The 2018

FC Astana Astana Football Club () is a professional Association football, football club based in Astana. They play in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Football in Kazakhstan, Kazakh football. The club's home ground is the 30,000-seat As ...

season is the tenth successive season that the club will play in the

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy''), commonly referred to as the Kazakh Premier League or simply the Premier League, is a professional association football league in Kazakhstan and the highest level of the ...

, the highest tier of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

in Kazakhstan. Astana are defending Kazakhstan Premier League Champions, having been crowned Champions for the forth time the previous season. Astana will continue in the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

having finished second in their group at the end of the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

season. In the summer Astana will enter the Champions League, at the Second Qualifying Stage, and the

Kazakhstan Cup The Kazakhstan Cup is the main Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Kazakhstan Football (soccer), football, run by the Football Federation of Kazakhstan. The tournament was initially founded in 1936 as a competition for club ...

Season events

On 8 January, Stoilov signed a new contract with Astana, but left to take over the vacant

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

nation team Managers position on 1 March, with

Grigori Babayan Grigory Konstantinovich Babayan (; ; 2 April 1980) is a Kazakh football manager and a former player of Armenian descent, who is currently Head Coach of Astana. Career Club During his senior career he played for Kairat and Alma-Ata. Managerial ...

being announced as his interim replacement on the same day. On 1 June 2018, Astana announced

Roman Hryhorchuk Roman Yosypovych Hryhorchuk (; born 22 March 1965) is a Ukrainian professional football manager and former player. Early life Since the fourth grade, around 11 years of age, Hryhorchuk was interested in handball and competed for local village ...

as the club's new manager. On 25 June,

FC Tambov FC Tambov () was a Russian football team from Tambov. It last played in the Russian Premier League, having won promotion to the top division of Russian football in 2019, before dissolving in 2021. History FC Tambov started out on the professional ...

announced that

Marat Bystrov Marat Vyacheslavovich Bystrov (; born 19 June 1992) is a Kazakhstani football player who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Astana and Kazakhstan. Club career Bystrov made his professional debut in the Russian Professional Football League ...

had left to join Astana on a three-year contract, whilst also being rented to

FC Tobol FC Tobol () is a Kazakhstan, Kazakh professional association football, football club based at the Kostanay Central Stadium, Central Stadium in Kostanay. They have been members of the Kazakhstan Premier League since its foundation in 1992. In 20 ...

until the end of the 2018 season.

Igor Shitov Igor Sergeyevich Shitov, sometimes written Ihar Shytaw (; ; born 24 October 1986) is a Belarusian football coach and a former right back. He is an assistant coach with Minsk. Career Club On 5 July 2016, Shitov signed a two-year contract with Ka ...

left Astana on 3 July after his contract was not renewed, with Astana signing

Antonio Rukavina Antonio Rukavina (, ; born 26 January 1984) is a Serbian retired footballer who played as a right-back. Club career Rukavina started out at his local club Bežanija, making his senior debuts in the 2002–03 season, as they won promotion to the ...

and Richard Almeida the following day. On 12 July, Astana announced that

Junior Kabananga Junior Kabananga Kalonji (born 4 April 1989) is a Congolese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was a member of DR Congo national team. Club career Born in Kinshasa, Kabananga began his early career with FC MK Etanchéi ...

had re-joined Astana on a year-long loan deal from

Al-Nassr Al-Nassr Football Club () is a professional football club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The club competes in the Saudi Pro League, the top tier of the Saudi football league system. Al-Nassr is one of only three clubs to have participated ...

. On 14 July, Astana announced that Pedro Henrique had joined Astana on a year-long loan deal from

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. On 20 July, Astana announced the signing of

Rangelo Janga Rangelo Maria Janga (born 16 April 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Eindhoven. Born in the Netherlands, he plays for the Curaçao national team. Club career On 20 July 2018, Janga signed for Astana. On 17 Fe ...

from

KAA Gent Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (; English: ''Royal Athletic Association Ghent''), often simply known as Gent or by their nickname ' (), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football tea ...

. On 23 July, Astana announced that

Đorđe Despotović Đorđe Despotović (; born 4 March 1992) is a Serbian footballer who plays as a centre forward for Bosnian club Borac Banja Luka. Career In February 2015, Despotović moved on loan to FC Zhetysu for six-months. In July 2015 he went for anoth ...

and

Marko Stanojević Marko Stanojević (Serbian Cyrillic: Марко Станојевић; born 22 June 1988) is a Serbian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Dinamo Samarqand. Career Stanojević has played for Red Star in Serbia, and FK Laktaši in the Fir ...

had both left the club. On 27 July, Astana confirmed that their all-time leading goalscorer Patrick Twumasi had moved to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

club

Deportivo Alavés Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...

, the following day

Yuriy Pertsukh Yury Vladimirovich Pertsukh (; born 13 May 1996) is a Kazakhstani footballer who plays for Shakhter Karagandy and the Kazakhstan national football team. Career Club On 24 November 2017, FC Astana Astana Football Club () is a professional ...

was loaned to

Atyrau Atyrau (, ; , ; ), known until 1991 as Guryev (), is a city in Kazakhstan and the capital of Atyrau Region. Atyrau is a transcontinental city, at the mouth of the Ural River on the Caspian Sea, between Europe and Asia, west of Almaty and east o ...

. On 17 August, Hryhorchuk left Astana on compassionate leave with Grigori Babayan again stepping in as Caretaker Manager.

Squad

On loan

Transfers

In

Out

Loans in

Loans out

Released

Friendlies

Competitions

UEFA Europa League

Knockout phase

Super Cup

Premier League

Results summary

Results by round

Results

League table

Kazakhstan Cup

UEFA Champions League

Qualifying rounds

UEFA Europa League

Qualifying rounds

Group stage

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

, - , colspan="14", ''Players away from Astana on loan:'' , - , colspan="14", ''Players who left Astana during the season:''

Goal scorers

Clean sheets

Disciplinary record

References

External links

Official Website

Official VK
{{DEFAULTSORT:2018 Astana season FC Astana seasons

Astana Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. With a population of 1,423,726 within the city limits, it is the second-largest in the country after Almaty, which had been the capital until 1997. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim ...