Never the most charismatic of coaches, Rauf Inileev’s future as a coach was in the balance after a disastrous opening 3-0 loss to Qatar and a solitary goal defeat to Australia in the next round forced the hand of Uzbekistan’s panicking football bosses.

Kasimov, who turned 38 last Wednesday, would have figured in the top of any shortlist of potential coaching candidates for a variety of reasons.

But what seems to have got Kasimov the votes is his deft steering of Kuruvchi into the upper echeleons of domestic football and, of course, the AFC Champions League quarter-finals, coupled with the immense respect he is held in by the current squad members.

Saturday’s anointment means the reins have been entrusted to, arguably, Uzbekistan’s most gifted footballing brain of our generation, a legend who holds the record for most national caps and also goals, an icon who has made an incredibly impressive foray into the most treacherous of sporting vocations - coaching.

In other words, the move promises to give Uzbek football an electrifying shot in the arm, much needed in these most frustrating of times to jolt them out of their torpor.

The task is cut out for Kasimov. As a coach, he has to plug the leaks in confidence and teach match-winners like Maksim Shatskikh and Server Djeparov to believe in themselves in order to win as many matches as possible out of the next six to finish in the top-two from among Qatar, Australia, Japan and bogey team Bahrain.

This is to avoid a situation reminiscent of 2005 when a cruel quirk of fate and a correct interpretation of the rules by FIFA saw Uzbekistan’s 1-0 win over Bahrain in the first leg of the intra-continental playoff for the 2006 FIFA World Cup annulled.

In one of the worst refereeing blunders ever, Japanese referee Toshimitsu Yoshida disallowed a 39th penalty by Server Djeparov when an Uzbek player encroached into the box and instead of having the spotkick retaken, ordered an indirect free kick for Bahrain.

Kasimov had scored the first goal in the 12th minute.

FIFA declared the result void and ordered a replay in which the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg before Bahrain hunkered down for a 0-0 stalemate in Manama, which sent them through to the inter-continental playoff.

The episode provoked a huge sense of outrage and injustice in Uzbekistan and left the Central Asians feeling hard-done-by, something Kasimov, who effectively quit playing on that day, and his charges would be itching to avenge.

The stage is now set for coach Kasimov to turn his attention to a task he left unfinished as a player, and Uzbekistan’s rivals, particularly Bahrain, better watch out.