A well-known person in the world of football is the current head coach of the national team of Uzbekistan Samvel Babayan. His biography is distinguished by a unique feature - the minimum segment of a football player’s career. He confidently leads the national team for the qualifying round of the World Cup 2018. According to the results of half the selection, Uzbekistan is third, having high chances even to win in the Asian group.
Coming to football
Samvel Babayan was born on May 19, 1971 in Tashkent. In school years, the young guy began to play football, where he was distinguished by the ability to see, read and enliven the game with non-standard actions. In the course of his training, Babayan played for youth teams, including in the championship of the Ukrainian SSR, but, not playing until the age of 22, completed his career without noting any special achievements both at the club level and in personal terms.
Start of coaching
Despite the completion of his football career, Samvel Babayan did not part with the most popular game in the world. In 1993, he got a job as an administrator in the Politotdel club, having worked there for a year. In the early 2000s, he became the manager of the national team of Uzbekistan, and in 2002 turned out to be the vice president of the legendary Pakhtakor, where he was actively involved in the development of the club for 12 years.
In 2014, Samvel Babayan for the first time tried himself in the coaching field, heading the Tashkent club. Despite the minimal experience of a football player in major tournaments and a mentor of a large team, being in the rank of head coach for a year, an Uzbek specialist led the team to the championship, for which he was recognized as the coach of the year in Uzbekistan. On a successful wave, Babayan continued to work at Pakhtakor, but left the club in the summer.
Uzbekistan national team
The reason for this was the announcement of the Football Federation of Uzbekistan on June 23, 2015 that Samvel Babayan will take the post of head coach of the national team. The specialist’s photo appeared on the site with many positive reviews from fans who hoped for the experience of their compatriot. And the national team coach did not let them down - in 2015, Uzbekistan won all 5 matches under the leadership of a new coach.
In parallel, the specialist was engaged in coaching activities as part of the Uzbek Olympians. Under his leadership, the youth team performed at the Asian Championships, but ahead of schedule completed their journey through the tournament, failing to win tickets to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and Babayan himself was fired for not high enough results.
Focusing on the main team, the coach began to build a powerful and united team. As a result, the next season, marked by the start of the qualifying tournament for the World Cup in Russia, also began successfully for the Uzbek mentor. Babayan’s team completed the second round for the Asian Cup in first place in their group, and won three important victories in the qualification for the mundial, losing only to their main competitors with a minimum score: Iran - 0: 1, and South Korea - 2: 1. Nevertheless, having 5 more games ahead, and also just a two-point lead over the Iranians, Uzbekistan retains very high chances to complete the qualifying round in first place.