The other day Oston Urunov broke the contract with the “Ural”, which moved only in September. Meanwhile, a couple of years ago he was called the rising star of the RPL and had high hopes for his transition to Spartak. And the then general director of the «red-white» Shamil Gazizov promised to sell it for tens of millions of euros. The correspondent remembered the rapid ups and downs of the young midfielder, who seems to have ruined his talent.
Kanchelskis prepared Urunov for Russia
Urunov received football education at home in the most famous club — Pakhtakor, but made his debut at the adult level in Navbakhor. For the first time, he got into the squad for the Super League match under Ilham Mumindzhanov, who almost immediately entrusted him with a place at the start. Interestingly, the young man was also used as a right-back, although he scored his debut goal while playing in the attacking line. Oston did not try on Pakhtakor's uniform — after the end of the lease, Navbakhor bought him out.There he also managed to work with Andrei Kanchelskis, who treated him with no less confidence than his predecessor. Under his leadership, the player played 18 matches, scored two goals and three assists, and also helped the team win bronze medals for the first time in 14 years. At the end of the 2018 season, Urunov was recognized as the best young football player of the Super League, which contributed to the growth of quotations on the market.
«He had very good potential. When we worked together, he was one of the leaders of the team, despite his young age. There were never any complaints about him in terms of professionalism. He gave himself completely both in training and in matches. It happened that they discussed some game moments, but it didn’t come to disagreement. I was very pleased with such a player in the team and was upset that I had to let him go to Lokomotiv. We tried to keep him, but the amount of compensation was specified in the contract, «said Kanchelskis.
Six months later, at the age of 18, Urunov made his debut for the main national team of Uzbekistan, playing for half an hour in a friendly match with the Turks. It seemed that it was already possible to look towards the RPL, but in July 2019 the midfielder signed a contract with Lokomotiv from Tashkent. According to Transfermarkt, one of the most talented players in the country went to the capital club for only 35,000 euros. At the same time, the decision is reasonable — Urunov continued to progress in the new team, has already won silver medals and only increased interest in his person.
Gazizov is Urunov's football father
It was then that Ufa appeared on the horizon, whose general director Shamil Gazizov has an excellent instinct for talented youth, while not worth space money. The purchase of the rising star of Uzbekistan cost the Russian club only 200 thousand euros, which, according to the plan of his boss, should have been multiplied during the subsequent sale. Urunov immediately got into the starting lineup and took part in all matches of the second half of the 2019/20 season, except for the last one. And even despite the fact that he did not make a single effective action, after six months Gazizov's plan came true.
The general director of Ufa took a similar position at Spartak and took Urunov with him, bringing the former club a million euros. Rostislav Murzagulov, the head of the Ufa residents, even said that Gazizov «found the money himself and bought Oston.» Later, Zarema Salikhova, who, to put it mildly, did not have a relationship with the new CEO, told how he painted the bright prospects of the Uzbek midfielder.
“Gazizov said that this is an Asian star and he can easily sell a player for 5-7 million euros. Allegedly, CSKA and Hertha can take him, his potential price is 20-30 million, but you don’t understand anything. He said that you can lose Urunov just as you once lost Alexander Zinchenko, who was on trial. he needs practice, but there is no place for him in Spartak. Hearing this, Gazizov began to blush and take offense, he argued that this was the player of the Spartak base. He said that if the club does not need him, then he can sell him, but all this remained only in words,» Salikhova told Sport-Express.
In Spartak, Urunov was remembered only for shopping at the Central Department Store
In Tarasovka, the Uzbek really could not gain a foothold in the first team. At the same time, Domenico Tedesco publicly expressed support for him and stated that he had every chance to grow and develop in the capital club. As a result, the midfielder took part in only eight matches of the Russian championship, only once coming out at the start, and was not noted for effective actions. Urunov also took part in the defeat of Rodina (5:1) in the Cup, but this was categorically not enough to justify the generously given advances. By the way, Oston scored the only goal for Spartak from the transfer of Alexander Kokorin, who also joined the team under Gazizov.In addition, the rookie's reputation was greatly tarnished by a history not related to football. Even before his debut for Spartak, Urunov posted on social networks a photo from the capital's Central Department Store, in which he literally drowned in packages with logos of famous brands. Apparently, in this way the football player decided to celebrate the first salary, but did not predict the public reaction. Fans didn't like that the team's rookie paid so much attention to fashion, without spending a single minute for their favorite team. Urunov soon deleted the post, but that photo remained the highlight of his short career at Spartak.
In the new team, the 21-year-old football player entered the field only three times, and in all cases as a substitute. The last time we saw him in action was in a match with Lokomotiv (4:2), and soon he completely disappeared from the application. Many have already begun to forget about the existence of such a player, when in late October, «Ural» announced the departure of a newcomer. He spent only seven weeks with the team.
According to the press, the main reason is Urunov's conflict with Viktor Gancharenko. It was reported that the player refused to come on as a substitute in the cup match against Sochi (3:2). Allegedly, the midfielder was supposed to be in the starting lineup, but on the day of the game he only got on the bench. The refusal to warm up before the replacement ruined relations with Gancharenko, and the club did not stand on ceremony. I immediately recall the recent situation with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United, but Urunov, unlike the Portuguese, could not be forgiven for such behavior.
“It’s very strange that he didn’t manage to play in Russia. It’s better to ask his coaches and club leaders about the reasons. Perhaps it’s a matter of mentality – he couldn’t readjust. «Probably, you shouldn't have left Ufa for Spartak then, you could have stayed for another season at least. But then money, agents worked, and in general it's hard to resist when such a club shows interest in you. On the other hand , how many talented players came to Spartak and failed to realize themselves,» Kanchelskis shares his opinion.
End of career in Russia?
«He has his own career, he goes further. Returning to Ufa? I think it's unlikely. He makes his own career, there were many such players. You need to grab your head and solve your problems. And who else will help him? Only himself «, — commented to Sport-Express a turn in the fate of the former ward of Gazizov. «/
Since the Ufa boss, who promised to earn millions of euros on Urunov, gives such an assessment, this says a lot. After two scandalous partings — with Spartak and Ural — Oston has frankly little chance of getting a job in the RPL. Is that a short-term contract with a significant reduction in wages. It is more likely that he will have to return to his homeland and try to re-assert himself there.
«In general, even after such partings with Spartak and Ural, Oston would be useful to any RPL team. All- he really has potential. 21 years old is not the age when one can draw deep conclusions, he still has to progress. In the end, Urunov can always return to his homeland. He will be gladly received by all the leading clubs of the country — Pakhtakor, » Lokomotiv», «Navbakhor». They will be happy to see such a player in their ranks,» Kanchelskis said.