Located well beyond most people’s idea of the frontiers of Europe, far-flung Kazakhstan side Shakhter Karagandy are a match away from reaching the group stages of the Champions League with a little help from ritual sheep sacrifices and a chain-smoking manager.
Kazakhstan’s reigning champions Shakhter, who hail from the country’s industrial centre Karagandy, produced a sensation in the first leg of the Champions League play-offs by beating 2-0 Scottish giants Celtic.
They head to Glasgow for the second leg with every chance of making it to the group stage of Europe’s most lucrative club competition and forcing top sides to make the long and arduous journey out to the heart of Central Asia for away games.
“Nothing is decided yet in the clash with Celtic, even though we won the first leg match,” Shakhter manager Viktor Kumykov told reporters in Kazakhstan.
“The club from Glasgow are experienced European Cup fighters as they are without doubt a classy outfit.
“I think they’re still the favourites. We all are preparing for a very tough match at Celtic Park on Wednesday,” he said.
The coach — famed for being a heavy smoker for almost 35 years — added that he was ready to quit smoking if his side makes it to the Champions’ League group stage.
Kairat Almaty midfielder Stuart Duff, the only Scottish footballer in the Kazakhstan league, told AFP he was not surprised with Shakhter’s win over his compatriots.
“Shakhter looked the better side at Astana and won deservedly. Now they have a fair chance of going through,” Duff said.
“They chose the right tactics for the match. They played stoutly in defence and managed to convert their chances into goals.
“But in the return leg Celtic will enjoy the support of their fans, who are famous for getting behind their team. I think nothing is decided yet and I expect a very interesting clash on Wednesday.”
Meanwhile, Shakhter’s players are hoping that higher forces will also lend a hand, with last week’s victory over Celtic coming after the team sacrificed a sheep on the pitch for good fortune.
“We have a tradition of sacrificing a sheep on the threshold of various important tournaments,” explained the club’s goalkeeper Alexander Mokin.
“We did it before the national championship’s start and ahead of the Champions League qualifying round as well. It’s a tradition that has brought us luck in the past and we believe it will also help us this time.”
In many Muslim majority countries like Kazakhstan, the ritual slaughter of a sheep is seen as bringing good fortune ahead of a major event.
Shakhter Karagandy, which were founded in 1958, never played in the Soviet top flight but were known to be a solid second division outfit.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, they have twice won the Kazakhstan national title and finished third on three occasions.
Even if they are knocked out by Celtic, Shakhter can still look forward to an historic first appearance for a Kazakh club in the Europa League.
Perhaps because of the European adventure, Shakhter’s domestic form has been indifferent in recent weeks.
The club recorded a 1-1 home draw with Irtysh Pavlodar in the domestic league on Saturday with their goal coming from defender Yevgeny Tarasov. The club from Karagandy are currently third, 12 points behind leaders Aktobe.
Sheep sacrifices help Kazakh football club to Europe
