Mirjalol Qosimov

Mirjalol Qosimov (Kasimov) was born on 17 September 1970 in Tashkent. From the age of 14 he played for the Soviet youth teams: world champion at the 1987 under-16 World Cup in Canada, European under-18 champion in 1987 and 1988, and captain of the youth and junior sides. In 1985–1986 he studied at the Moscow Higher School of Football.

In 1987 he played six Soviet First League games for Pakhtakor and in 1988 turned out for Dinamo Minsk before returning to Pakhtakor. He later played for Spartak Vladikavkaz (1992), Alania (1994–1996, 1999, 2003–2004), Krylia Sovetov (2000–2001), Saudi Arabia's Al-Shabab (2002) and Pakhtakor, finishing his career at Mash'al Mubarek in 2005–2006. With Alania he won the 1995 Russian championship (runner-up in 1992 and 1996).

In Uzbekistan he won the league three times (1998, 2002, 2003) and the cup four times, was top scorer in 1998 with 22 goals and was named Uzbekistan Footballer of the Year four times (1993, 1998, 2001, 2004). On 12 September 1995 he scored for Alania against Liverpool in the UEFA Cup, the first such goal by an Uzbek player. For Uzbekistan he made 67 appearances and scored 31 goals and won the 1994 Asian Games.

He began coaching at Mash'al and became assistant national coach in late 2006. From December 2007 he managed Kuruvchi (now Bunyodkor), which won its first league title in 2008, reached the AFC Champions League semi-finals in 2008 and 2012, won the league in 2010, 2011 and 2013 and the cup three times. He was head coach of the Uzbekistan national team in 2008–2010 and 2012–2015 (54 matches), was named the country's coach of the year for 2012, and has managed AGMK since December 2018.

His honours include the title of Honoured Athlete of Uzbekistan (1994), the Shuhrat Medal (1994), Uzbekiston iftixori (2001), the Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun order (2004) and the Mehnat shuhrati order (2007).