Lent.az
Qarabag made the biggest sensation in the first round of the Champions League. After losing to the Azerbaijanis, Benfica fired Bruno Lage and appointed Jose Mourinho.
Lent.az reports that the head coach of "Qarabag" is not facing the threat of being fired, because he has been running the club for a long time and strengthens it from year to year.
Gurban Gurbanov was the top scorer of the Azerbaijani national team for 21 years (the record was broken only in September) and took over Qarabag in the summer of 2008. Since then, he has won 11 championships (12 in total at the club), six cups (out of eight), twice reached the main stage of the Champions League and regularly qualified for the Europa League.
Gurbanov has been at Qarabag for so long that all his Champions League opponents in the 2025/26 season have spent less time at their current clubs combined. Even if Lage hadn't been fired, the Azerbaijani coach would still be ahead.
A brief overview of Gurbanov's future opponents: when he led Qarabag, Antonio Conte was still working at Bari in Serie B, while Arne Slot, Enzo Maresca and John Heitinga were at the peak of their football careers.
No one has worked for four years in their current teams.
The situation is similar in the Azerbaijani championship: all 11 coaches combined have been working at their current clubs for less time than Gurbanov. The closest competitor here is Zira's head coach Rashad Sadykhov (five years). The rest have not worked even two years, including Gurban Berdyev (he is now at Turan) and Kakhaber Tskhadadze (Gabala).
Imagine that Pep Guardiola was still at Barcelona and Jose Mourinho was at Inter.
However, Gurban Gurbanov does not hold the record for the longest streak at one club. Frank Schmidt took over Heidenheim a year earlier than him, taking over the fifth division team in 2007 and taking them to the Bundesliga, and then to European competitions in 2023. Now he is in the same situation as Gurbanov: all the Bundesliga coaches combined have worked fewer years at their current clubs than Schmidt alone. But in fact, he has been at Heidenheim since 2003 and ended his football career there. After all, he was born in this city.
The closest to the record holder in the top leagues are Diego Simeone (13 years and 9 months) and Pep Guardiola. Mikel Arteta, who follows him, has been at Arsenal for much less time (5 years and 9 months).
Looking at history, it is customary to separate the pre-war and post-war periods. Until 1946, the position of head coach was often administrative - it was held by one of the directors, and the management collectively selected the squads on match day. During this period, the record belongs to Fred Everiss, who worked as coach-secretary of West Bromwich for about 46 years (1902-1948).
The record holder in modern football is the legendary Guy Roux, who led Auxerre for 36 years (1964-2000) and more than 40 years in total. He turned the fifth division club into a French champion (1995/96), a four-time winner of the French Cup and a UEFA Cup semi-finalist.
In the ranking of the longest-serving head coaches after the war, Alex Ferguson is third (more than 26 years at Manchester United), Matt Busby is seventh (about 24 years), and Arsene Wenger is 10th (over 21 years).
Schmidt is currently 20th and Gurbanov is 26th. There is still room for improvement.
