Vali Gasimov

Vali Aydin oglu Gasimov (, also spelled Veli Aydin oglu Kasumov; ; born 4 October 1968) is an Azerbaijani football coach and a former player who played as a forward.

Club career Born in Kirovabad, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, Gasimov started playing for Mayak Kharkiv and Metalist Kharkiv. In 1992, he switched to Spartak Moscow but, unsettled, finished the season at neighbours Dynamo Moscow, being eventually crowned the first division's top scorer at 16 goals.

Gasimov was bought by Spain's Real Betis in January 1993, but would appear very irregularly in his two 1/2 seasons at the Andalusia side. After just three La Liga appearances in his final season, he finished his stint in the country with two clubs (and two relegations), Albacete Balompié and Écija Balompié (the latter in the second division, where he failed to score).

In summer 1997, Gasimov moved to Portugal with Vitória de Setúbal. He suffered a back injury which forced him to rest for a significant period of his debut season, but still netted 11 times in 24 matches. After a second campaign he retired still in the country, with Imortal DC in Algarve.

International career Gasimov played for the Soviet Union under-16 national team in 1985, helping the team to win the 1985 UEFA European Under-16 Championship.

Gasimov won 14 caps for Azerbaijan during four years, making his debut on 19 April 1994 in a 5–0 friendly loss to Malta.

Managerial career After retiring, Gasimov coached his national team's under-19 side.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours Neftchi Baku USSR Federation Cup runner-up: 1988

Spartak Moscow Soviet Cup: 1991–92

Soviet Union U16 UEFA European Under-16 Championship: 1985

Individual Russian Premier League top scorer: 1992 Best 33 players of the Russia Top League season: No. 1 — 1992