Dmitry Schmidt

Dmitry Schmidt has spent well over a decade shifting between Kazakhstan's top flight and its First League. He came through at Vostok in his home city, then known as Ust-Kamenogorsk, where he made 71 appearances between 2011 and 2015 before a short stint at Altay brought a runners-up medal in the First League.

The high point came at Akzhayik in 2017, when Schmidt won the Kazakhstan championship and lifted the Kazakhstan Cup in the same season. A long run at Irtysh followed, including involvement in the 2020 season before it was annulled. He has since moved through Kyzyl-Zhar and Elimai, before joining Zhetysu this year.

At youth level, Schmidt was capped for Kazakhstan's under-19 and under-21 sides, featuring at the 2014 Commonwealth Cup with the under-21s, though he has not featured for the senior national team.

Now with Altay, still only 174cm but a fixture at the back throughout his career, Schmidt was named the standout performer in a Kazakhstan Cup tie against Zhelaí Nan this April.