14:15, 25 ноября 2025, Bishkek - 24-kg.com news agency , Baktygul OSMONALIEVA
Maxim Shatskikh, the first Asian footballer to score a goal in the UEFA Champions League, has been appointed head coach of the newly established football club Asia.
Previously, Shatskikh coached players of the Uzbek club Andijan.
FC Asia was founded in 2025 and has been granted the right to compete in Kyrgyzstan’s Premier League.
Maxim Shatskikh is an Uzbek footballer and forward. He played for the Uzbekistan’s national team from 1999 to 2011 and served as its captain. He is best known for his performance with Dynamo Kyiv (1999–2009). Shatskikh became the top scorer of the Ukrainian league twice: in the 1999/2000 season with 20 goals and in the 2002/2003 season with 22 goals.
On July 28, 1999, he became the first Asian footballer to score in the UEFA Champions League. He retired from professional play in 2016 and is an Honored Athlete of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He has been a professional football coach since 2022.