Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan.
Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing.
The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else.
Photo: AFP
However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way.
The energy-rich country is one of the most closed on Earth, rights groups say, with the Berdimuhamedows — father Gurbanguly and son, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow — exerting near total control over all aspects of society.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who was president for 15 years, is now known by the title of “Arkadag,” or hero-protector. Despite handing the presidency to his son, he continues to rule in a de facto governing tandem and enjoys immense privileges as the official head of the nation.
Photo: AFP
Arkadag, the soccer club named after him, play their home games at Arkadag Stadium in the freshly built city of Arkadag — a mega project constructed in his honor at an official cost of US$5 billion.
The city’s main landmark is a 43m monument with a gilded statue of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow on horseback at the top.
Despite their record-breaking run, Arkadag have struggled to bring in the crowds. About 200 spectators attended matches last month against Ahal and Altyn Asyr, dotted around the brand new 10,000-capacity stadium. Tickets had been offered for free.
Photo: AFP
Watching on, fan Begench Mukhadov waved the club’s scarf, emblazoned with its official logo, an ice-blue and white crest featuring an Akhal-Teke horse, a national symbol.
“Arkadag will definitely win every title going again this season. I’m happy that an invincible team has emerged and that football has become interesting,” said Mukhadov, an 18-year who works for a construction firm.
Civil servant Shageldy Soyunov, 34, said he “closely follows all of Arkadag’s matches” and likes the team’s “dynamic play.”
After securing the double last year, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow presented Arkadag’s players with a photograph of Serdar Berdimuhamedow signing a ball with the club’s logo.
The gift was “accepted with great pride and deep gratitude,” Turkmen state media reported.
“He met our team and spurred us on to new victories,” said Didar Durdyev, the league’s two-time top goalscorer.
After scoring 83 goals in 24 league games last year, Arkadag have maintained their attacking prowess, securing 25 in five outings this season.
“We feel the support of our respected Hero-Protector Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow,” said Durdyev, a 30-year-old striker.
Sporting authorities have scrubbed references that question Arkadag’s status as an invincible force in soccer.
There is no trace on the Turkmen Football Federation’s Web site of two recent defeats against Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk and Dnipro-1 in friendly matches in February.
Later this year, the club and its narrative of invincibility face their biggest test yet, when they play in the AFC Champions League 2, the Asian confederation’s equivalent of the Europa League.
Unlike other countries in Central Asia, Turkmenistan has never been a soccer-playing nation and has not made a mark internationally.
That is despite strong financial support from the state, bankrolled by sales of its immense oil and gas reserves.
The national team, the backbone of which is made up of Arkadag players, have not won a game since June 2022.
Turkmenistan languish in the bottom echelons of the FIFA rankings, placed 143 of 210.
However, officials say they are unfazed, hoping Arkadag’s success can spur a turnaround.
“It’s good that the players know each other,” an official from the state sport committee told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It strengthens their collective spirit to win.”
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