Azerbaijan for Beginners

Anne Thompson, a Baku-based Wrexham fan, gives Red Passion readers the ultimate low-down on the country and its football culture

UEFA's map of Europe shows Azerbaijan just clinging on to the continent in the south-eastern corner. I say UEFA's map because plenty of others don't show it in Europe at all. 

North-east of Turkey, with Iran to the south and Russia to the north, Azerbaijan lies at a crossroads, both geographically and culturally. The Caucasus mountains, the Caspian Sea, semi-desert, sub-tropical tea plantations - Azerbaijan has the lot. An ex-Soviet republic, it has now been an independent country for 11 years. Its most lucrative exports are oil and caviar. Azerbaijan's oil has even reached 007 land. The Bond movie a couple of years ago, The World is Not Enough, was about Azeri oil and pipelines. I went along to a press conference to see Pierce Brosnan in the flesh and, well, he was a bit of a disappointment, too much of the sun-bed look. Not a real hero like RP's Mickey Thomas.

Travelling into Baku from the airport, RP readers on tour will see plenty of oil industry relics, nodding donkeys and oil derricks stretching over scrubby land. Something else to watch out for on the airport run is the new Safa (pronounced Shayfa) stadium, bit 1970s in design, where the under-21s will be playing on the 19 November. Sparky & Co. might not have much time for the sights, but here are a few highlights for the discerning RP reader: 

• The prom, known as the Boulevard, with its fairground attractions, big wheel (aka the Baku Eye) and boat rides on the Caspian.
• The walled old town with medieval mosques and caravan sarays (where Silk Road traders and their camels could get a good night's kip).
• The Maiden's Tower - climb up it for views of the old town, tactfully averting your gaze from the courting couples on the way up.
• Ride the funicular railway or climb the steps up to the Martyrs' Mosque and Cemetery - victims of a Soviet-era clampdown in 1990 and some of the thousands who died in the war with neighbouring Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh are buried here. A sad place, tempered by the stunning views from the eternal flame. 
• Fountain Square and the flamboyant mansions of 19th century oil barons - like their Yorkshire mill-owning counterparts, the Azeri oil merchants would see a building in Venice or Vienna that caught their fancy and tell the architect, Eee, I'll 'ave one o'them.

Baku won't disappoint the thirsty sightseer with its fine hostelries and teahouses. Many of them are around Fountain Square on the pedestrianised roads linking the square to the seafront and Nizami shopping street. The local brew is a very drinkable lager by the name of Xirdalan (pronounced Khyrdalan), and thanks to the Russian influence, there's a wide range of locally made and imported vodkas, some excellent and others very rough indeed. The Azeri bars are often restaurants as well and serve damn fine kebabs and rice dishes.

Sturgeon kebab is a local speciality and the Azeri Big Mac (though 10 times better) is called Lyule kebab - spicy minced lamb wrapped in unleavened bread. Ex-pat bars cater to the many Brits and Americans working here in the oil industry - Wales fans might hesitate before going into the Lancaster Gate, a football-themed pub run by Liverpool supporter Dave, but have no fear, all the Brits here seem to be backing us for once. Jazz lovers and anyone into psychedelic decor should try the Jazz Club - music is usually 9pm till midnight. And for the late-night equivalent to Bonkers, visit the Fusion club on the seafront or the posh 1033 at the Hyatt Hotel (might be the place to spot the under-21s on the Tuesday night). 

It will be Ramadan, the fasting month when Muslims do not eat or drink in daylight hours, but many local people do not observe the fast and it's business as usual for town- centre bars and restaurants. One cultural norm, not that different from many a British city, concerns drinking alcohol in the street - it's OK at outside cafes and restaurants but roaming the streets with a can of lager in hand isn't really on. 

But what about the football? What football? There have been no games in the Azerbaijani championship since May 2001 (which was the middle of the season) because of a boycott by most of the leading clubs. Those clubs want to see the back of the president of AFFA (the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan), Fuad Musayev. But with the support of UEFA, he is refusing to budge. Musayev sees the dispute in a political light. He became leader of Azerbaijan's first football association in the early days of the country's independence, before Azerbaijan's current president, Heydar Aliyev, came back to power. Heydar Aliyev's son, and chosen political successor, Ilham Aliyev, is head of the National Olympic Committee and de facto in control of most of Azerbaijani sport, with the exception of football. 

The football association is unique in Azerbaijan as it is an independent administrative body, not answerable to the authorities. Musayev has made it a matter of honour that he will remain president of this independent association. Political considerations aside, most fans and football professionals are dissatisfied with Musayev's leadership. While one favoured team, Safa, has got a smart, new stadium, others have got nothing from the football association, not even a ball. As the league is not functioning, Azerbaijani clubs are barred from European competition.

With club football in disarray, the national team is struggling. Losing at home to Italy and away to Finland was no disgrace, but it was enough for manager Vaqif Sadixov. He quit after Helsinki, telling the Associated Press: 'Soccer in Azerbaijan is hurtling downhill and I don't want to be at the head of this process.' Sadixov's deputy, Asgar Abdullayev, has become caretaker manager and is in turn helped by player-coach, Tarlan Axmadov. In between disasters (such as giving Liechtenstein their first ever win), Azerbaijan have turned in some good displays: they beat Slovakia in June 2001 and managed a draw with Portugal in the game of three halves in 1999 (the floodlights failed at half-time and the entire match had to be replayed the following day). So, it won't be an easy game.

And the fans - unpredictable. After the Finland defeat, the game may not be a sell-out. There again a good number of the seats for the Italy match had been sold twice - I turned up half an hour before kick-off, complete with ticket, to be met by the massed ranks of the police circling the ground. The stadium was already full and thousands of us ticket-holders couldn't see the match. So the warning for Wales fans - get to the ground very early; having a ticket does not mean you will automatically get in! And one more word of caution: the Azeris are very friendly and hospitable and in nearly six years living here I've only once felt threatened - and that was after watching Azerbaijan play Romania. Other ex-pats have had hassle at matches too - so stick together!

Some practical tips - toilets at the ground, hmm, well, I've never seen a Ladies! Buns and sweets will be on sale and Azeri fans are forever chomping sunflower seeds (can't really see the point of them myself, all husk and not much seed). The ground is a 15-minute taxi ride from the centre - ask for the stadion at Gandzhlik. The ride should cost one shirvan (10,000 Manats or approximately £1.50). And personal safety in general - Baku is much safer than London but there are muggers and pickpockets around. Be very careful leaving hostelries late at night - foreigners are obvious targets and just don't blend in.

And a Wrexham connection? There is one, if tenuous. My Azerbaijani team is Sahdag (Shakhdag) from Qusar in the north of the country. I wrote a begging letter to Flynnie a while back and the club shop gave me a set of shirt samples from a would-be supplier. They're now used regularly for training and youth matches - if the championship was in operation! And to finish, a couple of gems for your anorak: Azerbaijan's national ground is called the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium - after the Soviet Union's linesman in the 1966 World Cup final, who signalled that controversial third goal. Tofiq Bahramov had a successful career as a Soviet referee, receiving the coveted Golden Whistle award. The stadium was built in the Stalin-era in the shape of a Russian letter 'S' (English 'C') for Stalin.