Azamat Abduraimov (born 27 April 1966) is a former Uzbek professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player, who represented

Uzbekistan national football team The Uzbekistan national football team ( / ) represents Uzbekistan in men's international Association football, football and is controlled by the Uzbekistan Football Association, the governing body for football in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan holds t ...

on 22 occasions between 1992 and 1997.

Early years

Azamat Abduraimov was born in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

in 1966. His father, Berador Abduraimov, is the best Uzbek goals scorer in the 20th century and one of the best

FC Pakhtakor Tashkent Pakhtakor Football Club () is an Uzbek professional association football, football club, based in the capital city of Tashkent, that competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. Pakhtakor is often considered the most successful football club in Uzbek ...

players ever. When Azamat was three years old, his father moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

to play for CSKA. Azamat started his football career in Spartak Moskva football youth academy (ФШМ). Being in the Soviet Army, he was playing for

SKA Rostov-na-Donu FC SKA Rostov-on-Don () is a Russian association football club based in Rostov-on-Don. The club's history includes becoming runners-up of the Soviet Top League in 1966 and winning the Soviet Cup in 1981. History \The club was founded on 27 Aug ...

and CSKA Moskva.

Personal life

Azamat is a father of Alia Azamat Ashkenazi, American

Screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

who co-wrote a soccer documentary "Misha" directed by Brian Song in which Azamat was featured as one of the characters.

Playing career

Pakhtakor Tashkent

Most of honours were achieved by Azamat while he played for Pakhtakor. He joined Pakhtakor three times and spent more than seven seasons of his playing career there (scored more than 60 goals). First time he was playing for Pakhtakor from 1987 until 1990 in

Soviet First League The Soviet First League in football () was the second highest division of Soviet football,Evgeni Kazakov. The Soviet First Football League (Первая лига СССР по футболу)''. History of Soviet football championships. Volume 1 ...

, scored 25 times. He left Pakhtakor in the middle of 1990 season to join Spartak Moskva. Next time he returned to Pakhtakor in 1996, and spent three seasons in the team, scored 37 times and won

Uzbek League Uzbekistan Super League (; ), known as Artel Uzbekistan Super League due to sponsorship reasons (; ), is the top division of professional football in Uzbekistan. It is operated under the auspices of the Uzbekistan Professional Football League a ...

in 1998 and

Uzbekistani Cup The O‘zbekiston Kubogi ( or ), known simply as Uzbek Cup, is the top knockout tournament in Uzbek football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football pl ...

in 1997. Last season Azamat played for Pakhtakor was 2000 when he was already 34.

Spartak Moskva

During 1990 Azamat was the bench player of Spartak Moskva, gaining only three first team appearances. He scored a lot for reserve team during that time, however, he couldn't achieve a first team place and left to

Pamir Dushanbe CSKA Pamir Dushanbe () is a professional football club based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, that currently plays in the Tajikistan Higher League, the country's top division. Since 1997, the club has been under the patronage of the Tajik Army, like its ...

Foreign countries

During his career, Azamat Abduraimov become one of the first Uzbekistani players who began playing in foreign countries. He played for different teams in 4 non-ex

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

countries (Bangladesh, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, India). In 1992, during his time with Mohammedan SC, Azamat showcased one of the best goal to game ratio in Bangladesh domestic football history, scoring 17 goals in only 12 games. He was the top scorer in the Dhaka First Division League as Mohammedan finished runners-up. With

National Football League (India) The National Football League (NFL) was the men's highest level of the Indian football league system#Men's, Indian football league system from 1996 to 2007. Founded by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1996, the NFL was the first footb ...

side

Salgaocar SC Salgaocar Football Club (formerly Salgaocar Sporting Club) is an Indian professional Association football, football club based in Vasco da Gama, Goa, Vasco, Goa. Being one of the country's most successful clubs, it is currently operating youth ...

, he won the prestigious

Durand Cup The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup Powered by Coal India Limited for sponsorship reasons) is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the ...

in 1999.

International career

Abduraimov made his international debut on 28 June 1992 against

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

in a 2–1 win match. He achieved 22 caps for

as player. Most notable of his international appearances was at the 1994 Asian Games football tournament in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, where the Uzbekistan team won the gold medal. The most significant of his football career was the goal scored in the semifinal match at the Asian Games against South Korea. The decisive goal (South Korea lost to Uzbekistan 0:1) was considered The Best in the tournament, as well as the best and the "Golden Goal" in the history of Uzbek football. Also, he played international

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

games as a member of Uzbekistan national futsal team at ''World 5's Futsal'' 2003 in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, and became a threat to team Japan, according to next year's Japanese futsal report of

AFC Futsal Championship The AFC Futsal Asian Cup, previously the AFC Futsal Championship, is the premier international futsal competition for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) national teams. It was first held in 1999 and was played annually until 2008; since then i ...

Managing career

Azamat Abduraimov played his farewell match in 2002, which was the most incendiary sport show in Uzbekistan. In 2002–2003 season he was "playing coach" in

NBU Osiyo FC NBU Asia () is an Uzbekistani football club based in Tashkent. Currently it plays in Uzbekistan First League History ''NBU Osiyo'' was founded in 2000 and in its first season became champion of Uzbekistan Second League and promoted to Uzbekist ...

(1st league). In 2003 played in Uzbekistan national futsal team at the Asian Championship in Indonesia. In 2004 season he worked as a head coach of Uzbekistan national futsal team, whish was playing in Asian Championship in Iran and Malaysia

2004 AFC Futsal Championship The 2004 AFC Futsal Championship was held in Macau from 16 to 25 April 2004. Venue Draw Group stage Group A ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group C ---- ---- ---- ...

. Then in 2005 he spent some time managing Uzbek futsal club ''FC Ardus'' (gained Uzbek futsal championship title in 2005). In 2006–2007 he was G.M. at the ''Native football foundation'' In 2006, he graduated from Russia High Coaches School. On 28 October 2008 he was appointed as sports director in

FC Bunyodkor Football Club Bunyodkor () is an Uzbek professional football club based in Tashkent that competes in the Uzbekistan Super League. Bunyodkor, a relatively unknown club at the time, made international headlines when it claimed to be close to sig ...

. During 2009–2010 season he was the head coach of

FK Samarqand-Dinamo FC Dinamo Samarqand (, ) is an Uzbek professional football club, based in city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Currently it plays in Uzbekistan Super League. History FC Dinamo Samarqand is one of the oldest clubs in Uzbekistan. The club was founded in ...

. In 2009 Azamat ranked the third place in the ranking of the Football Coach of the Year in Uzbekistan. In 2010, he received a coaching PRO license. In January 2012 he was appointed by the Football Federation as assistant coach of Uzbekistan U-22. On 22 August 2012 he signed a contract with

FK Andijan Football Club Andijan, also known as FC Andijon and Andijon Futbol Klubi, is an Uzbek professional football club based in Andijan. The club plays in Uzbekistan Super League. History The club was formed 1964 under the name Spartak. In 1969, the c ...

as head coach of the club. On 18 June 2014 he resigned from his post as Andijan coach. On 4 February 2020 he resigned his post as head coach of Uzbekistan U-17.

Honours

Pakhtakor *Soviet First League Cup: 1988, 1989 *

: 1998 *

Uzbek Cup The O‘zbekiston Kubogi ( or ), known simply as Uzbek Cup, is the top knockout tournament in Uzbek football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football pl ...

: 1997 Navbahor Namangan *

: 1992 Pahang FA *

Malaysian Super League The Malaysia Super League (), known simply as the Super League (), is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known ...

: 1994 Al Wahda *

Saudi First Division The Saudi First Division League (), currently known as the Yelo League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of Football in Saudi Arabia, professional football in Saudi Arabia. It ranks below the Saudi Pro League and above the Saudi Second ...

: 1996 Salgaocar *

: 1999 Uzbekistan *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

: 1994 Individual *1992 − Dhaka First Division League Top-scorer (with 17 goals)

References

External links

*
Uzbekistan national football team stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abduraimov, Azamat 1966 births Living people Footballers from Tashkent Men's association football forwards Uzbekistani men's footballers Uzbekistani expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Uzbekistani people of Kazakhstani descent Uzbekistan men's international footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia FC Spartak Moscow players PFC CSKA Moscow players Pakhtakor Tashkent FK players CSKA Pamir Dushanbe players FC SKA Rostov-on-Don players Sri Pahang FC players Mohammedan SC (Dhaka) players PFC Navbahor Namangan players Al Wehda FC players Salgaocar FC players FC Dustlik players FC FShM Moscow players Vasco SC players Uzbekistani expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Uzbekistani expatriate sportspeople in India Uzbekistani expatriate sportspeople in Bangladesh Expatriate men's footballers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate men's footballers in India Expatriate men's footballers in Bangladesh Asian Games gold medalists for Uzbekistan Asian Games medalists in football 1996 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Uzbekistan Super League players National Football League (India) players Calcutta Football League players Uzbekistani football managers Uzbekistan Super League managers FK Dinamo Samarqand managers FC Andijon managers Soviet men's footballers