Kuala Lumpur: With the Group Stage of the AFC Champions League 2016 to commence Tuesday, join the-afc.com as we look at one of the competition's key players, Nasaf icon Artur Gevorkyan.
KEY PLAYER: ARTUR GEVORKYAN – Nasaf
AFC Champions League Record
Appearances: 17
Goals: 5
PROFILE
Captain, dead-ball specialist and goal-scorer, Turkmenistan forward Artur Gevorkyan is a Nasaf icon who has seen his five-season spell at the Qarshi club been one of accolades and accomplishments.
After joining Nasaf in 2011 after a season at Pakhtakor, Gevorkyan swiftly made a name for himself at the club in the AFC Cup where he inspired his side to become Uzbekistan’s first-ever continental cup winner and received the tournament’s MVP award.
Steady performances continued before break-out seasons in 2013, where he was named Uzbek League Player of the Year, and 2014 where he was the Uzbek League Top Scorer.
Having first experienced the AFC Champions League in the 2010 tournament with Pakhtakor, Gevorkyan has since been involved in two further editions with Nasaf in 2012 and 2015, although in both occasions has seen his side unable to advance to the knockout stages.
With the 2016 AFC Champions League about to begin, though, there is unfinished business for one of central Asia’s finest footballers.
IMPORTANCE TO TEAM
It’s hard to over-state how central Artur Gevorkyan is to Nasaf’s team. Playing on the right flank of a 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formation the bulk of Nasaf’s attacks come through the Turkmenistan star.
Gevorkyan is not only an expert set-piece taker, and as good as passer as he is a finisher, but the Nasaf skipper is the main leader of the side on and off the pitch.
ONES TO WATCH
A member of the 2011 AFC Cup winning team Ilkhom Shomurodov is a central figure in attack for Nasaf and is often the recipient of Gevorkyan’s supply, while defensive midfielder Erkin Boydullaev and defender Shukhrat Mukhammadiev both play important roles in preserving the side’s solid backline.
Source: the-afc.com