Preview of FC Astana Ahead of Champions League Tie at Dinamo Brest

August 18, 2020

A brief look at Kazakh champions FC Astana, Dinamo Brest’s opposition in their first ever Champions League qualifier on Tuesday evening. Like all one-off qualifying ties in this year's Champions League the match will be played behind closed doors. Kick-off is 9pm local time ( 7pm UK time ) in Brest.

Formed : 2009 as Lokomotiv Astana, name changed in 2011

Championships :  6 ( the last 6 Kazakhstan championships )

Cup Winners : 3 times, last time in 2016

Location : Astana, now renamed Nur Sultan after the departing President Nursultan Nazarbayev  ( the Lukashenko of Kazakhstan, who decided to step down but remains influential )

Stadium : Astana Arena ( capacity 30,254 ). The early season league games in the snow and cold were played at the smaller Jas Qyran stadium which has an artificial pitch as the Astana Arena is undergoing repairs.

Colours : All Sky Blue, change kit All Yellow.

Coach : Michal Bilek ex Czechoslavakia & Sparta Prague midfielder ( 2 goals in Italia 90 ), also current coach of Kazakhstan

Current Season : Astana played three matches in March before the league was suspended :

Kaisar Qyzylorda H 4-0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOyPajVnH9U 

Ordabasy H 1-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK7VTbLYPnU

Kaspyi Akatu A 3-2  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nujUyjuWZ4k

The League restarted in July for one round of matches before being suspended again but Astana didn’t play. The league has resumed this week but Astana's next match is not scheduled until August 29^th.

Last Season in Europe :

Champions League – lost 2-3 on aggregate to CFR Cluj ( who went on to knock out Celtic )

Europa League – eliminated Andorran and Maltese opposition before beating BATE Borisov ( 3-0, 0-2 ). In Group stages beat a very inexperienced Manchester United 2-1 but lost 0-1 in Manchester to a slightly stronger side. Astana lost their other group matches with Partizan Belgrade and AZ Alkmaar.

In previous seasons Astana have recorded wins in European matches over Celtic, Slavia Prague, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Rennes, and draws with Sporting Lisbon, Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Olympiakos and Dynamo Kiev.

Squad :

Current Kazakh Internationals :

Dmytro Nepohodov – goalkeeper ( 32 ), 11 caps

Yuriy Logvinenko – centre back ( 32 ), 51 caps

Dimitri Shemko – left back ( 30 ), 45 caps. Third highest all-time appearances for Astana

Abzai Beisebekov – right back ( 27 ), 27 caps. Second highest all-time appearances for Astana

Yuriy Pertsukh – midfield ( 24 ), 12 caps

Former Kazakh Internationals

Nenad Eric – goalkeeper & captain ( 38 ), 8 caps. Record all-time appearances for Astana. Born in Serbia but a naturalised Kazakh citizen.

Yevgeny Postnikov – centre back ( 34 ), 8 caps. Ex Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Aleksey Shchotkin – forward ( 29 ), 27 caps

Foreign Players ( only 5 allowed in Kazakh Premier League matches )

Uros Radakovic – Serbian centre back ( 26 ). Recently signed on loan from Sparta Prague

Antonio Rukavina – Serbian right-back ( 36 ). 59 caps. Ex Borussia Dortmund and Villareal

Zarko Tomasevic – Montenegrin centre-back ( 30 ). 35 caps. Ex-Oostende

Luka Simunovic – Croatian centre back ( 23 ). Ex-Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Marin Tomasov – Croatian right winger ( 32 ). 1 cap. Ex-1860 Munchen. Top scorer in 2019 with 19 goals

Runar Mar Sigurjonsson – Icelandic midfielder ( 30 ). 25 caps. Ex-Grasshoppers

Tigran Barseghyan – Armenian midfielder ( 26 ). 27 caps

Max Ebong – Belarus midfielder ( 20 ). 2 caps. Ex- Shakhtyor Soligorsk

Ivan Maevski - Belarus midfielder ( 32 ). 34 caps. Ex-FK Minsk

Pieros Sotiriou – Cypriot striker ( 27 ). 40 caps. Ex- FC Copenhagen

Rangelo Janga – Curacao striker ( 28 ). 19 caps. Ex AA Gent. Was on loan to FC Lugano

Dorin Rotariu – Romanian forward ( 25 ). 10 caps.  Ex-Club Brugge

Summary : An experienced but ageing team capable of big results. There are four Belarussians in the squad and Astana knocked out BATE last season. The lack of match practice could be the decisive factor in favour of Dinamo Brest if the home team are now fully fit and have recovered from their COVID-19 break.