Beknaz Almazbekov (Kyrgyz: Бекназ Алмазбеков; born 23 June 2005) is a Kyrgyz footballer who currently plays as a forward for Galatasaray.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | (2005-06-23) 23 June 2005 (age 17) | ||
Place of birth | Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan[1] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Galatasaray | ||
Number | 44 | ||
Youth career | |||
Team | |||
Alga Bishkek | |||
2017– | Galatasaray | ||
National team‡ | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2022– | Kyrgyzstan | 1 | (0) |
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 11 June 2022 (UTC) |
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 has represented Kyrgyzstan at youth international level.[6] In May 2022, he was called up to the senior Kyrgyzstan national football team for 2023 AFC Asian Cup qualification matches.[10]
Almazbekov has named former Galatasaray player Wesley Sneijder as an inspiration to him.[11]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Kyrgyzstan | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
Total | 1 | 0 |