Will Bagan set the momentum for the season with a win or a tough Ahal FK test awaits at VYBK ?
 |
| Current Ahal FK Squad |
Türkmennebit Döwlet Konserniniň Türkmennebit önümleri Baş Müdirliginiň Ahal Änew Futbol Kluby, is the full registered name of Ahal FK, also known as Ahal Anew, which is a relatively humble club from the former Capital of Turkmenistan, Ahal Province. This club was established and founded exactly 100 years after Mohun Bagan during their Centennial celebration year. Ahal has been a part of other fellow state-owned clubs, like FC Altyn Asyr and Arkadag FC, which the majority of readers of this article are already aware of. Ahal has been quite the club since its inception, from participating in the very last years of the Soviet Third Tier league stop laying their first top tier league in 1992 in their own country to getting dissolved in the very next year. Saying a chaotic statement will be an understatement for this club.
Before things go deeper, I would like to apologise to my readers that this article will be shorter in comparison to other ‘Know Your Opponent’ series. Talking and writing about Turkmen clubs is tough as resources on the internet are very limited and the social media presence of local Turkmens is quite limited on the internet. If any reader who is well acquainted with Turkmen football, please drop a mail to annubrataroy2005@gmail.com
Ahal Anew’s first professional league outing in 1989 was not even in the Asian Confederation; they were playing their inaugural season in the Soviet Second League, the Third Tier of Soviet football. Ahal participated in the name of ‘Ahal-COP Akdashayak’ and with a 17th place finish, they were relegated in an instant to the Soviet Lower League while fighting in the Zone 7 Central Asian division. The next season they participated in the inaugural Soviet Lower League and finished at a respectable 10th position in the Central Asia Zone for a club which is only a year old. They continued their feat in the second season of the Lower League where they finished 14th as a result of an increase in the number of teams to 26. But Ahal's plans of playing in the Soviet Lower League were numbered due to the fall of the Soviet Union as a whole. This resulted in the end of the era of Turkmen clubs playing in the traditional Soviet Leagues. Ahal along with Şagadam FK, Köpetdag Futbol Kluby, FC Merw and FC Nebitchi emerged as the traditional legacy clubs of Turkmenistan.
Post Soviet Era, Introduction to Ýokary Liga, Dissolution and State Takeover: -
But good days were not there to stay. Even after finishing third in the League, Ahal FK voluntarily withdrew its name from the upcoming Ýokary Liga, which resulted in the disbandment of their team as a whole. There is not concrete clue behind it but author believes that the lack of funds resulted in this situation. Until the 1998-99 footballing season, Ahal FK was not seen on the field due to lack of funds and remained partially dissolved.
During those dark days, the state-owned oil and natural gas enterprise Türkmennebit showed interest and wanted to re-establish the very same Ahal FK as a top flight club and restore its former glory. Thus, the takeover happened and Ahal was once again back in the Ýokary Liga from the 1998 season. They are still currently owned by the state Oil and Natural gas enterprise.
Until the 2000’s, Ahal were still recovering from the financial burdens they carried throughout its short existence. Ahal was stuck between the mid and lower mid in the table throughout the 2000’s with local players and no foreigners in their team, which was kind of the similar case for the rest of the Turkmen clubs. But the situation worsened again in 2009 when Ahal again withdrew itself from the top-flight football due to lack of funds and internal mismanagement despite being owned by a state-owned enterprise. But they came back again in 2010, this time with a new team revamp, finishing 8th which marked the end of the decade.
Ali Gurbani’s heroics, First Major Cup Win, Öwekow’s legendary touch: -
After an uninspiring 2000s and again getting the shadows of disbandment, Ahal was now ready for a colourful future after 21 years of gloom. Ahal appointed Turkmeni legend and coach Ali Gurbani, father of another Turkmen legend, Amir Gurbani who currently plays for Ahal, which I will talk about later in this article. Ali Gurbani is a household name in Turkmen football; some regard him as the father of modern Turkmen football, and credit him for putting this humble club in the ranks of top clubs in Turkmenistan. Putting this club on the map with the big boys was not an easy task but Amir did what he was known for. The results were instant as Ahal bounced from their table position from the last boys to potential top 3 contenders, finishing 4th and 6th in consecutive seasons. But the real feat came in 2013, when Ahal won their first silverware after 20 years since its inception in Soviet era.
The historic Turkmenistan Cup win cemented Ali Gurbani’s position in the Turkmen domestic leagues with the help of forward Serdaraly Ataýew and Centre Back Ata Geldiyev, who were quite prolific as well in their National League and its setup. Ahal won their first Silverware against FC Altyn Asyr, who were quite the force to be reckoned with at that time. This created a major upset and a fairytale in the Turkmen football world. Amir Gurbani is still loved and named by the locals of Ashgabat and Ahal. Gurbani can be mentioned as one of the forefathers of Ahal FK who put this club on the map. Amir Gurbani’s story should be made more available on the internet.
But the fairytale was just getting started for Ahal as they continued the successful run with the same blueprint, now with a different manager, Guwanç Muhammet Öwekow, now president of the Turkmenistan National Football Federation. Öwekow was not a conventional experienced journeyman manager. He is a Turkmen National team legend who has played in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, where he used to play with many European teams that were yet unknown but had much quality. In his final days of playing, he joined Ahal. He won the Turkmenistan Cup with Ali Gurbani and replaced him in the next season in 2014. But now things turned even more exciting for Ahal. Öwekow, a coach who has little to no experience of managing a top division club, managed to finish second in their league and successfully defended their Turkmenistan Cup by beating Öwekow’s former club Nebitçi Balkanabat by 2-1, which officially earned Ahal an indirect spot for the 2015 AFC Cup in which as Turkmenistan league and clubs officially guaranteed a licensing agreement to play AFC Club competitions. Also, Öwekow helped Ahal to win the Turkmenistan Super Cup, which is a friendly played by the league winner and the cup winner of the season.
Maiden AFC Cup debut, becoming a regular in the Asian stage, Tragic incident and another Turkmenistan Cup win:
-
Big task ahead for Ahal’s first continental outing with their AFC Cup playoff stages as they were drawn with Krygz Club Dordoi in their home. Dordoi was an evenly matched opponent, but Dordoi still gave a tough competition to Ahal but in the end, Ahal were the victorious side by an early goal by now Arkadag player Altymyrat Annadurdyýew. But things were not in better shape for Ahal as they will eventually face Fanja SC of Oman, a club that is a familiar sight for the Mariners when the Mariners beat them in 1988 by a goal in the Asian club championship (present-day ACL Elite). So, with context, Fanja SC were quite the force to be reckoned with as they had much more experience and quality over Ahal in Asian competitions. But the fairytale script remained intact as Ahal were the dominating force in an nail-biting 2-3 win against Fanja on their own home ground. Another early Annadurdyýew goal and subsequent goals from Semetow and Annayew with brilliant patience and game reading led to Ahal holding their thin 1 goal lead in an intense fight and qualify themselves for their maiden AFC Cup Group Stage round. This whole feat was celebrated in the whole of Turkmenistan as Ahal became the only representative club in the 2015 AFC Cup, as league champions Altyn Asyr were already eliminated.
Ahal appointed Boris Grigorýanc, who is a relatively humble coach (who was the coach of the Turkmenistan National team), who won all three matches in their AFC Challenge Cup matches, had very mild response after replacing Owekow. Ahal’s AFC Cup campaign was nothing to write home about; they finished dead last in their group, which consisted of the 2015 AFC Cup runner-up FC Istiklol. It was the two wins that really put Ahal and Owekow in the headlines for a few days. On matchday three, Ahal faced Erbil, an Iraqi club that finished 2nd in their home league last season. Ahal, an underdog with a late brace from Gurban Annayew, managed to beat Erbil, which cemented their first Continental win for their club.
Their second win came again against Erbil, a 3-2 win with a brace coming from Garadanow and a goal from Babjanow. Ahal with their quality, little experience and no foreign power still managed to exploit and beat a standard west Asian team and made them believe in their antics.
The next season Ahal had a major restructuring in order to sustain later. Boris was a great coach but he arrived at the wrong time, which led to an uninspiring mid table finish and a Quarter Final exit from the Turkmen Cup. Unfortunately, Boris who was believed to be continuing in Ahal for another season passed away due to health complications. This tragedy created a void in Ahal FK as well as in Turkmenistan football.
After the tragic event, Ahal appointed the then Turkmenistan National team and the former AFC President’s Cup winner (Current AFC Challenge League manager) Rovshen Meredov as their head coach. The only highlight Meredov had was that he took Ahal to a 4th place finish but he failed to go past the quarter finals of the Turkmenistan Cup after losing to Ashgabat narrowly in the penalties. Meredov’s second season was something to be proud of as he managed to win his second silverware and Ahal’s third Turkmenistan Cup. Ahal also finished 2nd in their league campaign as well which resulted in Ahal playing their second AFC Cup tournament.
Going strong in the League, AFC Cup theatrics and finding success: -
Ahal started their AFC Cup campaign with a loss against FC Istiklol of Tajikistan by a 1-0 goal, but bounced back in style against Alay Osh of Kyrgyzstan by a 5-0 margin with goals coming from Muhadow, Abylow and Muhammedow. But Ahal again came up short in the group compared to their League opponents FC Altyn Asyr and FC Istiklol but they won a close match 3-2 against FC Alay Osh and ultimately ended their AFC Cup campaign by finishing third in the group. On the other hand, Ahal again finished second behind Altyn Asyr in the League, which gave them another chance of playing in the upcoming AFC Cup.
Ahal again faced Alay Osh and won 3-1 on aggregate thus advancing to the playoff spot against Khujand FK of Tajikistan. Ahal and manager Meredov were quite confident of going through as they were the more experienced side at that moment. Sometimes, experience alone doesn’t cut the slack to play in the AFC Cup as Ahal drew both their legs but Khujand advanced as they had an away goal advantage and thus Ahal’s bad luck ended their AFC Cup campaign.
Things weren’t as lucky as they could have been for Ahal in the League as well as they finished second again behind Altyn Asyr and they were close to win their fourth Turkmenistan Cup but fell short again as Altyn Asyr won against them. Meredov left the club after the series of heartbreaks and was replaced by the Former FC Nasaf reserve coach, Said Seýidow.
Though Ahal didn’t win anything in their domestic season, Ahal managed to get another shot in the AFC Cup by finishing runners-up and got another chance to play in the Qualifying round. But their series of bad luck continued as now the whole AFC Cup got cancelled due to the pandemic situation in 2020, thus ending all hopes of playing in the AFC Cup again. Said Seyidow left Ahal during the pandemic and the uncertainty of the pandemic suspended the Yokary Liga and football as a whole. Ahal ended their run again with a second position behind Altyn Asyr again and got an AFC Cup spot again for the 2021 season.
Ahal appointed former Altyn Asyr assistant Mergen Orazov as their coach for the upcoming AFC Cup campaign. This time, Ahal was granted a direct group spot as the Central Zone had two groups in place. Ahal was placed with Ravshan Kulob and Dordoi. With a closed door advantage, less matches and one one-legged tie, this opened the opportunity for Ahal as they comfortably won two of their matches which witnessed Elman Tagayew's masterclass. Ahal advanced through their group and met FC Nasaf of Uzbekistan (Yes that same Nasaf which Mariners met in the Inter Zonal finals). Mergen knew very well about the ins and outs of Nasaf, as Ahal’s top scorer in the league, Elman Tagayew went on to score two past them. But alas, Ahal couldn’t break the lead as Nasaf got a late penalty and went through the Inter Zonal Semi Finals. This was the best outing by any Turkmenistan club after the heroics of ITTU in the 2014 AFC President’s Cup. This set a standard for Ahal FK as they remained quite motivated to continue this streak of Asian glory.
On the domestic side, Ahal yet again finished behind Altyn on second place for the seventh time in their club’s history. They lost the Turkmen cup yet again to Altyn, which continued their losing streak with the first placed team. Mergen Orazov is currently here to stay and continue as he has a game plan to do better in the upcoming days of Ahal FK.
First AFC Champions League outing, back-to-back appearances and First Yokary Liga title followed by Domestic Double, Mergen Orazov’s masterclass and the later years : -
Ahal FK finished second behind Altyn Asyr in the league in 2021 but due to AFC club licensing agreements, league champions Altyn Asyr was rewarded the AFC Cup spot, and their inaugural AFC Champions League spot was granted to Ahal FK instead. Thus, Ahal became the first Turkmen club to ever play in the AFC Champions League (Now ACL Elite). This was a huge boost for the club and Turkmen football in general. Ahal were grouped in a formidable group that consisted of big names like Foolad, Al Shabab Al Ahli, and Al Gharafa. They started their campaign in Jeddah against the UAE Cup and UAE league runners-up, Shabab Al Ahli. The scoreline was surprisingly 0-0 till the 70th minute until current FC Arkadag player, Basimow, scored a ridiculous goal which gave Ahal the lead and thus, scoring their first AFC Champions league goal in the process. But the goal was immediately countered by a penalty scored by Al Ahli’s then-star, Uzbek Ganiev. The match finally ended with a 1 all draw scoreline. This was an impressive start by a club whose nation was not even on the map of this top-tier continental stage. But Ahal’s reality check came from the very next match against Al Gharafa of Qatar with a two-nil loss despite even fighting till the last stage of the game. Ahal then went on to lose in a frustrating fashion against Foolad where Malian player Coulibaly who scored the 90+7’ winning goal. Ahal's next two matches against Foolad and Shabab Al Ahli kind of went the same where Ahal FK were on the losing side because of lack of experience and quality, but they were a side to respect which they proved in the last group stage game of the competition. Ahal FK faced Al Gharafa and with a nothing-to-lose mindset, Ahal started pressing Gharafa. In no time, Ahal’s Amanow, who is currently the sporting president of FK Arkadag, got awarded a penalty in the ninth minute of the game. Gharafa, with the quality they held, immediately bounced back with an equalizer from Hassan Fedally, but Amanow Arslanmyrat was onto something as he went to complete a hat-trick, thus making the scoreline 3-1. The cherry on top was from Mirza Beknazarov’s banger finish, which made it 4-1 for Ahal. Al Gharafa got a penalty in the dying minutes of the game and made the final scoreline 4-2 in the end. This is how Ahal ended their disappointing yet hopeful continental campaign with a bang. This continental campaign was the founding stones of what was to come for Ahal and Mergen Orazov, as they would certainly create history by learning from it and using it as experience.
After the ACL campaign, Ahal and Orazov came back and focused solely on their domestic campaign of 2022. Ahal went on to win their first Yokary Liga title, which was their first top tier league title in the entire history of their existence. They did this by only losing to a match against FC Merw and gathered 73 points in total, and finally beating former champions Altyn Asyr by 12 points. Ahal were the dominant side all over the league who scored 89 goals in the whole league. Didar Durdyýew, current forward in FC Arkadag, scored over 27 goals in that season with players like Elman Tagayew, Amir Gurbani, Rustem Ahallyyev by his side. Ahal didn’t stop there. Orazov made sure that Ahal continued their dream run and went on to win their fourth Turkmen cup by beating Sagadam 5-0 which completed the league double. Mergen Orazov’s masterclass led to Ahal FK’s best domestic season so far, which cemented his position as a legend of the club.
Being Champions of Turkmenistan, Ahal FK were secured a slot to play in the AFC Champions League. They were grouped in Group A with (eventual champions) Al Ain of the UAE, Uzbek champions Pakhtakor Tashkent, and Al Fayha of Saudi Arabia. Ahal started their campaign with yet another banger by upsetting giants Al Fayha with Tagayew’s only goal. This made headlines in Turkmenistan, as this was the very first time a Turkmenistan club beat a Top 3 League club. Orazov continued his chaos as he stunned Al Ain by going toe-to-toe with them in their home match, but quality outclassed Orazov’s boys as they lost 2-4 in the end. Yet Ahal received praises for their dedication and for not giving up their stance. Reality struck Ahal once again as they were outplayed by Pakhtakor in Uzbekistan with a 3-0 final scoreline. Ahal tried to bounce back against Pakhtakor in the home match but settled for a 1-1 draw instead. Ahal’s upcoming matches resulted in the same manner as they could not keep up with the quality. Their ACL campaign ended early with them finishing last in the group with a win, a draw and four losses.
Subtle downfall due to the new monopoly of FC Arkadag, Team Rebuilding, and current-day Ahal FK: -
Good days didn’t last very long for Ahal as in 2023, a certain club named FK Arkadag was established by the former president of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. As a result, FK Arkadag started a rapid player recruitment process in Turkmenistan. As a result, many of the star Ahal players were absorbed into Arkadag’s team. Crucial players like Didar Durdyýew, Arslanmyrat Amanow, Ilýa Tamurkin and others were the notable outgoings from Ahal right after their 2022 league winning campaign. As a result, Ahal played horribly during their later ACL group stage matches. This created a huge gap in the team and overnight inclusions were not available for them as Turkmenistan didn’t not allow foreigners to play in their league. Ahal finished fourth in the 2023 Yokary Liga and missed out on an Asian outing. Ahal also were knocked out in the early stages of the Turkmenistan cup.
In the very next season of 2024, Ahal bounced back and
finished second behind Arkadag’s unfeasible dominance and qualified for the ACL
Two Playoffs. Meanwhile, FC Arkadag won the AFC Challenge League and secured
the ACL Two Group Stage slot. Ahal started their Asian Campaign by playing
Regar Tadz. Ahal were the underdogs despite having more Asian experience than
Regar. Ahal were set to play in Regar’s home in Talco Arena and this match turned
out to be more difficult than expected until the deadlock was broken by
Bagtyýar Gürgenow’s header from an assist from Elman Tagaýew. This was
immediately countered by Regar from a David Atsam tap-in. This was turning out
to be most a routine win for Regar as they celebrated. But the celebration didn’t
last very long and Ahal FK was clearly not having any of it. In the 82th minute,
Suleýman Mirzoýew scored a goal which made Ahal players go wild. Interim coach
Welsahet Öwezow instructed the team to defend the lead till the last minute
which made them qualify to the AFC Champions League Two for the first time.
Players to Watch: -
Amir Gurbani: Well, if you made it this far into this article, you should be aware who Amir Gurbani is. The son of Ahal’s first coach who gave them silverware, Ali Gurbani. Living up to his father’s name, Amir is a household name in Turkmenistan. Amir started his career at the age of 17 in 2005. He was regarded as Yokary Liga’s finest talent and was one of the key figures of the Olympic team which qualified for the Asian games in 2010. Amir was no stranger to Asian football as he was one of the players of historic FC Balkan Botevgrad who won the AFC President’s Cup(Present day AFC Challenge League), and he was awarded the best player in the whole tournament that year as well. Coincidentally, Amir made his senior National team debut against India in the AFC Challenge Cup. He had a decent career in the National team but he retired early in 2019. Amir is a journeyman, who represented Turkmenistan in different leagues like Dordoi in Krygystan, Cambodia, and the Maldives. Now aged 37, this left winger or a left-leaning midfielder is way past his prime, but he is still a star as his experience will be useful for Ahal FK for the upcoming high profile matches.
Elman Tagayev: Mr. Ahal himself. The captain and the leader that every club wants. Tagayew is not your ordinary midfielder. He is a very good forward, in general, who operates along the right wing, CAM, and left wing as well. He started his career in his local club Ashgabat, but later he was spotted by the Azerbaijani club Azal. Unfortunately, he didn’t find success there. Later, he joined Altyn Asyr, and after a while, again tested the waters in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan where he played under PFC Navbahor achieving mild success, until finally joining FK Ahal where he found his home. He is still among the few players who never left Ahal despite receiving lucrative offers and, lifted league and cup which giving the club glory in the Asian landscape.
Coach Welsahet Öwezow: Hailing from the capital city
of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat Owezow holds an AFC A license. Owezow is not a full-time
head coach as of writing this article and is an interim of Ahal previous coach,
Serdar Geldiyev, who he parted ways with Ahal at the end of the 2024 season.
Owezow has been a keen member of this Ahal squad from the days of Geldiyev. He
only became the interim coach after Serdar parted ways, taking automatic charge
of the club. Owezow has a preferred system of 3-4-3 and relies heavily on
wingers. He has no flashy formation but he gets the job done as his team
currently sits in the 2nd position in the Yokary Liga, even after player
deficits and FK Arkadag’s recent dominance.
What is Mohun Bagan’s Approach? How is Mohun Bagan going to set the tone for the rest of the ACL Two matches?
Honestly speaking, this is the best group an Indian club could get. This is a golden opportunity to create history and some upsets in the world of Asian football. With that being said, it is difficult to say how Mohun Bagan will perform with the fog of recent uncertainty with the top-tier league situation looming over their heads. Coach Jose Molina has had his last dugout nearly a month ago with the loss in the Kolkata derby. With new inclusions of Mehtab Singh and Robson Robinho in the last moments of the transfer windows, it is difficult to say how these important players will fit in this new environment as they might not be ready for intense matches of ACL Two yet. But whatever it may be, this is ACL Two and no excuses will be tolerated while representing the nation on the international stage.
We are very aware of Coach Molina's 4-4-2 lineup and he is not known for changing his in-game lineup tactics very often. If it works, there is no room for complaints to be fair. Reports that say Coach Molina is only relying on three foreigners is very doubtful, as everyone from the foreign contingent is very much involved. This game will be played for 90 minutes and keeping the pace up both for Ahal and Mohun Bagan will be a tough task, so bench rotation should be taken very seriously. Mohun Bagan should be very confident and very cautious at the same time with Ahal as they are a new opponent who have a healthy amount of Top tier Asian outing which Mohun Bagan lacks on paper. Any attempt to overcomplicate things might ruin our chances of getting a good result out of this competition. A positive-minded game shall prevail.
Set the Sail!
