Srečko Katanec could become the head coach of Uzbekistan national football team. The Uzbekistan Football Association (UFA) said it was in talks with the 58-year-old Slovenian.
“A number of foreign and local coaching candidates have been reviewed. According to the analysis and recommendations of the coaching council and experts, the candidacy of the experienced coach Srečko Katanec has been approved,” UFA said.
The Football Association added that so far a verbal agreement has been reached with the coach. Srechko Katanec is expected to visit Uzbekistan next week for the final round of talks.
The previous coach of the Uzbekistan national team was Vadim Abramov, with whom the contract was terminated after the national team failed in the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup.
Srečko Katanec started his career in the Slovenian side Ljubljana. From 1981 to 1988 he played in the Yugoslavian clubs Olimpia, Dynamo and Partizan. In 1988 he moved to West German Stuttgart where he spent only one season. After the end of the season he left for the Italian Sampdoria. With this club, he won almost all of his titles: Championship, Cup and Super Cup. He also won the Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1991/92 season he was a finalist in the last European Cup, where his team lost 0-1 to Barcelona in extra time.
After completing his career, he worked as a coach. He worked in the Gorica and Olympiacos clubs. He also headed the national teams of Macedonia (2006-2009), the United Arab Emirates (2009-2011) and Slovenia (2013-2017), and Iraq (2018-2021).
