Beknaz Almazbekov

Beknaz Almazbekov (Kyrgyz: Бекназ Алмазбеков; Russian: Бекназ Алмазбеков; born 23 June 2005) is a Kyrgyz footballer who plays as a forward for Turkish club Galatasaray.

Beknaz Almazbekov
Personal information
Full name Beknaz Almazbekov[1]
Date of birth (2005-06-23) 23 June 2005
Place of birth Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[1]
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Galatasaray
Number 44
Youth career
Alga Bishkek
2017– Galatasaray
International career‡
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Kyrgyzstan U16 3 (2)
2022– Kyrgyzstan U20 3 (1)
2022– Kyrgyzstan 2 (0)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 11 June 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Kyrgyzstan, Almazbekov moved to Turkey as a child, as his brother had received an offer to study at a university there.[2] He had played football in his homeland with Alga Bishkek, and was invited to join Galatasaray shortly after his arrival in Turkey.[3] As he was under 18 at the time, the move came under investigation from UEFA, who found no fault, as Almazbekov had not moved to Turkey solely for football-related purposes.[2]

In 2019, while playing for the Galatasaray youth team, he made international headlines by deliberately missing a penalty that he felt the referee had unfairly awarded to his team.[4][5] The following year, after continuing his good form with the Galatasaray youth teams, he was named by the AFC as one of the best young players in Central Asia.[6]

In February 2022, he was promoted to the first team at the age of 16.[7][8] He made his unofficial debut in a 3–1 friendly loss to Ukrainian side Dynamo Kyiv, as part of the Global Tour for Peace, coming on as a substitute for Emre Kılınç.[3]

In September of the same year, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2005 worldwide.[9]

International career

Almazbekov has represented Kyrgyzstan at youth international level.[1][6] In May 2022, he was called up to the senior Kyrgyzstan national football team for 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches.[10]

Personal life

Almazbekov has named former Galatasaray player Wesley Sneijder as an inspiration to him.[11]

Career statistics

International
As of matches played 28 September 2022.[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Kyrgyzstan 202210
Total10

References
  1. "Beknaz Almazbekov". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  2. "Beknaz Almazbekov kimdir ve kag yagindadir? Galatasaray'in yeni yildiz aday1 A Takim'la idmanda!" [Who is Beknaz Almazbekov and how old is he? Galatasaray's new star candidate is training with the A Team!]. spor.haber7.com (in Turkish). 15 April 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  3. "Кыргызстанский футболист дебютировал за турецкий «Галатасарай»" [Kyrgyz football player debuts for Turkish Galatasaray]. fergana.agency (in Russian). 15 April 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. "13-year-old Galatasaray player deliberately misses controversial penalty". shropshirestar.com. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. "Dünya Galatasaraylı Beknaz'ı konuşuyor" [The world is talking about Galatasaray's Beknaz]. cnnturk.com (in Turkish). 28 March 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  6. "АФК назвала лучших молодых футболистов Центральной Азии" [AFC named the best young players in Central Asia]. fergana.agency (in Russian). 19 March 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  7. "Футболист из Кыргызстана попал в основной состав турецкого топ-клуба" [A football player from Kyrgyzstan got into the main team of the Turkish top club]. 24.kg (in Russian). 8 February 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  8. "Бекназ Алмазбеков готовится дебютировать за "Галатасарай"" [Beknaz Almazbekov is preparing to make his debut for Galatasaray]. 01.kg (in Russian). 11 February 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  9. Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (28 September 2022). "Next Generation 2022: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  10. "Кубок Азии. Названы футболисты расширенного состава сборной Кыргызстана" [Asian Cup. The players of the extended composition of the national team of Kyrgyzstan were named]. 24.kg (in Russian). 23 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  11. "Beknaz Almazbekov: 'Sneijder'i örnek alıyorum'" [Beknaz Almazbekov: 'I take Sneijder as an example']. sporx.com (in Turkish). 14 April 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  12. Beknaz Almazbekov at National-Football-Teams.com
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