Former Rangers star Shota Arveladze is excelling as manager of Uzbek club Pakhtakor Tashkent.
The Georgian was a popular player during his four years at Ibrox between 2001 and 2005, scoring 44 league goals for the club and winning five trophies, including two league titles.
Arveladze retired at Levante just three years after leaving the Gers but that wasn’t the end of his involvement in the game.
The 47-year-old dived straight into coaching, becoming assistant head coach at AZ Alkmaar later that year.
Since then, he’s held the manager’s post at Turkish clubs Kayserispor, Kasimpasa and Trabzonspor, as well as at Israeli giants Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Silverware eluded him at all of those clubs but it’s been a different story at his current side, Pakhtakor Tashkent.
Arveladze took over at the Uzbek capital club in 2017 and he’s since helped them end the dominance of rivals Lokomotiv.
Pakhtakor won the Uzbekistan Super League and the Uzbekistan Cup in 2019 and he’s on track to repeat those feats this season.
After just over a month out of action, his side recorded a 3-1 win over Kokand 1912 on Tuesday to take them back to the top of the table.
Pakhtakor have now played 10 matches this season, winning eight, drawing one and losing one, ensuring they currently have a one-point lead over second-placed Olmaliq.
The USL is hardly world-renowned but Arveladze looks to have discovered the secret to managerial success and further triumphs over the coming seasons could lead to a more high-profile job offer in a western European league.
