Alexander Uvarov, Maccabi Tel Aviv's goalkeeping coach, came to Israel in 1991. He joined the team after ten years with Dynamo Moscow, which won the Soviet Cup in that time. One year before landing in Israel, Ubarov stood in the Soviet goal in the 1990 World Cup games in Italy. After a slow start wearing the yellow uniform, the goalkeeper became a main factor in the defense of Maccabi Tel Aviv, which completed the season with its first championship in 13 years. After 220 appearances, three championships and two national cups, the goalkeeper retired in the summer of 2000 and became the team's goalkeeping coach. Uvarov also served as the goalkeeping coach for the national team until the summer of 2012, when coach Eli Gutman appointed Giora Antman in his place.