Rafael Urazbakhtin, the head coach of Almaty's Kairat, assessed the condition of the pitch at the home stadium after the Kanye West concert during a press conference, reports infohub.kz.
The reigning champions of Kazakhstan will play their first match of the Europa League playoff qualifying round against Belgium's Anderlecht on Thursday, August 20. The game will take place at the Central Stadium in Almaty, where the American rapper performed on August 14.
"I've only seen the pitch in photos so far. The agronomist says the field is more or less okay. Yes, it has yellowed a bit because of the high temperature under the covering. In places, it has burned out," Urazbakhtin said.
Earlier, the Almaty Sports Facilities Directorate reported what work is being done to restore the pitch.
Urazbakhtin also assessed the strength of the next opponent. In the third qualifying round of the Europa League, Anderlecht defeated Greek side PAOK with an aggregate score of 4:2. Before that, the Brussels club had eliminated Sweden's Hammarby with the same score.
"We've watched and studied the opponent. They are a good team. A fairly famous club — the most decorated in the Belgian championship. A large group of young players. There are also experienced players. A good, well-known coach (Portuguese Vitor Bruno — ed.), who has worked at top clubs. Overall, a good team with quality players. But in my opinion, there are no unbeatable opponents. We believe in success and will try to achieve a positive result," Urazbakhtin concluded.
The match at the Central Stadium in Almaty will start at 20:00. The return leg will take place in Brussels on August 27. The winner on aggregate will advance to the Europa League group stage. The loser will enter the main stage of the Conference League.