Football legends Stoichkov, Papin, Litmanen and more to descend on Astana
Hristo Stoichkov, Jean-Pierre Papin, Dino Baggio, Jari Litmanen, Marco Delvecchio, Hernan Crespo, Valery Karpin and many other ‘magicians of football' will cast their spell on football fans at the Astana Arena Stadium on August 5-6.
The legendary footballers will split up into several teams representing Germany, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Kazakhstan and the world.
One of the best players of his generation Hristo Stoichkov is expected to participate in the tournament in Astana. The Bulgarian former footballer received the European Golden Shoe in 1990 and the Ballon d'Or in 1994 and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players by Pele. While playing for Barcelona, Stoichkov won four consecutive La Liga titles and one UEFA Champions League. He helped the Bulgarian national team finish fourth at the 1994 FIFA World Cup scoring six goals and getting the World Cup Golden Shoe. Today the 51-year-old Stoichkov who was once nicknamed the Gunslinger by his Spanish fans works as a football commentator for Univision Deportes. 
French forward Jean-Pierre Papin who was named the European Footballer of the Year in 1991 is set to appear at the EXPO 2017 Football Cup. The 53-year-old Papin will represent the world squad at the tournament. Papin who played for Olympique Marseille, A.C. Milan, FC Bayern Munich, Bordeaux and Guingamp throughout his 17-year career scored nearly 350 goals in over 620 matches. The striker represented France on 54 occasions at the international level. Papin is also known for his charity efforts. After his little daughter was diagnosed with serious cerebral lesions, the footballer and his wife established an association "Nine of Hearts" to help other children in that situation.
Captain of the Finland national team (1996-2008) Jari Litmanen will play for the world squad at the tournament as well. Dubbed the best Finnish player of the last 50 years by the Football Association of Finland in 2003, the former attacking midfielder represented Ajax, Barcelona, Liverpool, Malmo FF, Reipas, Lahti and other football clubs. His international career spanned 21 years from 1989 to 2010. The 46-year-old footballer became the oldest player ever to score for Finland in 2010 in the qualifying stages for the UEFA European Championship. It should be noted that Litmanen was listed as the 53rd best footballer ever by the Association of Football Statisticians' (AFS). 
Guido Buchwald will probably be the brightest star of the German squad. Born in West Berlin, the 56-year-old German former football defender won the FIFA World Cup in Italy in 1990 where in the final he effectively marked the skilled footballer Diego Maradona. Buchwald collected 76 caps in his career. The 6'2' tall footballer played for Stuttgarter Kickers, VfB Stuttgart, Urawa Reds and Karlsruher SC. Today Buchwald works as director of football of Stuttgarter Kickers. 
Well-known German midfielder Tim Borowski whom you may remember from the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008 will also come to Astana. The 37-year-old retired footballer played 33 times for the German national team, earning his first cap for Germany in August 2002. Borowski spent most of his professional career playing for Werder Bremen. 
A myriad of legends of Italian football are expected in the Kazakh capital as well. One of them Marco Delvecchio represented Italy at international level on 22 occasions between 1998 and 2004 scoring 4 goals. The Italian forward took part at UEFA Euro 2000 and at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Known for his versatile, powerful and determined style of play, the 44-year-old footballer played for many clubs in his career, namely Inter Milan, Venezia, Udinese, Roma, Parma, and Ascoli.
Former Italian defensive midfielder Dino Baggio will also join the Italian team at the EXPO 2017 Football Cup. Born in Camposampiero in 1971, Baggio won the UEFA Cup three times, once with Juventus and twice with Parma. He helped Italy reach the final of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and represented Italy at UEFA Euro 1996 and at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. 
The Russian squad will be represented by Aleksandr Filimonov, Dmitry Khlestov, Evgeni Aldonin, Roman Shirokov, Marat Izmailov and other great footballers.
Football fans will also see a lot of familiar faces in the Kazakh team, including those of Oleg Voskoboinikov, Igor Avdeyev, Andrey Karpovich, Kairat Aubakirov, Murat Tleshev, Nurbol Zhumaskaliyev and Andrey Finonchenko.