Pakhtakor advance to semis of AFC Champions League This is a couple of days old but I thought I'd try and justify the fact that this is a "Former Soviet Union" forum and not just a Russia forum. It seems the "cotton workers" are doing well. edit: The semis are in April but I'm not sure when. From the little I know about Asian football (almost nothing really) it looks like Pakhtakor will face the weakest of the remaining opponents in Thai club BEC Tero. link: "BEC Tero will play Pakhtakor in April's semi-finals after the Uzbekistan side clinched Group D with a 3-0 win over Iraq's Al Talaba in Tashkent on Thursday. The first leg is pencilled in for Bangkok with the second match at the 50,000 Pakhtakor Stadium." Top prize is US$3,000,000 which could go a long way in the Uzbek League if not squandered. The other semi finalists are Dalian Shide (China) and Al Ain (UAE).
Thanks for the post . In my days of childlike infatuation with a certain crappy futbol outfit , that wore hideous green/black jerseys , I probably saw Pahtakor play 6-8 times. They always struck me as the most " long ball " Soviet side , but extremely well behaved . Good for them , and it's great to see huge crowds . Cheers.
I was at a World Cup qualifier in Tashkent in '97 (vs. Yemen) that was packed. Watching some domestic league matches on local TV at around the same time I noticed what at least looked on TV like large enthusiastic crowds. Something of a surprise given that I'm pretty sure the support is pretty weak in Uzbekistan's Central Asian neighbors. Selling out a 55,000 seat stadium to see an unglamorous opponent is impressive for anywhere. I imagine most of us will live to see Uzbekistan qualify for a World Cup, especially given the way FIFA seems generous in allocating slots to the AFC.
I saw an article about this. I'm a little surprised that no Korean or Japanese teams made it through to the semis.
Almost game time. For a preview... Pakhtakor vow to attack despite missing Irismetov Thai champions energised by huge cash carrot And click here for the Pakhtakor team page
Second leg today in Tashkent. Pakhtakor not convinced of climate advantage No change in system for BEC Tero
Oh well, it was good while it lasted. Pakhtakor lose 1-0, 3-2 on aggregate. BEC hang on for place in AFC Champions League Final