Nematjan Zakirov (russian: Нематжан Закиров; born 1 January 1962) is a former

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...

i international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. Head coach

FC Neftchi Kochkor-Ata Football Club Neftchi Kochkor-Ata ('' ky, Нефтчи Кочкор-Ата Футбол Клубу, Neftçi Qoçqor-Ata Futbol Klubu'') is a Kyrgyz professional football club based in Kochkor-Ata. Founded in 1952, the club competes in the Kyrgyz ...

Career

Club

Born in Kochkor-Ata, Zakirov began playing football with local side

Alga Frunze Football Club Alga Bishkek ('' ky, Алга Бишкек Футбол Клубу, Alğa Bişkek Futbol Klubu'') is a Kyrgyz professional football club based in Bishkek, that competes in the Kyrgyz Premier League, the top flight of Football in Kyr ...

in the Soviet leagues. In 1992, he moved to

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

for a spell with

Pirin Blagoevgrad Futbolen klub Pirin ( bg, Футболен клуб „Пирин“), also known as Pirin Blagoevgrad is a Bulgarian football club based in Blagoevgrad, which currently competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football. Th ...

in the

A PFG The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

. After 1.5 seasons with Pirin, Zakirov joined second division side

Velbazhd Kyustendil Velbazhd Kyustendil ( bg, Велбъжд Кюстендил) is a Bulgarian association football club based in Kyustendil. The club currently competes in the A RFG Kyustendil, the fourth tier of Bulgarian football. The club was founded in 1919. ...

. Following his stint in Bulgaria, Zakirov went to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

where he played for

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...

and

Zhetysu Zhetysu, or Jeti-Suu ( kk, , Жетісу, pronounced ; ky, ''Jeti-Suu'', (), meaning "seven rivers"; also transcribed ''Zhetisu'', ''Jetisuw'', ''Jetysu'', ''Jeti-su'', ''Jity-su'', ''Жетысу'',, United States National Geospatial-I ...

. He finished his playing career back in Kyrgyzstan with

SKA-PVO Bishkek Football Club Alga Bishkek ('' ky, Алга Бишкек Футбол Клубу, Alğa Bişkek Futbol Klubu'') is a Kyrgyz professional football club based in Bishkek, that competes in the Kyrgyz Premier League, the top flight of Football in Kyrg ...

International

Zakirov made five appearances and scored one goal for

Kyrgyzstan national football team The Kyrgyzstan national football team ( ky, Кыргыз Республикасынын улуттук курама командасы (''Kyrgyz Respublikasynyn uluttuk kurama komandasy''); russian: Сборная Кыргызской Респ� ...

from 1999 to 2000.

Managerial

After he retired from playing, Zakirov became a football coach. He led Kyrgyzstan from 2003 to 2005, and again in 2007. Zakirov managed

Kyrgyzstan League Kyrgyz Premier League ('' ky, Кыргыз Премьер Лигасы, Keurgeuz Premier Ligaseu'') is the division of professional football in Kyrgyzstan. It was created in 1992 after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. The league is composed ...

side

FC Abdysh-Ata Kant Football Club Abdysh-Ata Kant ('' ky, Абдыш-Ата Кант Футбол Клубу, Abdyş-Ata Qant Futbol Klubu'') is a Kyrgyz football club based in Kant. It is named after a local brewery. The club was founded in 1992. History Names ...

, and its second division farm team FC Zhivoye Pivo before becoming the manager of Alga Bishkek in February 2013. He resigned in February 2014.

Career statistics

International

Honors

Club

;Alga Bishkek/SKA-PVO Bishkek *

(3);

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

Kyrgyzstan Cup The Kyrgyzstan Cup ('' ky, Кыргызстан Кубогу, Keurgeuzstan Kubogu'') is Kyrgyzstan's premier knockout tournament in men's football (soccer). Previous winners Previous winners of the cup are: Soviet time *1939 Dinamo Frunze *19 ...

(3): 1992, 2000, 2001

References

1962 births Living people Kyrgyzstani men's footballers Kyrgyzstan men's international footballers Kyrgyzstani expatriate men's footballers FC Alga Bishkek players OFC Pirin Blagoevgrad players Velbazhd Kyustendil players FC Zhenis players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players Expatriate men's footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate men's footballers in Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstani football managers Kyrgyzstan national football team managers FC Alga Bishkek managers Men's association football midfielders Soviet men's footballers {{Kyrgyzstan-footy-bio-stub