Great Grounds of Asia: West | Football News |
Kuala Lumpur: West Asia has some of the finest stadiums in the Continent, with these venues regularly playing host to AFC Asian Cup, AFC Champions League and AFC Cup matches.
Bishkek: Alexander Krestinin has left an indelible impact on football’s trajectory in the Kyrgyz Republic. What began with an offer to play in Central Asia in the twilight of his playing days has evolved into a career-defining football journey, culminating in unprecedented highs for the country’s national team.
A Russian national, Krestinin is now Kyrgyz Republic’s longest serving national team boss, while simultaneously coaching Premier League champions FC Dordoi, and led the nation to their first ever major tournament at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
In the first of a new series on the-AFC.com, Krestinin charts his course from the very beginning of his football career, including instant managerial success at PFC Neftchi Kockhor-Ata, transforming the fortunes of a national team, and – in his own words - how the Kyrgyz Republic became his Asian home.
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In the beginning
I started playing football in Krasnodar; the city where I was born.
At the age of seven, my grandmother took me to play. At the age of 15 I became part of the Russian national youth team and took part in the qualification round of the European Championship.
I signed my first professional contract with FC Kolos in Krasnodar very early, it happened when I was 15 years old, and I was still in school at that time. A month later I received a concrete proposal from the Belgian club Brugge. At the time, the Russian football agent involved worked with the Russian national team, but Kolos did not let me go. As a result, our cooperation with the agent ended, despite the fact that I played for the Russian national team the next two years. Therefore, if the cooperation with him had not ended, perhaps my football career would have been a little different.
Незабываемые эмоции!
Два года назад Национальная сборная Кыргызстана обыграла Мьянму и вышла впервые в истории на Кубок Азии
✔️Кыргызская Республика - Мьянма - 5:1 (2:0)
