Whenever the UEFA Champions League (UCL) anthem plays, millions of people around the world perk up and get excited at the prospect of witnessing some of the best club soccer on the planet.

While the song based on Handel’s “Zadok the Priest” has played through television screens in Kazakhstan for years, it had never echoed around Kairat Almaty’s Central Stadium until this summer.

“For me, it is a childhood dream,” said Kairat midfielder Adilet Sadybekov during a press conference before the team’s Champions League play-off against Scottish club Celtic in August. “Tomorrow, all of Kazakhstan will hear the anthem in Almaty, and for everyone, I think, it is also a small dream come true.”

After 210 minutes without a goal across two legs, Kairat eliminated Celtic on penalties to reach the UCL league phase – the new format introduced in 2024–25 to replace the group stage. At the center of it all was 21-year-old goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov, who saved three spot-kicks to propel his club into Europe’s elite field.

Almaty's Temirlan Anarbekov makes a save during a penalty shootout against Celtic. Craig Williamson/SNS Group/Getty Images

For one night, Almaty shared the same heartbeat. Students crowded around dormitory screens, a wedding paused for the final kick, and car horns rang out as flags streamed from open windows.

“The emotions are overflowing,” hea