Gara Garayev (footballer)
Azerbaijani footballer (born 1992)
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Gara Elkhan oghlu Garayev (Azerbaijani: Qara Elxan oğlu Qarayev; born 12 October 1992) is an Azerbaijani professional footballer who plays as a midfielder, most recently for Azerbaijan Premier League club Araz-Naxçıvan, and Azerbaijan national team. He has been twice selected as the footballer of the year in Azerbaijan in 2014 and 2020.
|
Garayev in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Qara Elxan oğlu Qarayev | ||
| Date of birth | 12 October 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Horadiz, Füzuli, Azerbaijan | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2023 | Qarabağ | 308 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | Neftçi | 25 | (1) |
| 2024–2025 | Araz-Naxçıvan | 30 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| Azerbaijan U17 | |||
| 2009–2011 | Azerbaijan U19 | 5 | (0) |
| 2011–2014 | Azerbaijan U21 | 13 | (0) |
| 2013– | Azerbaijan | 76 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 30 December 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 3 October 2024 | |||
Early years
Club career
On 22 May 2019, Qarayev signed a new two-year contract with Qarabağ.[2]
Qarayev left Qarabağ on 24 July 2023, with Neftçi announcing his signing to a two-year contract with the option of an additional year the same day.[3][4] On 19 September 2024, Neftçi announced the departure of Qarayev from the club by mutual agreement.[5]
On 30 October 2024, Azerbaijan Premier League club Araz-Naxçıvan signed a contract with Qarayev until the end of the season.[6]
On 25 December 2025, Araz announced that they had terminated their contract Qarayev by mutual agreement.[7]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Qarabağ | 2008–09 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | 32 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8[a] | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | 31 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 12[b] | 0 | 47 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 12[c] | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17 | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11[d] | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12[e] | 0 | 35 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 13[f] | 0 | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11[g] | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||
| 2020–21 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 8[h] | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | 21 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14[i] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12[j] | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 308 | 5 | 41 | 0 | 120 | 0 | 469 | 5 | ||
| Neftçi | 2023-24 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | - | 28 | 1 | |
| 2024-25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 25 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 1 | ||
| Araz-Naxçıvan | 2024-25 | Azerbaijan Premier League | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | - | 24 | 0 | |
| 2025-26 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 0 | ||
| Total | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 37 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 363 | 6 | 48 | 0 | 123 | 0 | 534 | 6 | ||
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa League
- Four appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and eight appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
- Four appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and eight appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
- Four appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and seven appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
- Appearances in the UEFA Champions League
- Five appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and eight appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
- Three appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and eight appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
- Two appearances in the UEFA Champions League, and six appearances in the UEFA Europa League.
- Appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
- Six appearances in the UEFA Champions League, five appearances in the UEFA Europa League and one appearance in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
International
Statistics accurate as of match played 17 June 2022[8]
| Azerbaijan national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 |
| 2014 | 7 | 0 |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 |
| 2016 | 7 | 0 |
| 2017 | 7 | 0 |
| 2018 | 12 | 0 |
| 2019 | 9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 6 | 0 |
| 2021 | 10 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 76 | 0 |
Honours
Club
- Qarabağ FK
- Azerbaijan Premier League: (9) 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–2023
- Azerbaijan Cup: (5) 2008–09, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2021–22
Individual
- Azerbaijani Footballer of the Year (2): 2014, 2020
