Almaty Akim (Mayor) Akhmetzhan Yessimov met May 4 with the Kairat Almaty club to mark their second Futsal UEFA Cup win. The club claimed the cup, one of Europe’s most prestigious tournaments in Futsal, after winning the final 3:2 against FC Barcelona on April 26 in Lisbon, Portugal.
“I observed the entire game on TV and it was very tense. We should thank our goalkeeper [Leonardo de Melo Vieira Leite] Higuita who defended the net courageously. All the players demonstrated colourful play. And it must be always a special feeling – to win against Barcelona,” said Yessimov.
Thanking the mayor for the visit, Higuita informed him that he has adopted Kazakh citizenship and had been cleared to play for the Kazakhstan national team. “It is a great honour to be treated like his,” he said.
The football players presented the mayor with the original UEFA Cup that they brought from Lisbon.
This is Kairat’s second success in the sport’s most prestigious club tournament in Europe, following a similar success two years ago in Tbilisi, Georgia.
