Uzbekistan national team coach Srečko Katanec (61) will miss the preparations in Doha due to poor health.
He will not be able to participate in training due to his worsening health condition. It’s a doctor’s recommendation, it is stated in the press release of the Football Association of Uzbekistan.
His assistants Ales Cech and Vlado Radmanović he will work with the national team on preparations that are scheduled from January 20 to 31 in Doha.
Local media mention that Slovenian expert has cancer. There is no concrete information about the illness of the 61-year-old expert – it has not been officially published anywhere. However, Uzbek media Championat.Asia reports that it is oncology, without specifying the diagnosis, reports Sportsport.ba.
This is not the first time that Katanec has left the national team due to health problems. The first time it happened was in June 2023, when Uzbekistan played in the CAFA Cup with Tajikistan, Iran and Turkmenistan. The players then played without the presence of the coach.
The second time, due to illness, Katanec urgently returned to his homeland in March 2024 – that’s when Ales Cech also led the Uzbekistan national team in the match against Hong Kong.
In June of the same year, Katanec addressed the public at a press conference before the match with Turkmenistan, announcing the problems.
I will have to tell you a long time about my health. I didn’t listen to my body in time. I underwent many operations. That’s why I have to be treated. A person thinks about his health only after he gets sick. The current condition is good. If I go a third time from the national team, I’m sure I won’t be back. I hope that doesn’t happen, the Slovenian said then.
However, it happened a third time – in October 2024, the coach missed the World Cup qualifiers against the UAE and Iran. Finally, the absence in January was the fourth of his entire career – and it is not yet known whether he will continue to work with the national team.
According to rumors, they are in an alliance discusses the head coach’s dismissalbecause Srečko Katanec cannot fully perform his duties.
Katanec has led the Uzbekistan national team since 2021. Under his leadership, the national team successfully performed at the Asian Cup in 2023, reached the quarterfinals and lost to Qatar only in stoppage time. The regular part ended with a 1:1 draw.
In the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the national team was in a group that also included Iran, Qatar, the UAE, Kyrgyzstan and the DPRK. It’s a national team currently in second place with 13 points after six games, three points behind table-leading Iran.
In the last encounters Uzbekistan achieved important victories over UAE (1:0) and DPRK (2:1), but again lost to Qatar (2:3). The next matches of the national team will be played on March 20 against Kyrgyzstan and on March 25 against Iran.
Katanec, a former member of the Yugoslav national team, born in Ljubljana, led Uzbekistan before Iraq, Slovenia, UAE and Macedoniawhile he was still working in the clubs ND Gorica and Olympiakos.
As a player, he played for Olimpija, Dinamo Zagreb, Partizan Belgrade, Stuttgart and Sampdoria. He retired from football in Italy in 1994.
(www.jabuka.tv)
