Pieter Huistra: "I wanted to work in Uzbekistan, but to my surprise no club made an offer"

Dutch expert Pieter Huistra is well-known to fans. He worked in FC Pakhtakor for several years, then achieved success as a head coach.

This specialist is currently in Tashkent. Using this opportunity, Sports.uz journalist Shuhratbek Juraev contacted Huistra.

- Mr. Huistra, how are you? As far as I know, you have been in Tashkent for a long time. Did you get a job somewhere or did you return to live permanently?

- I spent a lot of time in Uzbekistan. Because my wife is from Tashkent. I mostly worked for Doublepass. It is the world's leading football consultancy. I was an instructor for sports directors there. I worked as an instructor for sports directors from Sweden, Hungary and Romania. It was a very good job. Helped me work with many advanced techniques in Europe.

- Do you want to work in our country in the new season? Which clubs have offers?

- I really wanted to continue my career as a coach in Uzbekistan, in a club or federation. Because I think I can offer a lot to Uzbek football. But to my surprise, no club or federation has made an offer to me so far.

- After you left FC Pakhtakor, we did not see you in any club. Did you take a break from coaching?

- At first, I wanted to take a little vacation. I have been working tirelessly for 10 years. But in the summer of the last year, my enthusiasm and energy returned to me. That's why I returned to my job in football. I was ready to dive back into my work and career at that time.

- FC Pakhtakor also won the championship in the 2022 season and it was decided in the last round. Did you expect this?

- The Superliga ended very violently. FC Nasaf and FC Navbahor came much closer to the championship this time compared to previous years. FC Nasaf would be the champion if they won even two games. But he could not win these victories due to high pressure. FC Pakhtakor is a team that has learned and adapted to such situations. In this respect, they were able to withstand the pressure well.

- What is the level of the championship of Uzbekistan now? Do you see growth?

- I managed to watch many games in the last year. In most of them, the teams managed to play defensively and few goals were scored. But to become a champion, here or elsewhere, you have to adapt to a dominant style of football. It is impossible to think about the championship without capturing the dominance.

- In addition to Pakhtakor, which other clubs do you like in our championship?

- I would point to FC Olympic as a positive team. After all, they only tried to show their game during the whole season. They were not afraid of any team because of their size. The young men acted without fear of their older opponents.

- What do you say to the fans?

- My relations with the fans were excellent. Most of them came to me when they met on the street and we had a little conversation about football. I would like to wish them all a happy and healthy new year.

- By the way, are there any Uzbek coaches who have earned your respect and whose work style you like?

- Ruzikul Berdiev and Timur Kapadze stood out for me. Berdiev can lead FC Nasaf to one of the top places of the championship every season. This time he was just a few steps short of the championship. And Kapadze was able to show that he can work well with young people.

- Do you think that you were able to say your word by working in the Uzbek championship?

- I think that I have been able to show and develop my skills and abilities in terms of coaching. At first, we worked together with Shota Arveladze. Then I took it all into my own hands. We managed to win 6 Cups. We had a clear and modern philosophy of play, dominant football and a clear strategy to further develop the young players as well as the older players. We did all this together with Mr. Yambor and Tkebuchava. We were able to show that Uzbek clubs can compete for victory with any club in Asia in the Asian Champions League. Uzbekistan is a beautiful country. I love Tashkent and the Uzbek people very much.