Uzbekistan, who lost to runners-up Saudi Arabia in the quarter-final of the last edition, will begin their campaign in the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011™ against the hosts on January 7 before taking on newly-crowned Gulf Cup champions Kuwait and China.

“AFC Asian Cup is the most prestigious competition in the continent and I would like the team to win the country’s first AFC title in Doha,” Djeparov, who played a key role in FC Seoul’s Korea League victory on Sunday, told the-afc.com.

“The players are motivated and are hopeful of gaining success in the AFC Asian Cup.”

Vadim Abramov’s charges are currently training in Tunisia and Djeparov will join the team when they travel to Dubai for another camp on December 18.

The 28-year-old joined FC Seoul on a six-month loan deal from Uzbekistan champions Bunyodkor but now wants to continue plying his trade in Korea.

“I will try to persuade Bunyodkor officials to let me continue playing in Korea because the league here is strong and interesting,” he said.