Despite the appointment of managers like Fatih Kavlak and Ramiz Mammadov, the club couldn't reach a satisfactory position in the league and was struggling in the middle of the table for many years. On 29 May 2013, Yuri Semin was appointed as new manager after signing a £1 million per year deal with the club. In the same year, the club qualified for European cups for the first time in their history but lost to Neftchi Baku on penalties in the final of the Azerbaijan Cup.