Eldor Shomurodov

Eldor Azamat oʻgʻli Shomurodov (born 29 June 1995) is an Uzbek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Roma. He also captains the Uzbekistan national team.

Eldor Shomurodov
Personal information
Full nameEldor Azamat oʻgʻli Shomurodov[1]
Date of birth (1995-06-29) 29 June 1995 (age 29)
Place of birthJarqoʻrgʻon, Uzbekistan[1]
Height1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s)Forward
Team information
Current team
Roma
Number61
Youth career
2011–2013Mash'al Mubarek
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2014–2015Mash'al Mubarek9(0)
2015–2017Bunyodkor66(18)
2017–2020Rostov80(16)
2020–2021Genoa31(8)
2021–Roma34(3)
2023Spezia (loan)15(1)
2023–Cagliari (loan)22(3)
International career
2014Uzbekistan U195(1)
2015Uzbekistan U205(2)
2015–Uzbekistan73(40)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:17, 19 May 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 June 2024

Shomurodov played in his homeland for Mash'al Mubarek and Bunyodkor before spending three years with Rostov in the Russian Premier League. In 2020, he moved to Genoa in Serie A for €8 million and a year later Roma for €17.5 million. After helping the under-20 team to the quarter-finals of the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup, he made his full international debut later that year and represented the country at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

Club career

Early career

Born in Jarqoʻrgʻon, Shomurodov played for Mash'al Mubarek and Bunyodkor. On 15 July 2017, he moved to Russian Premier League club Rostov. His most prolific season was his last, with 11 goals in 2019–20.[3]

Genoa

On 1 October 2020, Shomurodov completed an €8 million move to Serie A club Genoa. He became the second Uzbek to play in Serie A, after Ilyos Zeytulayev, whose teams also included Genoa.[3] He made his debut on 19 October in a goalless draw at Hellas Verona, being substituted for Gianluca Scamacca after 63 minutes;[4] his first goal on 30 November was consolation in a 2–1 home loss to Parma.[5] He scored eight times in his one season at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, including two in a 4–3 home loss to Atalanta on 15 May 2021.[6]

Roma

On 2 August 2021, Roma announced the acquisition of Shomurodov on a five-year contract for €17.5 million plus bonuses.[7] He debuted 17 days later in José Mourinho's first game as manager, away to Trabzonspor in the first leg of the UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs. He started the game and scored the decisive goal of a 2–1 win.[8] Mainly a substitute in his first season, he scored three league goals, starting with an equaliser in a 3–2 loss at Venezia on 7 November.[9] He went on to become the first-ever Uzbek football player to win a major UEFA competition, as his club triumphed in the 2022 UEFA Europa Conference League Final, for which he was a last-minute substitute.[10]

On 30 January 2023, Spezia signed Shomurodov on loan until the end of the season.[11]

On 27 July 2023, recently-promoted to Serie A side Cagliari announced the signing of Shomurodov from Roma on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent.[12] He's back to Roma after a year-loan from Cagliari in summer 2024.

International career

Youth

Shomurodov played for the Uzbekistan U19 in the 2014 AFC U-19 Championship and qualified to 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He played in all five matches of U-20 team at the 2015 U-20 World Cup and scored two goals for the quarter-finalists.[13]

Shomurodov and two teammates were listed as nominees for best young players of Asia by AFC in 2015.[citation needed]

Senior

Shomurodov was called to senior national team to play on 3 September 2015 in 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Yemen. He made his official debut in that match.[14] On 8 October 2015, he scored his first goal for the national team in a World Cup qualifying away match against Bahrain, securing a 4–0 victory for the Uzbek side.[citation needed]

Shomurodov was part of the squad that manager Héctor Cúper took to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates. He came off the bench to score a late winner in a 2–1 opening victory over Oman,[15] and followed it by scoring twice in a 4–0 win over neighbours Turkmenistan as a starter.[16] In the last group game, he opened a 2–1 loss to Japan as both teams progressed.[17]

On 29 March 2022, Shomurodov scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 win over Uganda in the Nowruz Cup final.[18] He added another three goals on 11 June against the Maldives in a 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualifier;[19] his ten goals in that successful qualification campaign made him the second highest scorer behind Ali Mabkhout of the United Arab Emirates.[20]

On 14 June 2023, Shomurodov scored a brace in a 2–0 victory over Turkmenistan during the CAFA Nations Cup, in which he became his country's all-time top scorer with 36 goals, breaking previous record of Maxim Shatskikh.[21]

Style of play

Shomurodov is a striker capable of both scoring and providing assists and who can vary across the offensive front.[22][23][3] Shomurodov is capable of strong accelerations and progressions on the run,[24] he is also physically strong, he can attack space, has good dynamism and is skilled in aerial play.[25]

For his quality his nickname is "the Uzbek Messi".[3] He studied the games of Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres as a child.[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 19 May 2024[26]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup[a]ContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Mash'al Mubarek2014Uzbekistan Super League900090
Bunyodkor2015Uzbekistan Super League257514[b]01[c]23510
2016Uzbekistan Super League2710507[b]2003912
2017Uzbekistan Super League141306[b]100232
Total6618131173129724
Rostov2017–18Russian Premier League18220202
2018–19Russian Premier League26361324
2019–20Russian Premier League2811203011
2020–21Russian Premier League80001[d]191
Total8016101119118
Genoa2020–21Serie A3181000328
Roma2021–22Serie A2831111[e]1405
2022–23Serie A60002[d]181
Total34311132486
Spezia (loan)2022–23Serie A1511[f]0161
Cagliari (loan)2023–24Serie A22320243
Career total254492633162231360

International

As of match played 11 June 2024[27]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Uzbekistan201521
2016123
201772
201870
20191413
202011
202182
20221011
202385
202442
Total7340
Scores and results list Uzbekistan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Shomurodov goal.[27][28]
List of international goals scored by Eldor Shomurodov
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
18 October 2015Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain  Bahrain4–04–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
214 February 2016Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Lebanon1–02–0Friendly
37 June 2016Thermenstadion, Bad Waltersdorf, Austria  Canada1–11–2
424 July 2016Bunyodkor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Iraq2–02–1
524 January 2017The Sevens Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Georgia1–02–2
62–2
79 January 2019Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates  Oman2–12–12019 AFC Asian Cup
813 January 2019Al-Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Turkmenistan2–04–0
94–0
1017 January 2019Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates  Japan1–01–2
1125 March 2019Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China  China1–01–02019 China Cup
1211 June 2019Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Syria1–02–0Friendly
132–0
1410 October 2019Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Yemen2–05–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
1515 October 2019National Stadium, Kallang, Singapore  Singapore2–13–1
163–1
1714 November 2019Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Saudi Arabia1–02–3
1819 November 2019  Palestine1–02–0
192–0
208 October 2020  Iran1–21–2Friendly
217 June 2021King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Singapore3–05–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification
225 September 2021Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden  Sweden1–21–2Friendly
2327 January 2022The Sevens Stadiums, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  South Sudan1–03–0
242–0
2525 March 2022Markaziy Stadium, Namangan, Uzbekistan  Kyrgyzstan1–13–12022 Nowruz Cup
2629 March 2022  Uganda2–04–2
273–1
284–1
2911 June 2022  Maldives1–04–02023 AFC Asian Cup qualification
302–0
313–0
3227 September 2022Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea  Costa Rica1–01–2Friendly
3316 November 2022Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Kazakhstan2–02–0
3424 March 2023King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  Bolivia1–01–0
3514 June 2023Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan  Turkmenistan1–02–02023 CAFA Nations Cup
362–0
3717 June 2023  Tajikistan2–15–1
3816 November 2023Ashgabat Stadium, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan  Turkmenistan3–13–12026 FIFA World Cup qualification
3921 March 2024Mong Kok Stadium, Hong Kong  Hong Kong1–02–0
4026 March 2024Milliy Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan1–03–0

Honours

Mash'al

  • UzPFL Cup: 2014

Roma

Individual

References