Iranian coach Amin Sobkhoni has returned to CSKA Dushanbe after being appointed acting head coach of the Tajik club’s senior men’s team on August 26.
The 46-year-old will combine the role with his duties as head coach of CSKA’s women’s team, which he took over in late July ahead of the AFC Women’s Champions League preliminary stage.
Sobkhoni becomes the fourth coach to take charge of CSKA in 2026.
The Dushanbe side started the season under Spaniard Juan Cortés, who left after just over two months. Fayzali Davlatov then took over before Uzbek coach Otabek Gulyamkhodjaev was appointed in early July. Less than two months later, CSKA have again turned to a familiar figure.
Sobkhoni’s connection with the club stretches back almost a decade. He first worked in CSKA’s coaching staff as an assistant during the 2016–17 period, before later returning as head coach.
Over the years, the Iranian has become one of the most familiar foreign coaches in Tajik football and has developed a reputation as a specialist clubs turn to in difficult situations.
That was the case earlier this season when Istaravshan appointed Sobkhoni in May after a poor start left the club at the bottom of the Tajikistan Higher League. He was brought in to stabilise the team, but the expected turnaround did not come and he left after the first half of the season.
He soon returned to CSKA, initially taking charge of the women’s side. Less than a month later, he has also been handed responsibility for the senior men’s team.
This will be Sobkhoni’s second spell as CSKA’s head coach.
He previously took charge of the first team in 2021 and guided the army club to third place in the Tajik championship, securing qualification for the AFC Cup. Sobkhoni was also among the candidates for the league’s Coach of the Year award.
CSKA later made their AFC Cup group-stage debut under him in 2022.
Sobkhoni has also worked with Khosilot, had a brief spell at Ravshan and served on Tajikistan’s U17 coaching staff. His long involvement in the country has made him an unusual figure among foreign coaches in Tajikistan: rather than arriving for a single short-term contract, he has repeatedly returned to different roles and clubs.
Iranian coaches are not unprecedented in the Tajik league. Reza Parkas had a spell with Istaravshan before moving to Iran Pro League side Sanat Naft, Masoud Nazarzadeh coached Fayzkand, while Abbas Azizi succeeded Sobkhoni at CSKA in 2022.
Few, however, have built as long and sustained a connection with Tajik football as Sobkhoni.
For CSKA, his latest return is therefore less an experiment than another attempt to rely on a coach who already knows the club, the league and the local football environment.
After four coaches from four different backgrounds in less than eight months, familiarity may be exactly what CSKA are looking for.