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Tajik-Ukrainian specialist Vitaly Levchenko has been appointed head coach of Dushanbe-based football club Istiklol. The club's press service announced this.
Vitaly Levchenko signed a one-year contract. He replaced Igor Cherevchenko as head coach, who left the team due to health reasons.
Last season, Istiklol became the champion of Tajikistan for the 14th time, but failed to advance from the group stage of the AFC Champions League 2 tournament.
It is noted that Vitaly Levchenko previously managed Istiklol and achieved significant success with the team. Under his leadership, the club won two national championships and reached the AFC Champions League playoffs for the first time in its history.
Vitaly Levchenko is a native of Khujand and a product of the local football school. As a player, he played for the Ukrainian clubs Dynamo Kyiv and CSKA Kyiv, Tavriya Simferopol, the Russian teams Volgar Astrakhan, Spartak Kostroma, Dynamo Stavropol, and Ural Yekaterinburg, as well as the Chinese club Changchun Yatai. He played 10 matches for the Tajikistan national team.
During his coaching career, Vitaliy Levchenko worked with the Ukrainian clubs Knyazha (Boryspil Oblast), Yednist (Chernihiv Oblast), and Desna (Chernihiv). He also served as assistant coach of the Ukrainian youth team, assistant coach of the Tajikistan national team and Samara club Krylia Sovetov, and head coach of the Tajikistan youth team and Hissar club Barkchi.
Vitaly Levchenko took over as head coach of Istiklol in 2020. Under his leadership, the team won the Tajikistan championship twice and, in 2021, reached the AFC Champions League playoffs for the first time in its history. In the summer of 2022, he moved to Uzbekistan and took charge of Neftchi, which was on the brink of relegation from the top league. The team subsequently retained its place in the top league, finished fifth the following season, and was competing for the Uzbekistan Super League medals until the final round. In 2025, Neftchi became the champion of Uzbekistan.
