Kazbek Tuayev is one of the brightest figures in the history of Azerbaijani football. He was one of the best of "Neftchi" both as a player and head coach.

Kazbek Tuayev, born on November 13, 1940, started playing football at the age of 14 in Baku "Lokomotiv". Tuayev, an Ossetian by nationality, went to Vladikavkaz (then Orjokinidze) in 1959 with an offer from Spartak. He returned to Baku two years later and defended the honor of "Neftchi" for 10 years. Tuayev, who played 290 games in the strongest group of the USSR championship, appeared in "black and white" form in 276 of them.

He started his career as a right-wing striker, but in recent years he has played in midfield. Much has been said and written about Tuayev's attacking qualities. Even the best goalkeeper of the 20th century, Lev Yashin, said that he was afraid only of Tuayev: "Tuayev's shots were so strong that he did not know where the ball would go."

Kazbek Tuayev was not only dangerous with his shots, but he is also well remembered by experienced football fans for his accurate passes. Neftchi's success in the 1960s depended heavily on the UN trio. The excellent agreement of "number 7" with Anatoly Banishevsky and Eduard Markarov led our team to new victories. In most of the episodes in which these two players differed, Tuayev provided a productive pass. 1966 - in the season when Neftchi won a bronze medal, he became the real leader of our team. When Banishevsky and Markarov were invited to the USSR national team, Tuayev managed to lead the team. Although the brilliant game attracted the attention of the coaches of the USSR national team, he could not strengthen the team. In 1967, the Neftchi player appeared in three matches for the country's number one team, played in friendly matches against Scandinavia (2: 2) in Helsinki, Switzerland (2: 2) in Moscow and Bulgaria (2: 1) in Sofia. Tuayev, who scored 60 goals in 298 games for Neftchi, was included in the USSR's "33 best players" three times (in 1963, 1966 and 1967).

In 1970, when Vladikavkaz qualified Spartak for the strongest team, Kazbek Tuayev went to help his compatriots. Although he scored 3 goals in 14 games that season, it was not enough for Spartak to remain in the elite, and Kazbek Tuayev, who did not want to play in the first team, returned to Neftchi. But age had its say. With no trace of the "UN trio" left, Tuayev looked like a lone wolf and could not lead the team.

He also took his first steps in coaching in his historical homeland - North Ossetia. He was the head coach of Spartak in 1973-78. After that, for four and a half years, Lankaran was at the helm of Khazar. Kazbek Aliyevich, who proved his coaching skills at Khazar, returned to Neftchi in 1983 as a head coach. He replaces Ahmad Alasgarov, who once won a bronze medal under his leadership. However, Tuayev's activity in "Neftchi" lasted only a year. After another failure, he was sent to resign. After that, the coach was separated from the master teams for a while and worked for more than 4 years at the children's and youth sports school of the "Neftchi" society.

Probably very few football fans are aware of Kazbek Tuayev's work in Tunisia. He achieved his first serious success in the "Black Continent" - became the champion of Tunisia. Tuayev, who was the head coach of "Neftchi" in 1983-1984, 1991, 1996-1997, 1998, 2001-2004, won the national championship in 1995/1996, 1996/1997 and 2003/2004 seasons, in 1995/1996, 2003/2004 seasons. won the country cup. It was under his leadership that our team won its first European Cup in 1996, defeating Lokomotiv Sofia 2-1 in the UEFA Cup, and won the stage for the first time in the 2003/2004 season. At that time, Neftchi beat Bosnia and Herzegovina's Shiroki Brijeg with an away goal (1: 2, 1: 0) and in the next round, they faced the future winner of the UEFA Cup, Moscow MOIK - 0: 0, 0: 2. .

It is interesting that our national team also got the first point in the time of Kazbek Aliyevich. In November 1995, our national team drew goalless with Poland in the qualifying match of the European Championship. Tuayev also brought the first victory to our national team in official matches. In August 1996, our national team defeated Switzerland 1-0 in a historic match thanks to a goal scored by Vidadi Rzayev.

Tuayev was awarded the Order of Glory in 2000. Kazbek Aliyevich, who is celebrating his 80th birthday these days, is the chairman of the Azerbaijan Football Coaches Union and a member of the AFFA Executive Committee.