Former Rubin Kazan head coach Yuri Utkulbaev is set to leave Uzbek club Kattakurgan, Eurasia Football has learned.
The club’s management decided to make a coaching change following two consecutive defeats. The parties are still discussing compensation for the early termination of Utkulbaev’s contract. However, the Russian coach is effectively no longer working with the team and is not conducting training sessions.
Kattakurgan have lost their last two Uzbekistan Pro League matches. On August 15, the team suffered a 1–0 away defeat to direct rivals Shurtan, conceding the only goal in the 85th minute. This was followed by a 4–2 home defeat to Gazalkent on August 21.
According to EF, Kattakurgan’s management was dissatisfied both with the recent results and with the team’s overall style of play. When Utkulbaev was appointed, the club expected him to introduce a more attacking brand of football. Against Gazalkent, Kattakurgan attempted to play much more openly but ultimately conceded four goals.
At the same time, Kattakurgan remain in a strong position in the league table. After 16 matches, the club have 30 points and sit third in the Pro League. FarDU are one point behind, while Metallurg, Olympic Mobiuz and Lochin trail Kattakurgan by two points.
Kattakurgan also remain in contention for promotion under the current Pro League format. The champions are promoted directly to the Uzbekistan Super League, while the teams finishing from second to fifth enter the playoffs. The winner of that mini-tournament earns the right to play a promotion/relegation match for a place in the Super League.
Kattakurgan’s next match will be against league leaders Aral Nukus, who have 39 points. The coaching change therefore comes immediately before one of the most difficult fixtures remaining in the season.
Utkulbaev took charge of Kattakurgan at the end of May, replacing Yorkin Nazarov. Under the Russian coach, the team played nine Pro League matches, recording five wins, one draw and three defeats. Kattakurgan collected 16 points from a possible 27 during that period.
The club also played one Uzbekistan Cup match under Utkulbaev, losing 3–0 to Pakhtakor.
The 56-year-old spent much of his coaching career within the Rubin Kazan system, working with the club’s youth and reserve teams as well as its academy. He also managed Aktobe in Kazakhstan.
From 2016 to 2020, Utkulbaev was head coach of Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, guiding the club to promotion to Russia’s second tier and later to fifth place — the best result in the club’s history at that level.
Following Leonid Slutsky’s departure in the autumn of 2022, Utkulbaev took charge of Rubin’s first team, initially as caretaker manager and later as head coach.
During his time in Kazan, Utkulbaev was frequently compared in the Russian media with legendary former Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev, with some describing him as a continuation of Berdyev’s coaching tradition. Utkulbaev himself acknowledged that Berdyev had influenced his approach, although he stopped short of calling himself Berdyev’s student.