Edu Caro, a Spaniard in the reconquest of Neftchi

Three years ago, a head shot by Michel Madera in the Wanda Metropolitano unveiled the history of the Qarabag FK of Azerbaijan, a club founded in Agdam, in ruins since its conquest by the Armenians during the first war in Upper Karabakh. The club took refuge in the capital, Baku, and the country's largest food producer and exporter, Azersun Holding, became its main sponsor. It was then that the showcases of an entity without history began to fill with trophies. He made a double in 1993, but his tyranny did not begin until 2014. Since then he has raised seven Leagues and five Cups, to which must be added an almost constant presence in Europe. Qarabag was the king and, furthermore, he felt no ill will because of his refugee status. This season it could have become the most successful club in Azerbaijani football history, but the crown changed hands. The Neftchi is back.

And it is not that the Qarabag has stopped competing. In fact, he reached the last day occupying the lead, but Neftchi held his pace and waited until the final date to deliver the final stab. It was in the 90th minute, with the season already dying and in the middle of a direct duel to win, that Ahmed Ahmedov scored the goal that kept Neftchi as the club with the most leagues in the history of Azerbaijani football (9). The team came like a shot to the final phase of the tournament, and the main culprit of this feat is a Spanish physical trainer, Edu Expensive. “In recent years, going to Europe had endowed al Qarabag with greater economic power, but we knew that if we reached the last game with options we could be champions. We had nothing to lose and we went with everything to win,” reveals the Catalan days before returning to the pit to prepare the preliminary phase of the Champions: “We do not want this year to be accidental and the Qarabag continue with its hegemony. They are going to bet on continuing to win and for that it is essential to stick their heads out in a European competition “.

The main investor of the Neftchi, which was founded in 1973 under the name Neftyanik and an oil tower shines on his shield, is SOCAR, an oil and gas multinational based in the city of Baku. It is there that Qarabag also resides, although “there is a lot of brotherhood between the two clubs.” “When an Azerbaijani club competes in Europe, the rest of the country supports them with pride”, discovers Edu Caro, who will never forget the way in which Neftchi decided to celebrate their first league title since 2013: “After the game we were around four hours celebrating it in the stadium. It was a shame to do it without fans in the stands, but hey. We sang, had dinner, had a drink, took photos … Then we got on the bus. I thought we would go back to the sports city, I would take my car and I would go home, but they took us to the cemetery to pay tribute to the soldiers who fell during the war against Armenia. And there we were. It was two in the morning, we had just won the league and we were in a cemetery. It was a situation something strange “.

Edu Caro, who despite his 29 years already has experience in Spain, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Azerbaijan, coincided in Baku with the Japanese Keisuke Sling, that surprised locals and strangers after joining the Neftchi squad last March: “He has been a professional. We cannot fault him in his time in Azerbaijan.” The Spanish arrived in the country in January of this year, so he did not have to live the second war in Upper Karabakh. “In any case, Baku is far from the conflict. Jaime Romero (current Qarabag player) told me that sometimes the internet went away, but nothing exceptional,” discovers the Catalan, who has enjoyed a “quiet” season despite of the challenge posed by the context caused by Covid. “We have managed the training loads very well and we have not had any injuries,” reveals one of the many Spanish physical trainers who are successful abroad. In this we are also a power.