Russian football rarely surprises (in a good way) with its projects, but Ufa is a truly unique case. Despite financial problems, the Bashkir club not only showed decent results, but was also among the best in terms of work on the transfer market. The creator of this system is the now former general director of Ufa, Shamil Gazizov. Below are his memories of the most successful and significant transfers in the history of the club from the capital of Bashkortostan.
Sergey Semak (head coach)
At Ufa from December 2016 to May 2018 th. After that — the head coach of the St. Petersburg «Zenith»
Then the head coach Viktor Mikhailovich Gancharenko left us, we just started moving, we were in the middle (of the table), in seventh place. And so I wanted to continue in the same way. I got a call from my older friend, a good comrade Gennady Sergeevich Orlov, I respect him very much. He prompted me: «Look in the direction of Sergei Bogdanovich.» I took his phone, dialed him, we met with him. The negotiations were short-lived, although he has a large family, it was hard to transport, it was a challenge. Sergei Bogdanovich decided then that he had to move forward. He left his warm place in the “Zenith”, decided to move, and this decision turned out to be the right one from our side, from his side. >When I let him go to Zenit, I didn’t think that it would be like this, that Zenit would take four championships in a row. But I had no doubts that Sergei Bogdanovich would achieve great results and become a champion. in Ufa in July 2015 as a free agent. He left in January 2017 for Zenit for 3.5 million euros (hereinafter — information from the Transfermarkt portal). Now — the player of the German «Bayer»
An interesting fact — at one time no one needed him. He came to us as a free agent, he had a very ridiculous salary. Andrei waited for his chance and waited for him, and now he is a star. When he moved to Zenit, the president of the St. Petersburg club was Alexander Valerievich Dyukov, we agreed with him on Lunev. He asked if we would let him go, named the price, and we agreed — in five seconds. For Andrei, this was a move forward. There were many proposals — and Krasnodar was at that time, and a number of other clubs, but he chose Zenit. There was such a situation — Andrei thought that (Alexander) Belenov was moving there, but I, having insider information, told him that Belenov was not going there.
I consider Andrei one of the most serious fighters in goalkeeping workshop. He is a guy who is not afraid of anything, very brave. July 2018. Left in February 2019 in CSKA on loan with the option to buy for 1.5 million euros
I know Igor's family very well, I know his father closely, about 25-30 years old. Therefore, there were no problems. There was a substantive interest from the big clubs, it was not a rumor. He showed himself well in the youth team of Russia, scored a goal, played and showed that he was already a high-quality football player. Then Igor began to substitute for us, and the first match he played against Zenit, went against Dzyuba, who was then on a roll. That year, both he and Krugovoi progressed very quickly, I even have a photo of me sitting with them at a training camp in Spain. Then I told them: «Next year you will play in big clubs, I'm sure.» My words turned out to be prophetic.
The interest of the London «Arsenal»? It was one hundred percent. But the choice fell in favor of CSKA, because then the head coach was Viktor Mikhailovich Gancharenko. This is my friend, I called him and said, they say, try the guy. We leased it with the right to buy, then talked with Roman Yuryevich Babaev (general director of CSKA), he also supported this idea. We all turned out to be right.
Igor is a very great fighter, he helps his relatives and many children from his small homeland. I am happy for him as for my countryman, he comes from the Ufa school, he is an example for all local boys. br>Moved to Ufa in February 2015 as a free agent. Left in July 2016 in the English «Manchester City» for 2 million euros. Now — the player of the London «Arsenal»
In July 2016 there were many offers, not only from Manchester City. There were offers from the top clubs in the top 5 championships, except for the French Ligue 1. Big clubs followed him, but Sasha then opted for Guardiola, his favorite coach. It was not the most expensive case we were offered. We could raise more money on other clubs. It seems to me that we have created one of the most high-profile transfers in recent times in the Russian championship. I think it will be very difficult to repeat this in the near future.
Daniil Fomin (midfielder) 960 thousand euros. He left in August 2020 for Dynamo Moscow for 3.5 million eurosWe have been watching him for a long time, since he played in Nizhny Novgorod. We looked at him, then made an offer, agreed with Krasnodar. There were no issues with Danny at all. He came and removed all the questions from the very first day. Thanks, of course, to Vladimir Khashig (general director of Krasnodar) for the fact that we calmly found a moment for both the player and the club to progress.
At that time, we led another player, I would not like to name him, he is also performing very well now. It was a pity that at one moment both he and Danya were there — two worthy footballers of approximately the same position. And we made a choice in favor of Dani, and that player was told that we would pick you up in a year, but he was already in another place. We didn't want to overdo it in this position. The choice was right — he started moving, and we could just sit down.
Ivan Oblyakov (midfielder) July 2016 for 9 thousand euros. Left in July 2018 in CSKA for 4 million euros
We were offered him, they said that he was a good football player. We knew his qualities from the way he played at the Granatkin Memorial, he was nowhere else to be seen. Vanya immediately moved from school to the RPL club. We made this choice and did not lose, I think. Well, for Vanya it was a powerful growth. There were no such transitions anywhere, because no one has yet transferred from school to the RPL team right away. This is also a unique case.
Vanya is a very good guy from the suburbs of St. Petersburg, everyone there is rooting for him. He has a wonderful family, a lot of relatives, he treats everyone well. In general, a very correct guy.He moved to Ufa in February 2020 for 200 thousand euros. He left in August 2020 for Spartak Moscow for 1 million euros
For me, Auston is one of the most talented players I have ever worked with. When he came to us, no one had any questions about his talent. His time at Ufa was very successful. And when I was called to Spartak, one of the options was to take him with me. The owner of «Spartak» Leonid Arnoldovich Fedun also wanted him, and we agreed on the transition. 1 million euros is a small amount, to be honest. Then there was a struggle for him and with other clubs, it so happened that I moved to Spartak and had a desire to have this player next to me. I understood that his level was very serious.
What happened to him then? Not everyone stands the test of copper pipes and money issues. This also needs to be experienced. Oston is a guy from a simple Uzbek family, the whole story put a little pressure on him. Well, nothing, I think that literally soon he will return to his good level.Hamid Agalarov (forward)
He moved to Ufa in January 2020 for 40,000 euros. Left in July 2022 in Grozny «Akhmat» for 3.5 million euros
Hamid's story is a story about work and faith. Hamid comes from a footballing family that taught him how to put the right accents and not be afraid of challenges. You have to hand it to him, he knows what he's doing. Yesterday he scored the first goal for Akhmat, I will definitely congratulate Hamid and his father on this. In such a good team as Akhmat, he will show himself even better than in Ufa, I have confidence in this.
What is the secret?
For our club, such options are not piecemeal, they are put on the conveyor. We can recall Stotsky, Krugovoy, Zhivoglyadov. If you look like that, you can remember 20 people. It is important for us to give the players a chance to progress. We cannot immediately lure them with money, our only case is a calm parting with the player in the presence of a worthy offer. And here in the foreground is not only the players themselves, but also the work of coaches, specialists in various fields. Today, it so happened that the player who was in Ufa is a player with a good case, who has something to look at.
We have one development path, although we are now in First League. This is a difficult tournament, absolutely unpredictable, with its own specific theme. Today I have offers for three or four players of the club, but we keep them because it is difficult for us, we actually have a new team. And we need to fulfill our tasks.