Big interview with Alisher Nikimbaev (part 1)

We organized a large interview with Alisher Nikimbaev, a well-known international football expert, senior technical expert of the Qatar Football Association. During the interview, Nikimbaev shared his thoughts on the problems in the UzPFL and Uzbek football in general, Katanets' coaching activities, and Khusanov's move to City.

- Assalamu alaikum, Alisher aka. First of all, can you briefly tell us about how your career is going and your future plans?

- And alaikum assalamu alaikum. My career is going on as usual. For now, I continue to work at the Qatar Football Association. Many people said that after the World Cup, interest in football and competitions would decrease in Qatar. But the opposite is happening. Last year, we hosted the Asian Cup, and after that, the Asian Cup among players under 23. The Intercontinental Cup and the French Super Cup were also held. In addition, two more major tournaments are waiting for us. These are the U-17 World Cup and the Arab Cup. Some might say that the U-17 World Cup is not a major tournament. However, the new tournament will feature 48 teams instead of 24, and a number of organizational innovations are expected. I would also like to say that last year I was lucky enough to work at the first World Cup (in futsal) in Uzbekistan. In fact, I was supposed to go to the U-20 Women's World Cup in Colombia, but after our agreement with FIFA, I went to Andijan. Last year, although it had nothing to do with us, I managed to work at the Copa America. Therefore, based on my ongoing career, I can call myself a lucky person.

- Many people sharply criticized Srečko Katanec for not being able to come to training camps so often, as well as his playing style. They say that we can also play beautifully and confidently defeat our opponents. So, what are your thoughts on Katanec?

- It is very difficult to evaluate Katanec's work. Many did not like his playing style, but the results were not bad. The unbeaten streak, the points accumulated are proof of this. In a sense, it is true that Katanec was given the training opportunity that others did not have. Katanec took over the team in 2021 and played his first official match after 1 year, and he had time to freely form the team. However, it was also wrong for him to not come to the national team training camps due to illness in the last 1.5 years and to conduct training online. Everything was going towards him leaving his post anyway. Nevertheless, he will be one of the most played players in the history of Uzbek football and one of the best in terms of winning percentage. We are torn between two opinions about Katanec. If Uzbekistan makes it to the World Cup, he will have done 70 percent of the work.

- Temur Kapadze is currently trusted by the entire football community and has been positively received. Do you think that under Kapadze, our national team can play better and show better results than under Katanets? In general, how would you assess his coaching potential?

- Kapadze's arrival in the national team was a bit inconvenient. Katanets had almost two years (a match against Iran) until his first serious official match, while Temur had only two months. Fortunately, there was a training camp in Qatar recently. At least he managed to play one match (against Jordan). We spoke with Temur Kapadze when he arrived in Qatar. We know that Srechko plays with 5 defenders, and Temur with 4. However, Kapadze said that there was no time to change the system and that he did not want to disrupt the working mechanism. He also wants to keep some of the coaches who worked with Katanec. Because with them everything will be easier. As for the choice of Kapadze, it was right. Because Temur is one of the local coaches who has shown good results, and there is no time to bring in a foreign specialist. This is a new challenge for Kapadze and an opportunity to show himself. As I said, Katanec did 70 percent of the work, and if he does the remaining 30 percent, he will become a national hero again.

- Many people sharply criticized Srechko Katanec, not only for not being able to come to training camps so often, but also for his playing style. They say that we can also play beautifully and confidently defeat our opponents. So, what are your thoughts on Katanec?

- This is a rather difficult question. Because every coach has his own choice. For example, if you or I were asked to choose the best 11 players, your 11 players may differ significantly from my choice. Every football fan and expert has their favorite players and considers them to be the best. I think that whoever is entrusted with the position of coach should be trusted and their choices should be respected.

- Abdukadir Khusanov's transfer to City has recently caused a lot of discussion. I've heard a lot of thoughts like "Those who criticize Uzbek football, are you crazy?". Do you think Khusanov's transfer to City and such a "big leap" is a sign that Uzbek football has progressed and that everything is working well?

- Khusanov is a member of the Uzbek national team, an Uzbek. However, it's difficult to call him a "product" of Uzbek football. The reason is that he hasn't played for Uzbek clubs since 2022 and hasn't even been able to get a place in the reserve team of Bunyodkor. He went to Belarus and grew up there. After that, he was called up to our U-20, Olympic and national teams. Therefore, to point to Khusanov and say that we are doing great is ridiculous. It's true that we have talent and we have said this from the beginning. However, we need to create opportunities for them. It turned out that he was not given any chance in Uzbekistan. He went to Belarus, and Khusanov was discovered there. Then he went to Lens, showed himself, and now he has moved to City. So, I think it is ridiculous for Khusanov to present himself as progress in Uzbek football.

Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”