Azamat Abduraimov
Azamat Abduraimov | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 27, 1966 Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union |
| Occupation(s) | Football player, coach |
| Years active | 1980s–2020 |
| Known for | Uzbekistan national football team player (22 caps), Asian Games gold medalist (1994) |
Azamat Abduraimov (born 27 April 1966) is a retired Uzbek professional soccer athlete who represented the Uzbekistan national football team in 22 matches from 1992 to 1997.
Early life
Born in Tashkent in 1966, Azamat is the son of Berador Abduraimov, renowned as the leading Uzbek goal scorer of the 20th century and a celebrated player for FC Pakhtakor Tashkent. When Azamat was three years old, his family relocated to Moscow following his father’s transfer to CSKA.
Azamat’s football journey began at the youth academy of Spartak Moskva (ФШМ). During his service in the Soviet military, he played for both SKA Rostov-na-Donu and CSKA Moskva teams.
Personal background
Azamat is the father of Alia Azamat Ashkenazi, an American Screenwriter and director, who co-authored the soccer documentary Misha, which features Azamat prominently.
Pakhtakor Tashkent
Azamat’s most significant achievements came with Pakhtakor, where he had three separate tenures, amassing over 60 goals over seven seasons.
His initial period (1987–1990) in the Soviet First League saw him net 25 goals before transferring mid-season in 1990 to Spartak Moskva. He rejoined Pakhtakor in 1996 for three more seasons, scoring 37 goals, securing the Uzbek League title in 1998 and winning the Uzbekistani Cup in 1997. His final campaign with Pakhtakor was in 2000 when he was 34 years old.
Spartak Moskva
In 1990, Abduraimov appeared three times with the first team of Spartak Moskva. Despite strong performances with the reserve squad, he struggled to claim a permanent position, leading to a transfer to Pamir Dushanbe.
International club experience
Azamat was among the pioneers from Uzbekistan to play internationally, featuring in clubs across Bangladesh, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and India. In 1992 while at Mohammedan SC, he scored an impressive 17 goals in just 12 matches—ranking among Bangladesh's best goal-to-game ratios—and finished as top scorer while Mohammedan secured second place. Later, with India’s Salgaocar SC, he captured the esteemed Durand Cup title in 1999.
International career
Abduraimov made his international debut on 28 June 1992 against Turkmenistan, contributing to a 2–1 victory. He accumulated a total of 22 caps for the Uzbekistan national football team. A highlight of his international tenure was scoring the winning goal in the semifinal of the 1994 Asian Games versus South Korea, which clinched Uzbekistan’s gold medal. This goal was recognized as the tournament’s best and became a landmark "Golden Goal" moment for Uzbek football history.
Additionally, he represented Uzbekistan in international futsal, participating in World 5's Futsal held in Kuala Lumpur in 2003, where he notably challenged Japan’s squad according to later AFC reports.
Coaching career
After concluding his playing days in 2002 with a notable farewell match, Abduraimov took on a player-coach role at NBU Osiyo (1st league) during 2002–2003. He also played for Uzbekistan’s futsal squad at the 2003 Asian Championship. In 2004, he assumed head coaching duties for the national futsal team during Asian tournaments hosted in Iran and Malaysia. The following year, he led Uzbek futsal club FC Ardus to a national championship victory.
Between 2006 and 2007, Abduraimov served as General Manager of the Native football foundation and completed his studies at Russia High Coaches School in 2006.
On 28 October 2008, he accepted the role of sports director at FC Bunyodkor. He managed FK Samarqand-Dinamo during the 2009–2010 season and achieved third place in Uzbekistan’s Football Coach of the Year awards in 2009. In 2010, he earned a coaching PRO license.
In January 2012, Abduraimov was appointed assistant coach for the Uzbekistan U-22. On 22 August that year, he became head coach of FK Andijan, resigning from this position on 18 June 2014. He stepped down as head coach of the Uzbekistan U-17 on 4 February 2020.
Honours
Pakhtakor
- Soviet First League Cup: 1988, 1989
- Uzbek League Champion: 1998
- Uzbek Cup Winner: 1997
Navbahor Namangan
- Uzbek Cup Champion: 1992
Pahang FA
- Malaysian Super League Title: 1994
Al Wahda
- Saudi First Division Winner: 1996
Salgaocar
- Durand Cup Champion: 1999
Uzbekistan
- Asian Games Gold Medalist: 1994
Individual Achievements
- 1992 − Leading scorer in the Dhaka First Division Football League with 17 goals
External links
- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- Articles without Wikidata item
- 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 footballers for Uzbekistan
- 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
- Asian Games gold medalists in football