Ilzat Toglokovich Akhmetov (Russian: Ильзат Тоглокович Ахметов; Uyghur: ئىلزات ئەخمەت, Илзат Тоглокович Ахметов; born 31 December 1997) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Russian Premier League club Zenit St. Petersburg. Earlier in his career he mostly played in the attacking midfielder position.

Ilzat Akhmetov
Akhmetov with Krasnodar in 2022
Personal information
Full name Ilzat Toglokovich Akhmetov
Date of birth (1997-12-31) 31 December 1997 (age 26)
Place of birth Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Number 77
Youth career
Alga Bishkek
2009–2013 Yu. Konoplyov
2013–2014 Rubin Kazan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2018 Rubin Kazan 27 (0)
2014Rubin-2 Kazan 2 (0)
2018–2022 CSKA Moscow 81 (3)
2022–2023 Krasnodar 42 (4)
2024– Zenit Saint Petersburg 5 (0)
International career
2014–2015 Russia U-18 10 (2)
2015 Russia U-19 5 (0)
2017–2018 Russia U-21 6 (2)
2019– Russia 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 7 December 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23 March 2023

Personal life

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Born in Kyrgyzstan to Uyghur parents, Akhmetov moved to Russia at 11.[2][3]

Club career

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He made his professional debut in the Russian Professional Football League for FC Rubin-2 Kazan on 18 July 2014 in a game against FC Syzran-2003 Syzran.[4]

He made his debut for the main FC Rubin Kazan squad on 24 September 2014 in a Russian Cup game against FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok. He made his Russian Premier League debut for Rubin Kazan on 20 October 2014 in a game against FC Mordovia Saransk.[5]

On 15 June 2018, FC Zenit Saint Petersburg announced that Akhmetov would join them for a try-out during the first pre-season camp.[6]

On 26 July 2018, CSKA Moscow announced the signing of Akhmetov on a four-year contract.[7] Akhmetov left CSKA as a free agent in June 2022.[8]

On 7 July 2022, Krasnodar announced the signing of Akhmetov on a contract until 30 June 2024.[9]

On 9 January 2024, Akhmetov signed a contract with FC Zenit Saint Petersburg until the end of 2025–26 season, with an option for the 2026–27 season.[10]

International

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He was able to represent for either Kyrgyzstan or Russia. Manager of Kyrgyzstan Aleksandr Krestinin, a Russian himself, tried to call him up, but he ultimately chose the latter.[11]

He was called up to the Russian team for the first time in November 2018 for games against Germany and Sweden.[12] He was forced to miss the callup due to injury.[13]

He made his debut for the team on 21 March 2019 in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against Belgium, as a starter.[citation needed]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 7 December 2024[14]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rubin-2 Kazan 2014–15 Russian Second League 2 0 2 0
Rubin Kazan 2014–15 Russian Premier League 9 0 1 0 10 0
2015–16 Russian Premier League 3 0 1 0 2 0 6 0
2016–17 Russian Premier League 12 0 3 0 15 0
2017–18 Russian Premier League 3 0 0 0 3 0
Total 27 0 5 0 2 0 34 0
CSKA Moscow 2018–19 Russian Premier League 26 0 0 0 4 0 30 0
2019–20 Russian Premier League 21 2 3 2 6 0 30 4
2020–21 Russian Premier League 14 0 3 1 5 0 22 1
2021–22 Russian Premier League 20 1 2 1 22 2
Total 81 3 8 4 15 0 104 7
Krasnodar 2022–23 Russian Premier League 27 2 13 2 40 4
2023–24 Russian Premier League 15 2 6 1 21 3
Total 42 4 19 3 61 7
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2023–24 Russian Premier League 2 0 4 0 6 0
2024–25 Russian Premier League 3 0 6 0 9 0
Total 5 0 10 0 15 0
Career total 157 7 42 7 17 0 0 0 216 14

International

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As of match played 23 March 2023[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Russia 2019 7 0
2021 1 0
2023 1 0
Total 9 0

Honours

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CSKA Moscow
Zenit Saint Petersburg

References

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  1. ^ "Ахметов Ильзат Тоглокович — Игроки — Команда — официальный сайт ПФК ЦСКА". Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Я уйгур сборной России" (in Russian). realnoevremya.ru. 12 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Ильзат Ахметов. Биографи" (in Russian). rfs.ru. 2 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Career Summary". Sportbox. 3 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Game Report" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 20 October 2014. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  6. ^ "На первые "Газпром" — тренировочные сборы отправятся 29 игроков" (in Russian). FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 15 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Ilzat Ahmetov joins PFC CSKA". pfc-cska.com/. PFC CSKA Moscow. 26 July 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  8. ^ "Ильзат Ахметов покидает ПФК ЦСКА" (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 10 June 2022.
  9. ^ "ИЛЬЗАТ АХМЕТОВ СТАЛ ИГРОКОМ "КРАСНОДАРА"". fckrasnodar.ru (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  10. ^ ""Зенит" и "Краснодар" достигли соглашения о переходе Ильзата Ахметова" (in Russian). Zenit St. Petersburg. 9 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Ilzat Akhmetov: "I was shocked when I learned about the invitation to the Russian national team"".
  12. ^ "Состав сборной России на Германию и Швецию" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 5 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Ари вызван в сборную России" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 12 November 2018.
  14. ^ Ilzat Akhmetov at Soccerway
  15. ^ "Akhmetov, Ilzat". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  16. ^ "2018 Russian Super Cup game report" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  17. ^ ""Зенит" завоевал золотые медали Мир РПЛ в шестом сезоне подряд!" [Zenit won the gold medals of MIR RPL for the sixth season in a row!] (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 25 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Суперфинал FONBET Кубка России LIVE. Гол Алипа приносит "Зениту" победу" [Russian Cup Superfinal: Alip goal gives Zenit the victory] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 2 June 2024.
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