Latest news with #RafaelUrakhtin
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Will Kazakhstan's Kairat pose problem for Celtic?
Champions League play-off first leg: Celtic v Kairat Where: Celtic Park, Glasgow When: Wednesday 20 August Kick-off: 20:00 BST Coverage: Listen to Sportsound commentary on BBC Sounds and follow live on the BBC Sport website & app FC Kairat players began their long journey to Glasgow with a ringing sensation in their ears. A few days after scraping past Slovakia's Slovan Bratislava to set up a Champions League play-off against Celtic, they tossed away a 2-0 lead against Yelimay, losing 3-2 and with it their place at the top of the Kazakhstan Premier League. It was their first home defeat in eight games and that ringing was brought on by the words of head coach Rafael Urakhtin, who was furious at such a capitulation with just two months left of the Kazakh season. "It was a disappointing defeat for us," he lamented. "I believe that a team fighting for the championship has no right to make such mistakes. We made childish mistakes. "We have no time to grieve, we fly to Scotland for the next match." Plenty to ponder, then, for the Kairat squad as they made their 3,500-mile trip west from Almaty, which lies mere hours from the Chinese border. It has already been a fairly arduous adventure on the pitch for the reigning champions of a country that Celtic have got to know well over the last decade or so. Kairat overcame Slovenians Olimpija before coming from two goals down at the midway point of the tie in the second qualifying round against Finnish side KuPS. Then came the drama in Bratislava, as they emerged via a shoot-out amidst a raucous atmosphere in the Slovakian capital after going behind in the first half. Teenager Satpaev is main threat In 2002, Uefa granted a request from the Kazakh FA to take part in European competition despite the largest landlocked country in the world sitting in mid-Asia. Celtic have visited three times previously, including twice at this stage of Champions League qualifying, with memorable match-ups against Shakhter Karagandy and Astana. Kairat have had Scottish experience themselves, having knocked Aberdeen out of the Europa League a decade ago. Returning to the qualifying tournament in their bid to get back to Europe's top table is not ideal for Scotland's champions against the backdrop of a fading coefficient, but Brendan Rodgers' men will be big favourites. However, the warnings are there that Kairat may be no pushovers. The biggest danger to Celtic's ambitions comes in the shape of a 17-year-old. Dastan Satpaev has a big-money transfer to Chelsea to look forward to but is too young to make that move this year as per Fifa rules. He celebrated his 17th in Bratislava and will head to west London as soon as he turns 18 next August. Satpaev has 22 goal involvements for Kairat this season, scoring 13 of them himself, including three in the qualifiers. And despite his 5ft 5in frame, has a massive future on his hands whilst already a full international. Belarus international Valeriy Gromyko is another important player and is likely to be involved against Scotland in the upcoming World Cup qualifier in Hungary. This is not a fixture Celtic will be intimidated by, apart from the length of journey they will undertake for next week's return. Although the last time Callum McGregor and James Forrest were in Kazakhstan, it was for a Scotland team on the receiving end of a 3-0 humbling in 2019. Symbolically, the sight of Astana playing in the group stage of the Champions League in 2015 was massive for Kazakh football, with many feeling it justified Uefa's decision to grant them access. But, it remains the only time a club from the country has participated in the tournament. Kairat are desperate to become the second. What can Celtic learn from Aberdeen's Almaty trip? Latest Celtic news, analysis and fan views Get Celtic news notifications in the BBC Sport app
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Will Kazakhstan's Kairat pose problem for Celtic?
Champions League play-off first leg: Celtic v KairatWhere: Celtic Park, Glasgow When: Wednesday 20 August Kick-off: 20:00 BSTCoverage: Listen to Sportsound commentary on BBC Sounds and follow live on the BBC Sport website & app FC Kairat players began their long journey to Glasgow with a ringing sensation in their ears.A few days after scraping past Slovakia's Slovan Bratislava to set up a Champions League play-off against Celtic, they tossed away a 2-0 lead against Yelimay, losing 3-2 and with it their place at the top of the Kazakhstan Premier was their first home defeat in eight games and that ringing was brought on by the words of head coach Rafael Urakhtin, who was furious at such a capitulation with just two months left of the Kazakh season."It was a disappointing defeat for us," he lamented. "I believe that a team fighting for the championship has no right to make such mistakes. We made childish mistakes. "We have no time to grieve, we fly to Scotland for the next match."Plenty to ponder, then, for the Kairat squad as they made their 3,500-mile trip west from Almaty, which lies mere hours from the Chinese has already been a fairly arduous adventure on the pitch for the reigning champions of a country that Celtic have got to know well over the last decade or overcame Slovenians Olimpija before coming from two goals down at the midway point of the tie in the second qualifying round against Finnish side came the drama in Bratislava, as they emerged via a shoot-out amidst a raucous atmosphere in the Slovakian capital after going behind in the first half. Teenager Satpaev is main threat In 2002, Uefa granted a request from the Kazakh FA to take part in European competition despite the largest landlocked country in the world sitting in have visited three times previously, including twice at this stage of Champions League qualifying, with memorable match-ups against Shakhter Karagandy and have had Scottish experience themselves, having knocked Aberdeen out of the Europa League a decade to the qualifying tournament in their bid to get back to Europe's top table is not ideal for Scotland's champions against the backdrop of a fading coefficient, but Brendan Rodgers' men will be big the warnings are there that Kairat may be no pushovers. The biggest danger to Celtic's ambitions comes in the shape of a Satpaev has a big-money transfer to Chelsea to look forward to but is too young to make that move this year as per Fifa celebrated his 17th in Bratislava and will head to west London as soon as he turns 18 next has 22 goal involvements for Kairat this season, scoring 13 of them himself, including three in the qualifiers. And despite his 5ft 5in frame, has a massive future on his hands whilst already a full international Valeriy Gromyko is another important player and is likely to be involved against Scotland in the upcoming World Cup qualifier in is not a fixture Celtic will be intimidated by, apart from the length of journey they will undertake for next week's return. Although the last time Callum McGregor and James Forrest were in Kazakhstan, it was for a Scotland team on the receiving end of a 3-0 humbling in the sight of Astana playing in the group stage of the Champions League in 2015 was massive for Kazakh football, with many feeling it justified Uefa's decision to grant them it remains the only time a club from the country has participated in the tournament. Kairat are desperate to become the second.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Kairat boss suffers nightmare Celtic warm up as players blasted over 'childish' goals in title stumble
Rafael Urakhtin did not like what he saw from his men ahead of the mammoth journey to Glasgow for Champions League clash Rafael Urakhtin blasted his Kairat Almaty players for conceding 'childish goals' after they suffered an extraordinary collapse ahead of taking on Celtic in the Champions League. Celtic go head-to-head with the Kazakh dark horses on Wednesday for the £40million jackpot that comes with league phase qualification. But Kairat's preparation has been disastrous as they blew a two-goal lead at home to Yelimay Semey to lose 3-2. It's in stark contrast to Brendan Rodgers ' men, who blew Falkirk away on Friday night to book their spot in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals. It was only their third league loss in 20 matches and Urakhtin was far from happy ahead of the mammoth journey to Glasgow. He said: "We have no time to grieve about this result because we are preparing for a very important match in Scotland and have a long journey to make. "But it was a disappointing defeat for us. "We were a long way from our best defensively and we conceded childish goals. "If you are fighting for the league title, you cannot concede goals like this. "The players actually carried out the instructions for losing those goals. "We knew they would be difficult to break down, but we managed to do then we conceded stupid goals. "When my players perform well, I praise them, but when we make such basic mistakes like we did, then I have to point it out." You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
