Contract and debut
Yuriy Vernydub has been appointed head coach of Azerbaijani «Neftçi» and has signed a one-and-a-half-year deal.
He had been out of work since early June after leaving Kryvyi Rih's «Kryvbas», which under his leadership won the bronze medals in the 2023/24 Ukrainian championship.
Coach and co‑founder of SC «Poltava», Volodymyr Sysenko, died at the age of 64.
Vernydub's first match in charge of his new team is scheduled for December 15 against «Sumgayit» in the Azerbaijan Premier League.
Current state of the team
«Neftçi» needs improved results: after 14 matches the club sits eighth in the standings and was eliminated from the national Cup at the round of 16.
Earlier in his career
This is Vernydub's third spell abroad. Previously he worked at Moldovan «Sheriff» for a year and a half, where he won two national titles and led the team to the UEFA Champions League group stage, and he also managed Belarusian «Shakhtyor» from Soligorsk.
In Ukraine he finished third in the championship twice and was named Coach of the Year on two occasions.
Vernydub will become the second Ukrainian manager at «Neftçi» in the past two years; the club has nine championship titles and is second in all-time league victories in Azerbaijan.
Ukrainian goalkeeper Trubin has entered the top‑5 list of the world's most expensive goalkeepers.
