In early May of 2025, DFK Dainava broke the way with Sergey Kuznetsov Belarusian specialist who had previously coached the team. Now an experienced strategist is leading the club from Turkmenistan, Mergen Orazov, who has also managed the national football team since 2023.
M. Orazov has the highest level of UEFA Pro license and more than five years of experience working with professional club and national teams. His coaching career began in Ashgabat, where he worked at the Altyn Asyr club (assistant), later he led the Kopedag and Ahal teams as head coach. Under the leadership of M. Orazov, the Ahal club became the champion of the country for the first time in history, won the Cup and Super Cup tournaments, and won the right to participate in the Asian Champions League. For these achievements in 2022, the coach was elected the best football coach of Turkmenistan of the year.
In addition to working in Turkmenistan, M. Orazov has also gained experience abroad, interning at the Villarreal academy and with the Portuguese national team.
“I believe in structured play from the defensive line, controlling the rhythm of the game and creating positional advantages all over the pitch. I try to teach the team to make decisions based on principles and creativity, with a clear goal. I want the team to be dominant with the ball, but also disciplined and aggressive without it,” says the coach about his football philosophy.
M. Orazov notes about the DFK Dainava team that he sees a strong character and potential for growth:
“This is a team ready to accept new tactical ideas and strive for a higher level. I believe that with the right mindset and structure, we can raise standards and compete at a higher level.”
“We will try to build a team that plays with courage and confidence. Our style of play will be based on structured ball control, patient attack development and controlled pressing. I want this to be a team that knows how to create chances through collective play and understands how to defend and maintain control,” also says M. Orazov.
According to the coach, modern football requires balance and flexibility. “Our defensive organization will start with how we position ourselves when we have the ball. A good attack helps the defense, and vice versa. The most important thing is to control the ball, the transitions and always be ready to protect the space behind the defenders.”
“Results are always important, but long-term achievements only come with a clear game model and quality play. If the quality is high, the results will follow,” the coach is convinced.
We need to mention that the DFK Dainava football team is one of the highest Lithuanian football club from Alytus.
