahce won the first leg 5-0 in Istanbul on August 9 before claiming a 2-0 victory in the return match in Sumgayit on August 23.
Today's game will therefore be the third meeting between the two clubs.
Fenerbahce arrived in Baku on October 2. Following their arrival, the Istanbul club posted the flags of Azerbaijan and Türkiye on social media alongside the message: "Salam, qardaş, Can Azərbaycan!"
Despite the international break, supporters in Baku will still have the opportunity to see a number of high-profile Fenerbahce players. Ederson, Mert Gunok, Nelson Semedo, Marco Asensio, Matteo Guendouzi, N'Golo Kante and Mason Greenwood are among those who travelled to Azerbaijan. A number of young players from the Fenerbahce academy have also been included in the squad.
At the same time, the Turkish club are without several key players due to international duty. Kerem Akturkoglu, Ismail Yuksek, Irfan Can Kahveci, Oguz Aydin, Nathan Ake, Milan Skriniar and Romelu Lukaku are among those absent from the trip to Baku. Mert Muldur will also miss the match because of a knee injury.
Turan Tovuz have absentees of their own. Rahil Mammadov and Rahim Sadikhov are with the Azerbaijan national team, who will face Lithuania in the UEFA Nations League on October 4.
Goalkeeper Oleg Baklov has joined the Tajikistan national team, who are holding a training camp in China and will play the hosts on October 6.
However, Turan Tovuz head coach Gurban Berdiyev still has most of his first-team squad available. Heyderson Hurtado, Roderick Miller, Alex Serrano, Roberto Olabe, Joao Batista, Ibrahima Wadji and Diogo Balao are among the regular Azerbaijan Premier League players who could feature.
Turan Tovuz beat Zira 1-0 in their most recent league match, while Fenerbahce entered the international break following an emphatic 8-0 victory over Eyupspor.
A special atmosphere is also expected in the stands. Around 25,000 tickets had been sold by the evening of October 2.
Representatives of the Azerbaijani branch of the Genc Fenerbahceliler supporters' group are preparing a special choreography for the match. Fan group leader Mehmet Demir and several supporters from Türkiye have travelled to Baku to help organise the display.
According to Demir, the choreography is intended to demonstrate the unity of Azerbaijani and Turkish Fenerbahce supporters. The details of the display have not yet been revealed publicly.
Thus, 32 years after their European encounters, Turan Tovuz and Fenerbahce will once again share the same pitch – this time in a friendly that promises to become not only a football occasion but also a major fan event in Baku.
Fenerbahce's most recent friendly against an Azerbaijani club before today's match took place on July 15, 2023. The Istanbul side defeated Neftchi 1-0 in St Petersburg during the pre-season Pari Premier Cup.
Edin Dzeko scored the only goal in the 72nd minute from a Ryan Kent assist. Remarkably, it was the Bosnian striker's first goal for Fenerbahce.
The same clubs had previously met in another friendly in Türkiye on January 18, 2014, which ended in a goalless draw.
