Beknaz Almazbekovich Almazbekov (; ; born 23 June 2005) is a Kyrgyz professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays as a
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
*Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Smal ...
for
Ukrainian Premier League
The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system.
Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...
club
Rukh Lviv.
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.
He had played football in his homeland with
Alga Bishkek
Football Club Alga Bishkek (') is a Kyrgyz professional football club based in Bishkek, that competes in the Kyrgyz Premier League, the top flight of Football in Kyrgyzstan. The club plays its home games at Dynamo Stadion.
History
Alga Bishkek ...
, and was invited to join
Galatasaray
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...
shortly after his arrival in Turkey.
As he was under 18 at the time, the move came under investigation from
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
, who found no fault, as Almazbekov had not moved to Turkey solely for football-related purposes.
[
]
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. 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.Dynamo Kyiv
The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...
, as part of the Global Tour for Peace, coming on as a substitute for Emre Kılınç
Emre Kılınç (born 23 August 1994) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as a winger for Samsunspor.
Professional career
Sivasspor
Emre signed for Sivasspor after five successful seasons for Boluspor in the TFF First League.
Emre ...
.[
In September of the same year, he was named by English newspaper ''The Guardian'' as one of the best players born in 2005 worldwide.
]
KF Llapi
On 1 September 2024, it was announced that Almazbekov was transferred to KF Llapi
Klubi Futbollistik Llapi (Football Club Llapi), commonly known as Llapi, is a professional Football team, football club based in Podujevë, Kosovo.
The club plays in the Football Superleague of Kosovo, which is the top tier of football in the cou ...
of the Kosovo Superleague. The player then signed a three-year contract with the club.
International career
Almazbekov has represented Kyrgyzstan at youth international level.[ In May 2022, he was called up to the senior ]national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
for 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification
The 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification was the qualification process organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to determine the participating teams for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, the 18th edition of the international men's football champions ...
matches.
Personal life
Almazbekov has named former Galatasaray player Wesley Sneijder
Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer. Noted for his playmaking ability, he was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime.
A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Sneijder started ...
as an inspiration to him.
Career statistics
International
Honours
Galatasaray
* Süper Lig
The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...
: 2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almazbekov, Beknaz
2005 births
Living people
Footballers from Bishkek
Kyrgyzstani men's footballers
Kyrgyzstan men's youth international footballers
Kyrgyzstan men's international footballers
Men's association football forwards
FC Alga Bishkek players
Galatasaray S.K. footballers
KF Llapi players
FC Rukh Lviv players
Football Superleague of Kosovo players
Ukrainian Premier League players
Kyrgyzstani expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Kyrgyzstani expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Expatriate men's footballers in Kosovo
Kyrgyzstani expatriate sportspeople in Kosovo
Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine
Kyrgyzstani expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine
2023 AFC Asian Cup players
21st-century Kyrgyzstani sportsmen