Midfielder Madi Zhakipbaev, 21, played his first game for Zalgiris at the training camp in Lithuania. The correspondent of bbabo.net spoke about what the player of the youth national team of Kazakhstan is known for in his homeland.
The pupil of "Astana" went to Lithuania last week to have a trial in one of the most titled clubs in the country. Zalgiris is coached by Kazakhstani specialist Vladimir Cheburin, and this has become an important factor.
The young footballer made himself known at school age, playing for the team of the Republican College of Sports (RCS) and being called up to the youth teams of Kazakhstan of various age categories. Then many talented footballers of that generation played in the same team with Zhakipbaev: Sultan Sagnaev, Vyacheslav Shvyrev, Sagi Council, Andrey Ulshin and others.
From the second half of 2015, Madi began to play as part of Astana. In autumn, he played in the group stage of the UEFA Youth League, having played four games. The experience is good, but the result is one that the Astana players, who then played for the youth team against talents from Atlético or Benfica, hardly want to remember.
On March 12, 2016, he appeared on the field in a KPL match, coming on as a substitute at the age of 15 years, 11 months and 21 days, thus becoming the youngest debutant in the history of the club. This record has not been broken to this day.
In his debut full-fledged season for Astana, Zhakipbaev played two matches in the KPL, he recorded the same number of games in the asset in the Cup of Kazakhstan. The young midfielder spent most of the campaign in the second league, where he scored five goals in 11 meetings. In parallel, Madi played steadily and confidently as part of the youth team under 17 years old.
In the following years, Zhakipbaev was never able to gain a foothold at the heart of the capital. This was facilitated by the high goals of the club, as a result of which the coaching staff did not trust the young pupils in terms of playing time. Another problem is injuries, which from time, but tormented the football player.
In the period from 2017 to 2021, Zhakipbaev played seven more matches for the base of Astana, and two more meetings for Shakhtar during a six-month loan in 2018. During the same time, Madi made 47 appearances for clubs in the first and second leagues, scoring 15 goals. The midfielder has been benched in four European competitions, including a memorable 2-1 win against Manchester United.
The football player showed himself great in the youth team under 19, where he often scored and even earned the captain's armband. In the youth team, he played three more meetings in 2020, but did not score goals.
The last two seasons have been especially difficult. In 2020, everyone had problems due to the pandemic and a blurry season. Zhakipbaev was supposed to play in the first league, but in the end one of the two youth teams in the capital had to be disbanded. As a result, the football player ended up at the base, but the coaching staff did not particularly trust the guy, releasing him only four times.
In 2021, he played only one match, playing an incomplete game in the second league. But if in 2015 he was the youngest, now he has found himself in the role of one of the "veterans" of the backup team. Then Zhakipbaev again began to experience serious health problems, and he needed an operation.
Due to the consequences of surgery, he had to miss the rest of the season, he was left without playing practice for almost a year.
And only in 2022, Zhakipbaev left Astana and no longer on loan, but completely. He was released from a contract with six-time national champions and opted to continue his career in a foreign championship.
The first match for "Zalgiris" was successful for Zhakipbaev. Cheburin's wards defeated another Lithuanian team "Riteriai" - 3:0. The young Kazakh came out at the start, almost scored (the defender knocked the ball out of an empty net), and also took part in one of the green-and-white scoring attacks. Now, if Madi continues in the same spirit, he will definitely please his countrymen with his permanent stay in foreign championship. At such moments, when most of the Kazakhs who played in foreign clubs come back, you rejoice even more for those who are not afraid of new challenges, especially after such difficult seasons.
Football genes and scorer flair. What you need to know about the 20-year-old newcomer to the Kazakhstan national team
Photo: FC "Astana"
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