The ECHO has spoken to a number of Qarabag fans ahead of the club's Champions League match at Anfield
Rufat Yusubov and his son, Fahri, travelled over 12 hours for the game
Rufat Yusubov and his son, Fahri, travelled more than 12 hours for the game (Image: Liverpool Echo)
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Rufat Yusubov is one of the many Qarabag supporters who made the 2,500 mile trip from Baku to Merseyside for tonight’s Champions League match. There are no direct flights from the country’s capital Baku to Liverpool so fans have had to go through hubs like Istanbul or London to get to Liverpool.
Including layovers and the train or bus from London or Manchester to Liverpool, the journey may have taken supporters upwards of 12 hours. Rufat, 48, travelled with his son Fahri, 21, and who is currently studying in Brighton.
Rufat told the ECHO about his route to get here. He said: "We have a direct flight (from Baku) to London which is six hours, and then a bus and a train to Liverpool but I went from Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. It took approximately 12 hours.
"A day in Brighton, a day to Manchester and a day to Liverpool. It is a long journey.
"I booked it in August when there was the draw. For me it has cost the same price for the train as it was for my flight because the trains and buses equal the price of my flight here and return flight back.
"For the people who booked after November when we drew with Chelsea, it tipped around £600. For me, it was £250. The train here is incredibly expensive.”
Travelling to watch Qarabag play is particularly special for Rufat as it is the first time he is attending a match in England with his son, Fahri. He added: "I like Liverpool and I like history. We are realistic. We are not expecting a miracle. But being in Anfield against Liverpool, the most iconic stadium in the world, it's already really exciting. Whatever the score tonight."
Despite travelling so far to watch Qarabag, Rufat is originally a supporter of another Azerbaijan team, Neftçi PFK. However, Qarabag has a distinctive national significance as they are known as the team of the refugees after Aghdam, the city in which they were originally based, was destroyed by Armenian forces in the First Nagorno-Karabakh War
Rufat said: "Qarabag is from the lost city. The city in the Qarabag region was occupied by Armenian forces for about 30 years. The city was completely ruined so they are the team of internally displaced. They played in different stadiums, they didn't have a club sponsor. Because of name, Qarabag represents a region which is long ago under occupation.
"I am an Neftçi PFK fan, which has a longer history than Qarabag, but every person in the country supports Qarabag because they represent the area which made almost one million people refugees after the occupation."
There is a real belief among the supporters that the Azerbaijan champions could make history tonight. After an incredible run in this season's competition, that has included wins against Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Benfica, Qarabag have a very real chance of becoming the first team from their country to ever qualify for the knockout stages.
Rufat said: "Most important is we are not coming here as outsiders. We are not just a weak team. We are coming here to make history. And we have almost made history. We are almost there."
Emin Musaev, 29, and based in Amsterdam, is also very proud to see Qarabag playing at Anfield. Emin’s mum was originally from Aghdam and the family relocated to Baku after the war in the early 1990s.
Emin told the ECHO how it was extra special to be attending the game tonight as he is also a Liverpool FC supporter. He said: "If you told me a couple of years ago that Liverpool would play against Qarabag at Anfield, I would have thought you were completely crazy, but today it is a dream come true to see the club from the motherland play against my favourite team."
Emin has visited Anfield before and said it will be a strange feeling to be in the away end. He added: "When I step foot into Anfield it's going to be a special moment, I will have goosebumps. I am pretty sure it will be the same feeling. What is weird is I will be in the away sector. I'm used to being in the Kop or Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand."