They did it — against all expectations. “Sabah” reached the Champions League group stage after a stunning 5–2 victory over “Hapoel Be’er Sheva” in the second leg.



In doing so, “Sabah” has not only made history in Azerbaijani football but also achieved a remarkable feat in European football. Founded in 2017, the club has become the first team to reach the Champions League group stage less than a decade after its establishment.


Even more remarkably, “Sabah” became the first club in European football history to reach the Champions League group stage on its very first attempt — in other words, in its first-ever appearance in the competition.


And yet, none of this seemed possible given the way the second leg against “Hapoel” began. Despite the incredible support of nearly 30,000 fans, the home side conceded as early as the 10th minute following a costly mistake by goalkeeper Stas Pokatilov. That evening, it was almost as if the “Sabah” keeper had been possessed by “Qarabag” goalkeeper Shahruddin Mahammadaliyev, who has on several occasions been blamed for preventing his team from achieving greater success in European competition.


Pokatilov played the ball straight to Igor Zlatanović, who made no mistake, leaving “Sabah” facing an even tougher task. Having lost the first leg 2–1 away from home, the Baku side now needed to overturn a two-goal deficit.


Worse still, just when “Sabah” had somehow managed to stay in the game through tremendous effort and draw level, Pokatilov… repeated his mistake. This time, he gifted the ball to Guy Mizrahi, allowing the Israelis to restore their lead.


Fortunately for us, however, Fortuna was “speaking Azerbaijani” that night. First, Umarali Rakhmonaliyev equalised. And just when it seemed that “Hapoel” was heading for the Champions League league phase, salvation came from an unexpected source: Tellur Mutallimov.


His goal in the fourth and final minute of added time was nothing short of a miracle. More importantly, it appeared to give “Sabah” the belief and momentum it needed to go on and achieve something even greater.



As a result, during the additional 30 minutes, our players gave the visitors no chance, scoring twice more past Ofir Marciano to seal a 5–2 victory.


It should be stressed that “Hapoel” had no reason to blame its goalkeeper. In both legs, Marciano produced a string of outstanding saves, and in Baku, it was largely thanks to his heroic performance that the Israeli side managed to survive until extra time.


As for “Sabah,” virtually the entire team delivered a brilliant performance, confidently guided by Valdas Dambrauskas. The 49-year-old Lithuanian, who never played a single day of professional football, has nevertheless proved himself an outstanding coach, rewriting “Sabah’s” history time and again.


In his first season in charge, Dambrauskas somehow led the team to both the Azerbaijani Cup and Premier League titles. Now, at the very start of his second season, he has taken “Sabah’s” success to an entirely new level — the European stage.


Now, all we can do is wait to see which teams “Sabah” will bring to Baku, with four of their eight league-phase matches set to be played at home. Thanks to “Qarabag,” we have already had the likes of Ajax and Chelsea visit the Azerbaijani capital. But who knows which European giant will arrive in Baku this time?


Whoever it is, they will certainly face a tough battle against this new phenomenon in Azerbaijani football — “Sabah.”


By Vugar Vugarli, specially for Caliber.Az