“We didn’t have a television at home, so I watched the 1994 World Cup final at a neighbor’s house. In 1997, we got our first TV, and that’s where I watched the 1998 World Cup. The final — France against Brazil, Zidane’s two goals, Marcel Desailly’s red card — I saw all of it on that black-and-white screen,” he says.

Football captivated the young Khatamov to the point where he began attending training sessions without his parents’ knowledge. They were absolutely against it.

“Training started at 3:00 p.m. and ended at 4:30 p.m. My mother was a teacher and came home after lessons at 5:00 p.m. I always managed to get back before her and sat at home as if nothing had happened. This went on for three years. Then schoolwork got in the way, and I had to give up football. Perhaps, becoming a football player was not my destiny after all,” he says.

Today, three of Bektosh Khatamov’s sons train at Bunyodkor Junior. He says he never pushed them toward football. The love for the game came naturally, through conversations about matches at home and regular trips to the stadium from an early age.