Marked for Karlo Bartolec
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Astana heard it as anything else.
Squad13 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Da Silva wants to go home
“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 Astana know it.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
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 Karlo Bartolec is on it.
Match13 Dec 2027
Astana in the hunt for Europe
Position 5, 36 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Market13 Dec 2027
Astana have made Nnamdi Ahanonu available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Astana
Uroš Milovanović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Murodzhon Khalmatov, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Oiva Jukkola 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 Oiva Jukkola is on it.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Branimir Kalaica trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market29 Nov 2027
Astana have let the market know Aleksandr Shirobokov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Market29 Nov 2027
The Nikola Burić talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Astana know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Nov 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Astana have had the benefit of it.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Astana
Uroš Milovanović 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Astana are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Astana told Rauno Sappinen something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Uroš Milovanović has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Đorđe Milinković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Nov 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Astana can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Astana
Đorđe Milinković and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market15 Nov 2027
“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 dugout15 Nov 2027
Karlo Bartolec has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilja Marjasov, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
Nūrbergen Nūrbol is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Match15 Nov 2027
Astana in the hunt for Europe
Position 5, 36 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Astana would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Astana will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Nov 2027
“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 Astana know it.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Astana
Abzal Beisebekov 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
5 Astana players away with their countries
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 5 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Rauno Sappinen has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Astana would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market8 Nov 2027
The shop window has Oiva Jukkola in it
Astana have let the market know Oiva Jukkola can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Astana
Uroš Milovanović 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.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
Karlo Bartolec has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Nūrbergen Nūrbol's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrey Lagoda and Astana agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Squad27 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
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.
Market27 Sep 2027
Astana have made Nikola Burić available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Da Silva keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Astana may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market20 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Astana can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Nūrali Zhaqsylyq is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad20 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Astana can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
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 Karlo Bartolec is on it.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrey Lagoda
“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.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Match20 Sep 2027
Astana have something to play for
Position 5 on 36 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
No thanks: Melih Bostan rejects the move
Astana had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Sakaryaspor, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
An offer of $2.0M for Milán Tóth
Astana have gone to Vasas with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ordabasy have kept their man, and Astana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Astana hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Astana can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Astana
Abzal Beisebekov 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Karlo Bartolec has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad6 Sep 2027
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Astana know which stage they are at.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match9 Aug 2027
Astana finish in position 5
36 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Astana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kipras Kažukolovas and Astana agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Da Silva wants to go home
“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 Astana know it.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Astana
Đorđe Milinković 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
It needed Rauno Sappinen to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Kairat, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
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.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Oiva Jukkola commits to Astana for another 4 years.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Astana
Ramazan Kärimov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Astana can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mükhammedzhan Seisen, and the manager let it.
Match10 Jul 2027
No time for Akzhaiyk to settle
The goal that put Akzhaiyk ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Astana equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Godoy Cruz: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Match10 Jul 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Akzhaiyk leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Jun 2027
A 2-goal lead gone for Astana
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Aktobe kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Astana will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Älibek Qasym in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Jun 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Da Silva wants to go home
“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 Astana know it.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 2‑3 Timur Beysebekov left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Ian Vorogovskiy
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Ian Vorogovskiy has come out of that comparison in the side, and Astana have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Nikola Burić
“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.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
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 dugout7 Jun 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Astana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Astana
Kipras Kažukolovas 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.
Match15 May 2027
Three points for Astana, 1‑0 the final word against Zhetysu in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad17 May 2027
“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 Astana know it.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Marked 7.88. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout17 May 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Astana told Kipras Kažukolovas something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Timur Beysebekov kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout17 May 2027
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 dugout17 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Astana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead17 May 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Kairat in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Astana
Ramazan Kärimov 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.
Match8 May 2027
Astana come up short against Tobol
Tobol left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad10 May 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Astana can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Match8 May 2027
After 4 games, Astana finally taste it again
The first defeat in 4 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Tobol; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
The dugout10 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Timur Beysebekov to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout10 May 2027
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 Karlo Bartolec is on it.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Oiva Jukkola beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout10 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Astana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead10 May 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Zhetysu in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A brace, and Ramazan Kärimov takes the afternoon — 8.91
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ramazan Kärimov provided it, and the 8.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Astana
Älibek Qasym and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match10 Apr 2027
Three points for Astana, 2‑0 the final word against Shakhter in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Da Silva signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Da Silva commits to Astana for another 3 years.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikola Burić, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Too much change too quickly at Astana
5 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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Branimir Kalaica: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Astana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Mar 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Lucas Cano’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Astana.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad22 Mar 2027
5 Astana players away with their countries
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 5 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Astana are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
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 dugout22 Mar 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Mar 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Astana are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“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.
Match13 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market15 Mar 2027
“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 dugout15 Mar 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Timur Beysebekov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Astana
Đorđe Milinković and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
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 Karlo Bartolec is on it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Astana man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Ramazan Kärimov was the best thing in any of them.
Looking ahead15 Mar 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Mükhammedzhan Seisen’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Astana needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.66 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Market8 Mar 2027
So close: Josip Čondrić’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Kairat moved on, Josip Čondrić reports back to Astana, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rauno Sappinen commits to Astana for another 3 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Astana are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Älibek Qasym in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
5 academy graduates step up at Astana
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Transfer targets8 Mar 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olimpia have kept their man, and Astana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market8 Mar 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Baktiyor Orazov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Feb 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Taraz waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Astana is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Astana have gone to Wisla Krakow with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Astana asked and Vasas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Astana
Ramazan Kärimov 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Da Silva wants to go home
“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 Astana know it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Too much change too quickly at Astana
5 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Feb 2027
Astana say no — this time
The offer from Tobol for Nnamdi Ahanonu 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Astana
Ramazan Kärimov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Astana asked and Shakhter said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad1 Feb 2027
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
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 Abzal Beisebekov is on it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Astana has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
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Boardroom
Open for business: Astana enter the window
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Squad
Somebody is after Lucas Cano’s shirt
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The dugout
The manager comes out for Josip Čondrić
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Astana
Älibek Qasym and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market18 Jan 2027
Đorđe Milinković is 19, and Astana have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Karlo Bartolec keeps the shirt for now, at Astana's convenience rather than his own.
Market18 Jan 2027
The Nikola Burić story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nikola Burić signs something — a contract at Astana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Jan 2027
Älibek Qasym in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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 dugout11 Jan 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Astana told Nūrali Zhaqsylyq something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Astana are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad28 Dec 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 Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Astana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Burić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 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 Ramazan Kärimov is on it.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Branimir Kalaica 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Astana that is a harder question to answer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Astana
Ramazan Kärimov 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Astana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Benjamín González was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mükhammedzhan Seisen, and the manager let it.
Market21 Dec 2026
He is 20, and nobody at Astana signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Rauno Sappinen has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Astana will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Astana
Benjamín González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Dec 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout14 Dec 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Gafurzhan Taykenov 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Da Silva needs a bigger stage
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Astana know which stage they are at.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Nov 2026
Astana bow out of the cup
Kairat go through and Astana go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Astana
Älibek Qasym and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Astana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamín González is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The team sheet said everything about Lucas Cano
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Lucas Cano.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Timur Beysebekov to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Rauno Sappinen has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
Market23 Nov 2026
The clock does Branimir Kalaica’s negotiating for him
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Astana could ask drops and the wages Branimir Kalaica can ask rise.
Squad23 Nov 2026
At 31 he is in the side on merit and somebody else is watching. Places at Astana are won quietly and lost loudly, and this one was won.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Nov 2026
Älibek Qasym in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Nikola Burić 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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Astana
Karlo Bartolec and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Astana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamín González is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A quiet fortnight at Astana
With 6 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The dugout9 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout9 Nov 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 Astana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 39 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Benjamín González 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Astana
Iván Ojeda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Astana
Älibek Qasym and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Benjamín González 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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
9 new faces, and Astana 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
Marin Tomasov has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“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
Upbeat
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Astana
Karlo Bartolec 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Astana will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Karlo Bartolec has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Astana 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Gafurzhan Taykenov 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Branimir Kalaica 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Astana would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad3 Aug 2026
388 appearances across 14 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Astana know what they have.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Age has not caught Marin Tomasov yet — 8.17
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.17 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Marin Tomasov commits to Astana for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 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 Astana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The offer went to Ordabasy this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Match1 Aug 2026
A 3‑1 win over Zhetysu, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Astana
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Burić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sabah have kept their man, and Astana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.