Oct 6, 2016

On Aggregate: Champions Without a Home

Thomas Goltz. Portrait © Onnik James Krikorian 2016

After nearly 19 years of communicating online, I finally managed to meet Thomas Goltz, the American writer and journalist best known for his Azerbaijan Diary, Chechnya Diary, and Georgia Diary books. I also managed to interview him for the BBC’s Azerbaijan Service on his latest project, On Aggregate: Champions Without a Home, the story of Azerbaijan’s Qarabagh-Aghdam football team which has been unable to play home games since 1993 when their city was captured by Armenian forces during the conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.

“Ümumi nəticə: Evsiz Çempionlar”, Dağlıq Qarabağ münaqişə nəticəsində doğma stadionlarından məhrum olmuş Ağdamın “Qarabağ” futbol klubu haqqında çəkilmiş filmdir.

Bu, amerikalı jurnalist Thomas Goltz-un son layihəsidir.

“Azərbaycan Gündəliyi” kitabının müəllifi olan yazıçının bildirdiyinə görə onun əvvəllər futbol haqqında təsəvvürü belə olmayıb.

O, idmanın bu növü və “Qarabağ” futbol klubu ilə hollandiyalı araşdırmaçı, “Ofsayd: Mühacirətdə Futbol” kitabının müəllifi Arthur Huizinga vasitəsilə tanış olub.

BBC Azərbaycanca üçün Tbilsidə səfərdə olan Thomas Goltz-la müsahibəni britaniyalı jurnalist Onnik James Krikorian alıb.

Interestingly, Thomas Goltz had discovered the team after communicating with Artur Huizinga, co-author of Offside: Football in Exile, the story not only of Qarabagh-Aghdam, but also its counterpart in Stepanakert. I interviewed Huizinga about Offside in 2012.

My interview with Thomas Goltz is available in English and Azerbaijani below:

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