AFC – Mirdjalal Kasimov was
given the perfect send-off as spell as head coach of Kuruvchi (Bunyodkor)
came to an end with a 5-1 demolition of Saipa that sent the Uzbeks through
to the ACL semi-finals.
The Uzbek side were held to a 2-2 draw by 2007 Iran Pro League champions in
Tehran last week but turned on the style on Wednesday at MHSK Stadium with
Chilean striker Jose Luis Villanueva netting a hat-trick.
Former World Player of the Year Rivaldo converted from the penalty spot and
his Brazilian compatriot Luizao was also on target for Kuruvchi while Saber
Mirghorbani scored Saipa’s lone goal as the hosts cruised to an emphatic 7-3
aggregate victory.
Kasimov was delighted with the performance of the team, who have reached the
last four of Asia’s biggest club competition in only their fourth year of
existence.
“I’m happy because my team reached the semi-finals and because we played
very good football today,” said the Uzbek football legend, who felt that
Villanueva’s first two goals, scored in the opening 16 minutes were key to
their huge win.
“I need to say that Saipa are a very strong team. They have good players as
well as a good coach in Pierre Littbarski.
“But we were lucky to score in the early minutes of the game and that helped
to make our task much easier.”
Kasimov was only appointed as Kuruvchi coach in late 2007 but leaves after
less than a year to take over from Rauf Inileev as national coach of
Uzbekistan in an attempt to revive their flagging World Cup qualifying
campaign.
While former Japan coach Zico has already been lined up as Kasimov’s
replacement at Kuruvchi, Kasimov insisted that his focus was completely on
the club on Wednesday.
“I was not thinking about the national team yet as I was concentrating on
the match against Saipa,” he said.
“But from now on, I’m free from my Kuruvchi duties and I’ll start to think
about the national team job.”
