Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan shocked the transfer market in July, as they signed Vágner Love.
The 36-year-old Brazilian striker already returned to his homeland, but then decided to join the club for a short spell.
Vágner Love had a magnificent European career, most memorable while he played for CSKA Moscow, scoring 85 league goals in 169 matches over nine years. With him, CSKA won the Russian Premier League three times, and above all - the UEFA Cup in 2005.
Since he left Russia, he has been on the move. He returned to Brazil more than once, spent two years in China, and recently played in France and Turkey. Last season he played in Brazil with Corinthians, with a plan to extend his contract further - but the coronavirus changed everyone's plans, and Vágner Love had to look for a new team.
"After leaving Corinthians, I was hoping to return to Russia," he said in an interview. "After a few unsuccessful weeks without a new team, I had an offer from Kairat." The Brazilian signed for six months, but there is an extension option. "I noticed that the club is working in the same level of Brazilian and European clubs," he explained his decision to sign for the Kazakh club, "I'm here to win the championship and lead the team to the Europa League group stage."
His debut in Kazakhstan was delayed. A few days after his arrival, the Kazakh FA decided to postpone the matches due to the coronavirus outbreak. In his first two matches, he watched most of the game from the bench, coming on as a late substitute. The first appearance in the starting lineup was in the Europa League first qualifying round match against Noah from Armenia. Vágner Love found it an easy task, as he scored twice and led Kairat to a 4-1 win. Three days later, he scored another brace. This time it was in the league against Ordabasy.
Kairat Almaty is leading the Kazakh league with 21 points in eight matches and a seven-point lead above FC Astana. This season, the club’s first championship since 2004 seems within reach. Behind the scenes, manager Aleksey Shpilevsky is running the show, bringing past experience from the youth teams of Stuttgart and RB Leipzig.
It’s quite remarkable that Shpilevsky is 32 years old, four years younger than Love, but the two seem to maintain mutual respect. "It's amazing to see how much Vágner Love is a professional," said the manager about his Brazilian striker. "It was hard for him when he first came here after four months without playing, but his potential was apparent". Shpilevsky also knows the importance of Vágner Love's role in the team. "It's a great lesson for us. You don't need to instruct him. I hope that he will bring his best skills to the team."
With dreams of a domestic championship, and maybe European success – would Vágner Love be the one that Kairat needs?
Thumbnail photo by FC Kairat official Facebook page.
