Marko Nikolic says goodbye to CSKA: what awaits Abbasbek Fayzullaev?

Serbian coach Marko Nikolic, who has been successfully working for CSKA Moscow for more than a year, has left Russia and will continue his career at AEK Athens. According to Mozzart Sport, one of the leading Greek publications, all negotiations regarding the 46-year-old specialist's transfer to a new team have been completed and an official statement will be made in the coming days.

According to the source, AEK will sign Nikolic on a two-year contract. The Greeks will pay CSKA 600,000 euros in compensation for this transfer. The Serbian specialist himself has already stated that he is ready to buy out his contract if AEK does not want to pay this amount.

Due to this change, CSKA will have to completely renew its coaching staff. Nikolic will also take his assistants Radoje Smiljanic, Aleksandar Rogic and fitness expert Goran Basaric to Greece.

Marko Nikolic has achieved significant results during his short time at CSKA. He led the "army" to third place in the Russian Championship and won the bronze medal. Under his leadership, CSKA also won the Russian Cup and ended the season with a trophy.

The main innovation that the Serbian coach introduced to the club was a drastic change in the style of play. During the winter break, he decided to change the team's tactical scheme and switch to a diamond style. However, this decision caused many difficulties for Uzbek player Abbasbek Fayzullaev.

Abbasbek, who was one of the club's brightest players in the first half of the season, was forced to abandon his usual style of play due to the change in the scheme. Nikolic invited him to play in the center of the field, actively participating in attack and defense. This led to a decrease in Abbasbek's performance.

Fayzullaev spent a lot of time adapting to the new requirements. The changes in his game caused criticism from coaches and fans. Nevertheless, Nikolic repeatedly emphasized that the Uzbek player has great potential and has adapted to the new scheme.

“Abbosbek has great talent. I do not agree with the criticism, because his role in the team is very important. It just took some time. If he eliminates the shortcomings in finishing attacks, he can reach the level of ten goals and ten assists in a season. Then no one will be able to catch Abbas,” Nikolic said in his interview.

Abbasbek Fayzullaev himself has repeatedly openly admitted that his results have decreased after the change in position.

“Compared to last season, my personal results were not good. The reason for this was the change in the game scheme and my position on the field was moved to the central zone. The start was good, but in the next stage I had to adapt to a new position. "I will continue to work on myself and I am not afraid of competition," the player said in an interview with reporters.

It should be noted that Abbasbek Fayzullaev has a lot of experience for his age. He has won a number of personal awards, including the best player of Uzbekistan under 21, the best young player of Asia in 2023, and the best young player of the Russian Premier League. Fayzullaev, who won the championship of Uzbekistan and the Super Cup with Pakhtakor, also won the Asian Cup with the country's youth team.

Nikolic's departure may now be a new stage for Fayzullaev. Only time will tell how he will play under the new coach and how his role on the field will change. Experts and fans expect Fayzullaev to achieve the same high results as before.

While Abbasbek Fayzullaev's future career is being watched with great interest, it is also important to observe what changes will occur in the CSKA team. What will happen to the "army players" after Nikolic - this remains one of the most interesting questions for fans.