Oh Uzbek, Whats' Going On?

[sc91]

Off to the central Asian nation of Uzbekistan to start what I hope will be a great legacy. There is no overall goals with the career, the pure intention is to have some fun and develop a club. That club being;

Qizilqum Zarafson

History

Qizilqum was founded in 1967 under name Progress. Club changed its name several times to Qizilqum and then to Progress. Since 1997 it plays as Qizilqum. The club made its debut in Uzbek League in 2000. In its first season club finished at 11th position. One year later, in 2001 season, club ranked at 6th place in final League table. The 2002 season club finished at 3rd position after runner-up Neftchi Farg'ona which is highest club performance in Uzbek League ever. Since 2000 club consequently plays in top league of Uzbek football.

Stadium

Tidy little stadium, can't imagine there is much in the way of attendance though.

Thoughts

The club is in terms of stature is quite small. In the league they are way behind the likes of powerhouses of Bunyondor and Paxtakor Tashkent. The first job will be to over take them.

In the league there are 27 games, with the top three qualifying for the Asian Champions League depending on who has one the Uzbek Cup. There are only four foreigners allowed to be registered and nationalization takes 6 years where the player must be fluent in Uzbek and Russian.

Let it begin!

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The Progress Chart

Career Overview

Season   Position    Achievements
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2013  3rd        
2014  2nd            Winners of Uzbek Cup
2015  1st            Winners of Oliy League, Uzbek Cup

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Qizilqum Zarafson 2013 Season Review

Oliy League Table - What a finish! Well, kinda, the great shame was that despite us finishing in the coveted 3rd place, Metallurg conspired to win the Uzbek Cup meaning the 3rd and final ACL spot went to them. However, what it showed was the gap between us and the big guns wasn't that far apart, with a few tweaks and some luck we could break their stranglehold much easier then expected.

Uzbek Cup - Don't mention it, out in the first round.

Fixtures - We played some fantastic stuff at times and managed to string together some impressive runs. Highlights were a mightily impressive 2-1 victory of Paxtakor, despite that it wasn't enough in the end to haul ahead of them. Poor losses to the likes of Metallurg Bolladek cost us what could have been a credible finish, but there are signs for optimism.

Squad - Decent enough from the whole team, Alisher Holiqov proved useful upfront but other then that we were consistent if anything, I'll be looking for some improvement in the coming season however.

Player(s) of the Season

Ibrahim Farah - The former Cardiff trainee has proved a magnificent acquisition for ourselves, he was superb in all aspects of the game and largely head and shoulders above quite a few midfielders in this league. Could easily go on to the best that the country is likely to have seen from a foreign export, still get u21 call ups as well.

Eugene Sayko - Ukraine midfielders who is technically better than any other player we have got, he is great at taking a penalty and offers a bit of skills and guile in the midfield position, only downside is his age giving him physicals the run around.

Thoughts

We performed at a great level then I thought and the gap between ourselves and the Tashkent giants wasn't as large as I previously thought. That aside our Uzbek Cup performance was woeful and I'd like to see this improve in the coming season as it is an easy access to the ACL and a gain in reputation required. The foreign limit will mean I will be heavily reliant on whatever Uzbek talent makes itself available, but it should be doable.

[deltablue]

Any ideas how you pronounce the club name?

[sc91]

Any ideas how you pronounce the club name?

I've been explaining it to the girlfriend as Quiz-il-cum but I'll be damned if that isn't an insult of some form .

[nie jem frytek]

This is name of a desert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyzyl_Kum

And it's probably pronounced like Qy-syw-cum.

[sc91]

This is name of a desert http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyzyl_Kum

And it's probably pronounced like Qy-syw-cum.

Awesome,

Much appreciated nie .

[sc91]

Qizilqum Zarafson 2014 Season Review

Transfers - Plenty of ins and out but I'll be damned if you knew anyone who signed, mainly making up the numbers and improvements to the Uzbek contingent.

Oliy League / Fixtures - Man so close.. so so close! We pushed Bunyondur the whole way but the Tashkent giants won through in the end. Regardless a 2nd place finish shows the goal is within sight and few more results could see us punish them. Finishing above moneybags Paxtakor was the most satisfying ever, with all of their Uzbek superstars we still managed to eek our way past them and straight into the ACL.. however we already qualified for that..

Uzbek Cup / Fixtures / Match Report - Oh yes.. oh yes. Strikerless formations are sensational in the game. The team tore Paxtakor a new one in the final, we were breathtaking from start to finish and they were unable to cope with our pace. The team did fantastic and as a result of winning the competition we are now able to Qualify for the ACL.

Hall of Fame - Doesn't take much to become famous in Uzbekistan I guess? Shame that there seems to be a bug with custom databases and the points system with winning trophies being incorrect. Still, who can ignore an ego boost of this magnitude?

Player(s) of the Season

Ibrahim Farah - You can't help but just love this guy, he is the heart and soul of this midfield and carry on in his job effortlessly. Another flawless season that has seen him be given more Welsh recognition. Long may it continue. Especially when news like this comes in.

Alisher Holiqov -The aging veteran upfront proved to be extremely useful for us over the season, his ability to be a superior finisher meant many a chance was buried though I don't like having such old players in the first XI, he is a welcome sight and was brilliant for us.

Eugene Sayko - Brilliant from the main man again, his penalty taking ability and technique is always useful for us, and again, long may he stay with us.

Sirojjidin Paumauchov - Try and say his name out loud, I dare you haha. Apart from that, this young lad simply appeared out of nowhere, I immediately signed him on a free and as you can see, he is head and shoulders a class defender for this league as well as rocking a Jonjo Shevley look which suits a defender.

Thoughts

Brilliant season in which there has been significant signs of improvement. Qualification into the ACL via the Cup means we are actually into the group stage which means we will hopefully get some money spinning ties against a few of the big boys on the Asian world. Hoping we can kick on next year as the league was unbelievably close, ultimately we hadn't done enough to surpass Bunyondor just yet.. but they are in our sights. Progress at Progress.

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Qizilqum Zarafson 2015 Season Review

Transfers - Nothing special going in and out of the club. Ivan Antipov will be the one to watch however.

Oliy League / Report / Fixtures - Wow what a finale, it had come down to the wire again, after 25 games the Table showed that it was going to be a close call, but this time we led the way. The Final Match was laid out, match Bunyondur's result and we would be crowed champions, this was the task. Or do like we did and Win, securing the Oliy League title for the first time in Qizilqum's history!

Asian Champions League / Fixtures - We were drawn into a Tough Group, fun. And it showed as we were eliminated after finishing bottom of the group. However, the experience of being in the ACL as well as being able to actually be competitive with these teams shows that we aren't that far off some further progress in this, hopefully, as the money from gate receipts will be crucial in our long term growth.

Uzbek Cup / Fixtures - Oh yes! What a sweet victory this turned out to be. A proper ding-dong battle where we matched Bunyondur toe-to-toe and fought them off impressively. Penalties always show nerves but this was something to savor. This is turn meant we accomplished the domestic double.

Player(s) of the Season

Ibrahim Farah - Oh Ibra, can't run out of superlatives to describe this fella, he is the midfield stalwart for this club and is playing above his suggested attributes. Able to command a place in the Welsh national team as a result of this shows what progress he is making at the club.

Ivan Antipov - Our Kazakh import who looks to be taking to this league like a duck to water. Impressive upfront as he is being retrained to play the AMC role, once he mastered that I fear there will be no stopping him as my scouts reckon he can be a leading star in the league.

Erkin Jabborov - The captain and now goalkeeping hero. Stats don't show too much but he lead like a rock this season and was solid between the posts when required. Brilliant.

Suxrob Oobilov - Another brilliant Uzbek import who proved solid upfront for us, working his way into club folklore with his goals.

Eugene Sayko - He just keeps on trucking, a brilliant season from the veteran as he yet again proves his worth to the club with some standout performances, over the moon with his contributions to the side.

Thoughts

Well, that didn't take long to break did it? A nail-biting finish to the season saw us take revenge on Bunyondur by us winning the title on goal-difference over them, a sensational finish to the season that has meant we have improved both our reputation and standing in Asia. Progress in the ACL was a no-go but it was evident that we could actually compete against the big sides of Asia. Progress at Progress yet again.

[deltablue]

Is there much money in the ACL?

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Is there much money in the ACL?

More revenue gained from the increase ticket sales, to go to a full house rather then 400 is brilliant.

Other then that it's around £24,000 for a win and qualification to knock out stage gets you another £50k, unsure about the rest so far.

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Qizilqum Zarafson 2016 Season Review

Transfer - Same old freebies in and out this year, can't wait till I actually can use a transfer budget, mind .

Oliy League / Fixtures - So begins the reign of Qizilqum dominance! Brilliant, nearly the perfect season apart from some blips that shouldn't really have occurred, nevertheless we were more then anyone in the league could handle, a sign of things to come given that we will hopefully be able to focus more on the ACL. A 7-0 thumping of Sh'ortan was my highlight of the season as well.

Asian Champions League / Group Stage - We escaped the group stage! Haha. A brilliant run of form saw us make the second round, however, Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia proved way to much for us to cope with an we succumbed to a 4-2 aggregate defeat, nevertheless the money received from the matches more then made up for it. Continuation is brilliant.

Uzbek Cup / Fixtures - Another one in the bag! Bit more difficult this time mind with Lokomotiv Toshkent almost giving us a scare but it didn't happen and we set up a final against eternal rivals Bunyondur. Grabbing the trophy with a well earned 2-0 victory to keep our hands firmly on it.

Player(s) of the Season

Squad - Solid season for all those involved, mightily impressed with there efforts, especially of the young lads coming through the academy.

Gleb Maltsev - Another Kazakh import and he has been a brilliant one at that, at almost a goal a game he stored it in the team and was a revelation throughout, wage demands have become an issue though he is signed up till next season, should he refuse to sign another contract, he'll be on his way out.

Fazrullo Qamburov - He has been with us from the start, a utility man of such who is able to fill in at a majority of positions but this year he came into his own and was brilliant when called upon. Hopefully more of the same as he has made himself something of a favourite with the fans.

Ivan Antipov - The other Kazakh import, I said this lad could be something special and he is proving that he could might well be one of the greats for us, solid upfront with his attributes shooting up all the time, more to come from him.

Anatoly Toijev (YP2a) - The one tagged player who actually isn't just making up the numbers, he has the potential to go far and has outplayed himself in his 'enganche' role. Brilliant to see someone come through who is of use to us as well.

Ibrahim Farah - Could not miss this fella out, sensational again in the midfield. Was made vice-captain.

Thoughts

This could be summed up as a solid season, we did what was necessary to retain our title and cup, to complete the domestic double and made further inroads into Asia. All in all, this was a positive season. The 4 foreign rule is becoming an issue however as it applies to both the league and the ACL, this somewhat is negated by the fact we have a few decent Uzbek prospects but I fear we won't be able to go far unless we can start poaching a few from rivals, which is easier said then done.

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Qizilqum Zarafson 2017 Season Review

Transfers - More freebies again and most of which can be seen in the players section.

Asian Champions League / Group Table - Scraped through thanks to miraculous result, after that we faced off against a weak Al-Farah side, beating them rather comfortably before meeting the Iranian giants of Persepolis. Despite a 1-1 draw in Uzbekistan we were blown away in Tehran and unfortunately exited the competition at the Quarter Finals stage, still though, I was proud of the performance especially considering the group stage was looking rather rough at one stage.

Oliy League / Fixtures - As straight forward as it gets. Didn't take long for us to build up a lead that couldn't be caught, we played solid throughout, the next thing I am chasing is the unbeaten season. Only disappointment were the drubbing that Paxtakor gave us, still wasn't enough to through us over though.

Uzbek Cup / Fixtures - Easy as can be, another trophy in the bag as we try to overtake Paxtakor's haul of nine Uzbek Cup.

Player(s) of the Season

Squad - Another brilliant season all around from the squad, there were no real weak performers and each player got the necessary time needed, especially in the case of some of the big hitters in the squad. The morale is always high and confidence is good, there is no coincidence that this has seen us maintain a dominant front.

Ivan Antipov - Look at how much his mentals have shot up! The kid is certainly going to be something great for us, he has been immense so far and only continues improving where he looks like he might well be the most important player in this side.

Aung Myo Lin - To see a Myanmar newgen who is actually decent for this level is a sight to behold. Aung was brilliant this season for what it was worth, even though I only signed him for the novelty factor.

Elvin Chavez - The Honduran beast, an absolute monster of a midfielder who has been brilliant in every aspect of the game so far, has bags of potential and can only continue to improve at this rate.

Anatoly Toljev (YP2a) - Another great season from the academy graduate, stepped up when called upon and did all the necessary tasks required of him. Brilliant!

Elmurod Aqbarov (YP4a) - This kid will be special, mark my words, he is considered the most gifted player to ever have come through our academy, his potential is high according my assistant manager whilst he is already considered to be a good player in the league, with this scope for development I can't wait to see the results.

Thoughts

Domestically it is becoming a matter of how we will when the title and cup rather then how, we are superior to most of the teams in the league with only Paxtakor able to hold a candle to us. That being said we are also making great inroads into Asia and with this continuation of progress and style of play, we could well see ourselves achieve our goal of Champions League glory.

[nie jem frytek]

Reserves in top division?

[sc91]

Reserves in top division?

Thought I'd switched it off, seems to work for every team except Bunyondur.

:|.