Sasha from Shamkir: The Forgotten King of Azerbaijani Football

In the 1990s, when Azerbaijani football was still finding its post-Soviet identity, one man in a small western town dared to dream big. His name was Shahbaz Suleymanov, but everyone knew him simply as Sasha from Shamkir — the man who turned a struggling local team into a two-time national champion.   A successful entrepreneur…