Zico makes move to Uzbekistan

Brazilian manager Zico will be joining fellow countryman Rivaldo at Uzbek side Bunyodkor, he announced on Monday.

“There is a verbal agreement with the directors of the club and I am leaving today [Monday] to sigh the contract,” Zico revealed on his website.

Zico, born as Arthur Antunes Coimbra in 1953 began his career as coach in 1999, five years after retiring as player.

In fact, his last club as player, Japanese side Kashima Antlers, was also where he would gain his first experience as manager. In 2002, Zico tried his luck at the Japanese team where he would stay until the 2006 World Cup.

Since then, Zico was in charge of Turkish side Fenerbahçe, and helped them reach the quarter finals of last season’s Champions League.

FC Bunyodkor, a Tashkent-based side formerly known as PFC Kuruvchi, recently began attracting interest from high profile players. One of those players, Rivaldo, actually signed a contract with a club.