Rashad Sadygov (; born 16 June 1982) is an Azerbaijani football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He is currently manager of the Azerbaijan Premier League side Zira.
Sadigov is the most capped player in the history of Azerbaijan national team with 111 games. He captained the team since 2004 and is widely recognized as one of the best players in the history of Azerbaijan, as he won the national league title six times and was selected as the footballer of the year six times. He played in UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League for FK Qarabağ.
Early life Sadigov began playing football during his school years at Vagif Pashayev-led Youth Football Sports School at the age of 10.День рождения капитана сборной Азербайджана Рашада Садыхова He also spent time playing football for the clubs Sharur, the Air Force team, and Real Baku, all of which are based in Baku.
Club career
In 2000, Sadigov signed his first professional contract with PFK Turan Tovuz, but played only nine games. At that time, he also played for the Azerbaijan Under-21 football team. At the end of the 2000/01 season, the defender was transferred to PFC Neftchi.
He played for Foolad F.C. in Iran's Premier Football League in 2002. After his comeback to Neftchi, Rashad won the national championship and cup and succeeded in passing the first qualification round of the Champions League with the black-and-whites. He played 8 games in European cups for Neftchi (two in the UEFA Cup qualifying during the 2001–02 season, two in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds in the 2004–05, and four appearances during the 2005–06 season of the same competition).
He traveled to Turkey to play for Kayserispor for the 2005–06 season. He was loaned back to Neftchi in January 2006. He played once at the start of 2006/07 season, but planned to go back with Neftchi, again. Sadigov failed to notice that the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan had changed the deadline of the transfer window, so he changed to play basketball to keep his fitness.Sadygov kicks football into touch
On 23 January 2009, Sadygov returned to the Turkish Süper Lig to join Kocaelispor on a six-month contract after he was kicked out from PFC Neftchi by the head coach Hans-Jürgen Gede in December 2008. Rashad made his debut for Kocaelispor in their 4–0 victory over Hacettepe on 25 January 2009.
In July 2009, Sadigov briefly returned to FK Qarabağ to help them in UEFA Europa League and scored a magnificent goal against Rosenborg BK.Azerbaijan football team "Karabakh" won the match with the Norwegian «Rusenborg» He also scored against FC Honka after delivering a powerful free kick.Украинцы без потерь As a result, he signed a one-year contract with Karabakh, after the club's impressive performance in the UEFA Europa League.Рашад Садыгов остается в Карабахе Рашад Садыхов официально стал игроком Карабаха
In August 2010, he signed a 2-year contract with Turkish Super Lig outfit Eskişehirspor. However, following a string of injuries, he failed to get a regular place in Eskişehirspor's defence, which caused him to seek a new club.
After being heavily linked with a move back to FK Qarabağ, Sadigov joined Qarabağ on 11 February 2011. He helped his team to qualify for UEFA Europa League and UEFA Champions League. He played 5 times in UEFA Europa League group stages and one time in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
On 21 June 2020, Sadigov announced his retirement.
International career Sadigov made his Azerbaijan debut on 6 October 2001, against Sweden during 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA). Sadigov was Azerbaijan's vice-captain under Carlos Alberto Torres, deputising in the absence of regular captain Gurban Gurbanov, but following the retirement of Gurban Gurbanov from football, Sadygov was named as full-time captain in March 2004.Ekspress newspaper:Ayağı sayalı kapitan İspanlar Rəşad Sadıqovun oyununu bəyəndi Sadigov is the most capped Azerbaijani player of all time.
Managerial career On 13 December 2017, Sadigov was appointed as manager of Azerbaijan U21.
On 17 July 2020, Sadigov was announced as Zira's new manager on a three-year contract.
Personal life In 2006, as a result of missing the registration deadline for the Azerbaijani football club side Neftchi Baku, Sadigov played basketball for local club BK NTD.Rəşad Sadıqov mütləq oynamalıdır!
Sadigov was one of the favorite players among Kocaelispor supporters and nicknamed "Terminator" by local media. He also featured as one of the official faces for Azerbaijan Premier League promotion campaign in 2010.UniBank, futbolla yaşa!
Career statistics Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsTuran-Tovuz2000–01Top League90 –––90Neftchi Baku2001–02Top League240 –00–240Foolad2002–03Pro League200 –––200Neftchi Baku2003–04Top League161 –––1612004–05320 –40–3602005–06130 –40–170Total611 008000691Kayserispor2005–06Süper Lig9010–––1002006–071000–50–60Total10010005000160Neftchi Baku2006–07Top League122 –––1222007–08Premier League195 –21–2162008–0990 –61–151Total407 008200489Kocaelispor2008–09Süper Lig16000–––160Qarabağ2009–10Premier League20121–42–264Eskişehirspor2010–11Süper Lig5000–––50Qarabağ2010–11Premier League14000–81–2212011–1227240–60–3722012–1325350–––3032013–1425010–80–3402014–1522050–100–3702015–1619230–120–3422016–1714010–112–2622017–1818000–10–10Total1647190006050024310Career total36916221008170045424
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsAzerbaijan200110200290200360200410220058020063120072020081002009110201081201190201240201380201460201570201640201751Total1115
Scores and results list Azerbaijan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sadygov goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Rashad SadygovNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 28 March 2004 Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan 3–2 3–2 Friendly2 4 September 2004 Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan 1–1 1–1 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification3 12 March 2006 Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan 1–0 1–1 Friendly4 12 October 2010 Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualification5 4 September 2017 Bakcell Arena, Baku, Azerbaijan 5–1 5–1 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualification
Managerial + Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordZira17 July 202031 May 2023Total—
Honours
As player Neftchi Baku Azerbaijan Premier League: 2003–04, 2004–05 Azerbaijan Cup: 2001–02, 2003–04
Kayserispor UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006
Qarabağ Azerbaijan Premier League: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 Azerbaijan Cup: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016–17
Individual Azerbaijani Footballer of the Year: 2004, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017
As manager Zira Azerbaijan Cup: 2021–22 runners-up
See also List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
References
External links
Qarabağ FK profile