Between endless trips and jet lag to overcome, the Kazakh team arrives in Milan at risk of quickly becoming a sacrificial lamb. But Chivu has no intention of accepting any lapses in concentration, especially given the apparent solidity of Urazbakhtin’s team.

It’s a romantic story, almost like a fairy tale. The Cinderella of the Champions League who, unlike the Disney princess, has to endure hours and hours of travel, international (almost intercontinental) flights, stopovers, and recover from heavy jet lag in order to live her fairy tale. Almaty may be the most populous city in Kazakhstan, but it is almost 7,000 km away from the San Siro stadium. That’s a long way to travel. Will the 10-hour flight to Milan be a factor in tomorrow’s match against Inter? It’s too early to say, considering that the Kazakh team also (or above all) has some technical shortcomings. What is certain, however, is that the Qazaqstan Prem’er Ligasy champions will be keen to enjoy the prestigious stage that is the Meazza. Fielding the same team that has just triumphed in the league: on Sunday, October 26, Kairat won another title by drawing at home against Astana, and today hopes to replicate a much more complex success on paper at Inter’s home ground.

So far, Kairat has played three games in Europe, earning one point in its debut against another Cinderella team, Pafos, and zero against Sporting Lisbon and Real Madrid. One goal scored, nine conceded. But don’t be fooled by the numbers: the Kazakh team is solid and physically strong, despite the goals conceded suggesting otherwise. Against Real, they stayed in the game for much of the first half, only falling behind due to a penalty before the Blancos pulled away in the final minutes. The same was true for the match against the Portuguese side: they were only behind at the end of the first 45 minutes, then collapsed, conceding three goals in three minutes. This is a tactical key that Inter can exploit tomorrow to send Chivu to the Olympus of record-breaking coaches, as the Romanian could become the first coach ever to win his first four European games without conceding a single goal. Has he thought about it? Probably, but first they have to get past Kairat. “I don’t listen to the chatter,” said the Nerazzurri coach ahead of the match. “I know we have an important and difficult game ahead of us. Winning in the Champions League is never a foregone conclusion. We are facing a team that has come through four preliminary rounds, even eliminating Celtic.”

Kazakh block and…—  So far, Kazakh coach Rafael Urazbakhtin has often opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation that switches to 4-4-2 when not in possession to gain solidity. The squad is mainly built on a national basis with the addition of the right dose of creativity from abroad: there are 15 “locals” out of a group of 28 registered players. The rest? There are a few players from Eastern Europe (Russia, Belarus, Serbia, and Georgia), a couple of Portuguese, two Israelis with German passports, and four Brazilians, all in attack (Ricardinho, Joao Paulo, Edmilson, and Elder Santana). However, 50% of these will not be available due to injury. Kalmyrza started in goal for the first two games but was overtaken in the pecking order by Anarbekov in the last game (and Kairat’s only clean sheet). But in general, the starting eleven is often the same: a defensive line consisting of Tapalov, Martynovich, Sorokin, and Machado Mata, with Kasabulat and Arad in the middle, while there are more variations in the attacking midfield. The team’s stalwart is the youngest of them all, Dastan Satpaev, born in 2008, with 14 goals and seven assists in 26 league games. Many swear he will go far, and Chelsea has beaten the competition to the punch, paying Kairat almost €2.5 million to add him to the Blues’ Under-21 team next summer. Will the boy make it? Inter hopes not. Or at least not starting today…