History, facts and stories: getting to know Kairat Almaty

HISTORY AND HERITAGE: KAIRAT ALMATY

Kairat Almaty are one of the most distinctive clubs in the competition: the Kazakh side represent the most distant city ever to take part in the Champions League — around ten hours by air from any other team in this year’s tournament. Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, lies in the far southeast of the country near the borders with Kyrgyzstan and China, some 6,729 km from Milan.

Nestled at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains, which soar above 7,000 metres, Almaty means “the place of apples” — a reference to an ancient legend in which the spirits of the mountains gifted apples to humankind. Indeed, the region is home to the Malus sieversii, considered the wild ancestor of all cultivated apples, believed to have spread worldwide via Silk Road trade routes.

Football arrived early here. The club was founded in 1954 under the name Lokomotiv, representing the local railway company, before adopting the name Kairat in 1956 — a Kazakh word meaning “strength” or “courage.” During the Soviet era, Kairat became a symbol of Kazakh football at national level. Since independence, they have gone on to win five league titles, ten domestic cups and three Super Cups.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DEBUT AND DOMESTIC DOMINANCE

Kairat are only the second Kazakh club ever to compete in the Champions League, following rivals Astana’s debut in 2015/16. After several years of preliminary rounds across European competitions, including a group-stage appearance in the 2021/22 Conference League, Kairat reached this season’s league phase by eliminating Olimpija Ljubljana, Kuopion Palloseura, Slovan Bratislava and notably Celtic in the qualifiers. Their first three matches in the competition yielded a 4-1 defeat away to Sporting Lisbon, a 0-5 home loss to Real Madrid, and a historic first point with a 0-0 draw against Pafos.

The team, coached by Rafael Urazbakhtin, is currently inactive following the end of the Kazakh league season, which Kairat won for the second year running. Their top scorer is 17-year-old Kazakh forward Dastan Satpaev, who netted 14 goals in the league and three more in the Champions League qualifiers. Kairat typically line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and boast a squad featuring eight different nationalities: alongside Kazakhstan, there are players from Russia, Belarus, Serbia, Israel, Georgia, Portugal and Brazil.