Marked for Abzal Baizhanov
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Ordabasy can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say El'khan Astanov is on it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Ordabasy than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Abzal Baizhanov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market7 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Aleksa Amanović’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market30 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Ordabasy they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Ordabasy know it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Abzal Baizhanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Ordabasy
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Amanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Abzal Baizhanov asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The word out of the training ground is that he has been the sharpest man there all week. It is the quietest story a paper carries and it usually runs the week before somebody's run in the side begins.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Boardroom23 Nov 2026
This is the season the town will measure the next twenty against. The trophy travels home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
Match18 Nov 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Everton Moraes obliged against Aktobe. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Ordabasy.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.97, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match18 Nov 2026
Ordabasy strike at the death to beat Aktobe
There were 89 minutes on the clock and Aktobe had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Ordabasy did not stop to explain themselves.
Match18 Nov 2026
Nobody wants to play Ordabasy right now
6 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Match18 Nov 2026
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Ordabasy. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Aleksa Amanović falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Ordabasy
Everton Moraes and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Zikrillo Sūltaniiazov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
In brief
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Loan watch
Abzal Baizhanov counts the days
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
When it matters, Léo Natel plays
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
47 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Akzhaiyk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Abzal Baizhanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bruno Grassi, and the manager let it.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Irtysh to sit and watch. I want to come back to Akzhaiyk and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Akzhaiyk, another week without a signature from Victor Chuvilov.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Serikzhan Nurgaliev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
Abzal Baizhanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Akzhaiyk, another week without a signature from Alexandr Seraskhov.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Bruno Grassi knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Akzhaiyk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Akzhaiyk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rinat Nurgaliev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Akzhaiyk the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
El'khan Astanov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Ordabasy, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Léo Natel has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ordabasy will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Abzal Baizhanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Akzhaiyk
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
“I watch every Akzhaiyk game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Irtysh runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Abzal Baizhanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I watch every Akzhaiyk game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Irtysh runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bruno Grassi and Akzhaiyk agree another 1 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Sep 2026
Tidiane Keita was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Ordabasy
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Amanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets28 Sep 2026
Ordabasy asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Akzhaiyk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Ordabasy and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Léo Natel gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Léo Natel is on it.
Market28 Sep 2026
The name of Aleksa Amanović keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Ordabasy say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Sep 2026
Akzhaiyk say no — this time
The offer from Tobol for Ruslan Gorshkov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Abzal Baizhanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Victor Chuvilov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad21 Sep 2026
6 new faces, and Akzhaiyk are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Azat Dosmagambetov is on it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Akzhaiyk have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Market21 Sep 2026
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Lev Kurgin arrives from Kairat with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Erbol Shomko asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market21 Sep 2026
Akzhaiyk spent the window trying to move Erbol Shomko on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Sep 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 5 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at Akzhaiyk until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The paperwork begins on Lev Kurgin
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Akzhaiyk have done the hard part with Kairat, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Akzhaiyk
Abzal Baizhanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market14 Sep 2026
The phone has started ringing about Ruslan Gorshkov again, and this time the name on the line is Tobol. Akzhaiyk are listening politely and promising nothing.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Irtysh to sit and watch. I want to come back to Akzhaiyk and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Akzhaiyk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rinat Nurgaliev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market14 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Akzhaiyk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Sep 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Maxim Tagybergen
111 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Akzhaiyk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Abzal Baizhanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market7 Sep 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Akzhaiyk, another week without a signature from Alexandr Seraskhov.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Lev Ushakov named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Lev Ushakov is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Aug 2026
Maxim Tagybergen damages knee ligaments — 118 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 118 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market31 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Akzhaiyk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 Aug 2026
39 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Akzhaiyk
1‑3 against Tobol, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market17 Aug 2026
The name of Erbol Shomko has come up in conversations Akzhaiyk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The deal with Ordabasy is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Akzhaiyk
Erbol Shomko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marat Orazov, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Erbol Murtazaev commits to Akzhaiyk for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match12 Aug 2026
At 3 goals adrift this was a formality, and the formality lasted right up until it did not. Ordabasy found something the first half had given no notice of, and Zhetysu could not hold what they had.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.28, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Abzal Baizhanov could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.64
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.64, 0 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Market17 Aug 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Ordabasy have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad17 Aug 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market17 Aug 2026
Shakhter come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Ordabasy did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match12 Aug 2026
Ordabasy cannot stop winning
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Nobody could get near Léo Natel
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.