Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Beknaz Almazbekovich Almazbekov | ||
Date of birth | 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.
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]
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]
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]
Almazbekov has named former Galatasaray player Wesley Sneijder as an inspiration to him. [12]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Kyrgyzstan | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
Total | 1 | 0 |
Galatasaray