Mergen Orazov (russian: Мерген Оразов) is a Turkmenistani football manager who manages

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

Career

Early years

Orazov was born in Bekrewe, now part of

Ashgabat Ashgabat or Asgabat ( tk, Aşgabat, ; fa, عشق‌آباد, translit='Ešqābād, formerly named Poltoratsk ( rus, Полтора́цк, p=pəltɐˈratsk) between 1919 and 1927), is the capital and the largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies ...

. Orazov began playing football at an early age and at seven years of age, he was enrolled in the Ak Guş football team. At 16, he joined the youth team of Ashgabat's FC Nisa. Soon he began to be involved in the game and for the main team of the club. After graduating from high school, however, he enrolled at the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

and went to the United States.

Playing career

In 2005, Orazow joined

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot is the Nittany Lion. The interc ...

in the United States.

Futsal playing career

Upon his return to

, Orazow took up professional

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is t ...

. As a member of the club Arvana Ashgabat he became the champion of Turkmenistan five times.

International career

Five times he played for the

Turkmenistan national futsal team The Turkmenistan national futsal team represents Turkmenistan in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Football Federation of Turkmenistan. Overview Turkmenistan can count themselves fortunate to have avoided preliminary qual ...

in the final tournaments of the

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

Futsal managerial career

At the end of his professional career as a futsal player, he twice led the futsal club Kopetdag to the title of Turkmenistan's champion as head coach. In 2020, he was named the best futsal coach in Turkmenistan.

Soccer managerial career

In 2021, he was appointed manager of Ahal, helping them win the league, their first league title. Ahal also won the

Turkmenistan Cup The Turkmenistan Cup ( tk, Türkmenistanyň Kubogy) is an annually held football tournament for Turkmen football clubs, known as one of the most important national tournaments. The cup has been contested since 1993. The competition's most suc ...

and the Football Federation of Turkmenistan Cup. He was named the best coach of Turkmenistan in 2022. In 2023, he was appointed manager of

Honours

Ahal *

Ýokary Liga The Turkmenistan Higher League, also called Türkmenistan Ýokary Liga (Turkmen: ''Türkmenistanyň Ýokary Ligasy''; Russian: ''Высшая лига Туркменистана'') is the top division of professional football in Turkmenistan, ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeyp ...

https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/ru/post/68905/ahal-vyigral-chempionat-i-kubok-turkmenistana-po-futbolu * Turkmenistan Football Federation Cup: 2022

Personal life

Graduated from

(US) with a degree in Business Management.

References

Expatriate soccer players in the United States Living people Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players Pennsylvania State University alumni Turkmenistan football managers Turkmenistan footballers Turkmenistan national football team managers Men's association football players not categorized by position Year of birth missing (living people) Men's futsal players by nationality {{Turkmenistan-footy-bio-stub