Matches played by Azerbaijan and Belarus in Albena and Varna 2001

In February 2001, the national teams of Azerbaijan and Belarus played several matches in the Varna region of Bulgaria. The Belarus team was without its foreign-based players, and was styled as sbornaya klubov (team of combined clubs). Azeri news sources reported that Azerbaijan won the "Albena-2001" Cup during this period, and photographs of the players arriving at the airport showed them holding a (rather small) trophy with a plaque engraved Turnir "Albena 2001".
However, Bulgarian news reports did not mention any such tournament, and the various results mentioned in this period (listed below) do not comprise an obvious tournament structure. Belarusian news reports suggested that a tournament was planned initially but the schedule was altered and the structure was lost. The author welcomes any further information to clarify the situation.

List of matches, some of which may have formed the "Albena 2001" tournament won by Azerbaijan

  27- 1-2001 Spartak Varna   0-0  Farul Constanţa (Romania)
  31- 1-2001 Spartak Varna   1-2  Dobrudzha (Bulgaria)
   7- 2-2001 Dobrudzha       1-2  Mladost (Yugoslavia)
  10- 2-2001 Mladost         0-1  Cherno more Varna (Bulgaria)
  10- 2-2001 Spartak Varna   1-1  Nyva Ternopil (Ukraine)
    - 2-2001 Farul Constanţa 1-0  Nyva Ternopil
    - 2-2001 Farul Constanţa 0-1  Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine)
  12- 2-2001 Nyva Ternopil   0-0  Cherno more Varna
  14- 2-2001 Spartak Varna   1-0  Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
  15- 2-2001 Uzbekistan      2-1  Azerbaijan
  17- 2-2001 Uzbekistan      2-0  Belarus *
  17- 2-2001 Spartak Varna   1-1  Prykarpattia (Ukraine)
  17- 2-2001 Azerbaijan      2-1  Dobrudzha
  17- 2-2001 Nyva Ternopil   1-5  Krylya Sovetov (Russia)
  18- 2-2001 Farul Constanţa 2-2  Cherno more Varna
  18- 2-2001 Azerbaijan      2-4  Midia Năvodari (Romania)
  20- 2-2001 Belarus         3-4  Farul Constanţa
  20- 2-2001 Azerbaijan      3-1  Nyva Ternopil
  21- 2-2001 Belarus         0-1  Spartak Varna
  22- 2-2001 Azerbaijan      2-0  Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
  23- 2-2001 Belarus         0-0  Cherno more Varna
  24- 2-2001 Azerbaijan      1-0  Farul Constanţa
  26- 2-2001 Azerbaijan      1-0  Belarus *

* Note: these two matches are not full internationals for Belarus, but they are for their opponents.

About this document

Sources included: "Sportni" (Bulgaria), www.kick-off.by (Belarus)

Prepared and maintained by Neil Morrison for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Author: Neil Morrison
Last updated: 7 Mar 2013