He waited long and patiently to realize his big dream - he dreamed of the Champions League anthem and matches with the greatest football masters at the age of 30, and then he decided not only to be part of the elite, but also to have his signature live on throughout the history of Qarabag.
Marko Janković made his Champions League debut this season, and after an assist at "Da Luz" against a great Benfica, a goal came against Chelsea - the English team that has shown the most in Europe over the last twenty years, the current world champion.
The Montenegrin footballer coolly scored from the penalty spot at that moment to give the Azerbaijani champions a 2:1 lead, he fought great battles with Moise Kaised and Chelsea midfielders until the end, and Qarabag reached the big point 2:2.
"We could have even won, but in the end we are satisfied with a point," Janković told the Azerbaijani media, as reported by the "QOL.az" portal.
The club from Agdam is playing in the Champions League for the second time in its history, and Chelsea is perhaps the best indicator of how much it has progressed since its first participation in 2018. Seven years ago, Qarabag was the team against which the "blues" improved their goal difference after being defeated by the big club 6:0 and 4:0.
Back then, a total of two points were won, and now, after four rounds, there have already been two wins (Benfica and Copenhagen), a draw with Chelsea and seven points won.
"We understand that with our good results, the fans' expectations are also growing. Of course, we hope for good results and even greater progress in the future, but we know that the level of the Champions League is very high," added Janković, whose performance in the elite would probably have been even better if he had not had problems with injury.
The guy from Cetinje doesn't want to promise much, but...
"There are really many strong teams in this competition, with great players. We can't say that we will show up and celebrate at every game, but we will do our best to achieve a good result in every match. That's exactly what we are working towards."
Once again, he turned to a draw against Chelsea.
"Maybe our fans didn't expect this result, but we prepared well for the game. We believed in ourselves. We were unlucky in the first half, we conceded a goal practically out of nowhere. Later we took the lead and I would say maybe we could have even won," concluded the Montenegrin midfielder.
Four Champions League games are behind Janković and Qarabag, and by the end, the ruler of Azerbaijan will welcome Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt, while visiting the champions of England and Italy - Liverpool and Napoli, respectively.
Gurban Gurbanov's team, with a few more points, primarily on home soil, could go where no one ever dreamed - into the knockout phase of the European elite.
Bonus video:
