Kairat's 18-year-old goalkeeper's popularity soars after Real Madrid match
FC Kairat's Sherkhan Kalmurza has become the team's most popular goalkeeper, surpassing Temirlan Anarbekov and Aleksandr Zarutskiy in Instagram followers, Kazinform News Agency reports.
Despite conceding five goals in the Champions League match against Real Madrid in Almaty, 18-year-old Sherkhan Kalmurza's performance earned applause. The young keeper had to save numerous shots from global football stars, including World Cup winner Kylian Mbappé of France, Vinícius Júnior of Brazil, and others.
Before the match, Sherkhan had 51,000 Instagram followers. Immediately after the game, he gained another 65,000 followers. Overnight, Kalmurza's account surged by an additional 100,000. He currently boasts 216,000 followers on Instagram.
Sherkhan's dramatic rise in popularity can be attributed not only to his impressive play but also to the fact that Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper for Real Madrid and the Belgian national team, posted a photo with Sherkhan and tagged him.
It is worth mentioning that Temirlan Anarbekov, another famous goalkeeper of FC Kairat, who is currently recovering from injury, also became an Instagram star after saving three penalties in a Champions League qualifier against Scottish side Celtic. He currently has 197,000 followers.
Meanwhile, Kairat's goalkeeper, Aleksandr Zarutskiy, has a private account with 1,900 followers.
On September 30, Kazinform reported that Almaty’s Kairat faced Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage match.
