Journey of a Keeper: The Story of Sherkhan Kalmurza, 7000km from Home

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Imagine traveling nearly 7,000 km for a UEFA Champions League match only to be called into action on the field. That’s exactly what happened to Sherkhan Kalmurza, Kairat’s third-string goalkeeper, last Thursday. In their inaugural UCL match, Kairat made the long journey from Almaty, Kazakhstan, to Lisbon, Portugal, to face Sporting. Before this match, the 18-year-old had only played 77 minutes of professional football.

Just last weekend, Kalmurza subbed in for Temirlan Anarbekov during Kairat’s 1-0 victory over league rivals Aktobe, marking a dream debut for the young goalkeeper. Due to Anarbekov’s injury, Kairat’s first-choice keeper, Aleksandr Zarutskiy, and Anarbekov were both unavailable for the match against Sporting, leaving Kalmurza as the team’s go-to choice.

Initially, it seemed like Kalmurza was on track for another impressive moment in his budding career. Just 21 minutes into the game, Kairat’s Aleksandr Mrynskiy conceded a penalty. Morten Hjulmand stepped forward to take the shot, but Kalmurza made a remarkable save. To put that in perspective, Hjulmand’s market value alone exceeds four times the total market value of the entire Kairat squad.

€420m Squad Value Difference – Sporting Overpowers Kairat in UCL Opener

With a total squad value of just €12.73 million, Kairat holds the title of the least valuable squad in this season’s Champions League. In stark contrast, their opponent Sporting boasts a squad value of €434.4 million. In fact, 13 players from Sporting have a market value that is higher than that of the entire Kairat team combined. Unfortunately, this discrepancy in resources became evident as the match unfolded, with Sporting scoring four goals—two from Francisco Trincão (44’ & 65’), and one each from Alisson Santos (67’) and Geovany Quenda (68’). Kairat’s lone goal came from Edmilson.