Beknaz Almazbekov
Personal information
Full name Beknaz Almazbekovich Almazbekov
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)

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

Club career

Bishkek

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]

Galatasaray

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]

Almazbekov became the champion in the Süper Lig in the 2022–23 season with the Galatasaray team. Defeating Ankaragücü 4-1 away in the match played in the 36th week on 30 May 2023, Galatasaray secured the lead with 2 weeks before the end and won the 23rd championship in its history.[10]

International career

Almazbekov has represented Kyrgyzstan at youth international level.[1][6] In May 2022, he was called up to the senior national team for 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches.[11]

Personal life

Almazbekov has named former Galatasaray player Wesley Sneijder as an inspiration to him.[12]

Career statistics

International

As of matches played 28 September 2022.[13]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Kyrgyzstan 202210
Total10

Honours

Galatasaray

References

  1. 1 2 "Beknaz Almazbekov". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  2. 1 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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Turkish Super Lig: Galatasaray win title for 23rd time after beating Ankaragucu 4-1". BBC Sport. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ Beknaz Almazbekov at National-Football-Teams.com
  14. ↑ "CUMHURİYETİN YÜZÜ, TÜRKİYE'NİN EN BÜYÜĞÜ, ŞAMPİYON GALATASARAY!". Galatasaray S.K. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
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