Staff schedule: what awaits the pupil of "Krasnodar" in the United States

One Russian soccer player in the United States has become more. On the evening of February 3, the club Kansas City, representing the MLS league, announced the signing of 25-year-old Russian winger Magomed-Shapi Suleimanov from Greek Aris Thessaloniki. The contract is for two years with the possibility of further extension. More about the new stage of the career of the pupil of "Krasnodar" - in the material "Izvestia".

A club with history

"Sporting Kansas City" was founded in 1995 and the following year began its performance in MLS. In fact, "Sporting" was at the origin of the main league on "soccer" ("soccer" in the U.S. is considered the sport that we know as rugby). Then still "Kansas City Wiz" was one of the ten first clubs - co-founders of the league.

And a club, in general, with a history. During its existence, "Kansas" managed to become the MLS champion twice - in 2000 and 2013. In recent years, the club has been among the participants of the playoffs, then remained on the sidelines. For example, in the 2023 season, Sporting finished eighth in the Western Conference and made the playoffs only through the wild-card round. In the first round, "Kansas" successfully passed "St. Louis", but in the semifinals of the conference was stopped by the club "Houston Dynamo".

And in the season-2024 "Sporting KC" as if replaced - penultimate, 13th place in the "West".

Shapi will definitely not get lost among the attacking players of the current Sporting squad. We can safely say that on the position of right winger Suleymanov practically guarantees himself a place in the starting lineup. At least because of his experience. By the age of 25, the Russian has not played in the top European clubs, but still gained experience in big tournaments: 16 goals and five assists in 87 games for Krasnodar in the RPL, over 60 games in the Turkish, Israeli and Greek Super League, as well as 20 matches in European competitions, including six games in the fall stage of the Champions League.

In the current season for Aris, Shapi has played 12 matches and scored one goal.

- The Kansas City coach flew to the Aris game to see his interest in Shapi's partner Manu Garcia. Poe asserted himself, and in parallel he really liked Shapi. As a result, both Manu and Shapi became players of "Kansas City", - told "Championship" the agent of the player Alan Aguzarov.

Suleymanov's direct competitor on the right flank of the attack is a modest 21-year-old Alenis Vargas from Honduras, who has only 20 matches in MLS for the main team. So the chances of making a name for himself are really high, if Sporting's head coach Peter Vermes will trust a pupil of Krasnodar soccer.

Among the most notable new partners Suleymanov on "Kansas" - 31-year-old Serbian support Nemanja Radoja, who for eight years played in Spain for Celta and Levante, 30-year-old former Stuttgart midfielder Eric Tommy and 25-year-old Serbian striker Dejan Jovelic, who previously played for Red Star, Eintracht and Anderlecht. So it won't be boring.

- The U.S. Championship is quite competitive, there are a lot of strong players playing there, such as Inter Miami, for which Messi, Suarez and Busquets play," Alexander Tarkhanov, former coach of Krylia Sovetov and Ural, emphasized to Izvestia. - So Shapi will have the opportunity to progress, everything will depend on him. He is still quite a young player and obviously has not yet fully developed his potential.

Suleymanov's move to Sporting Kansas City will definitely benefit the league, as it will draw the attention of even more Russian soccer fans. And in general, it shows a good trend that Russians are welcome in the United States. Especially in these difficult times. Alexei Miranchuk of Atlanta United is an example of that.