Jamaldin Khodzhaniyazov, one of the most promising Russian defenders, is currently pursuing his career in a modest Danish championship. However, several teams are interested in the services of a 20-year-old Russian, including with the prefix "top".
Relocation to Russia
Jamaldin Khodzhaniyazov, whose nationality was listed as "Uzbek" at birth, has Russian citizenship. The reason for this was the athlete’s early move to Russia - after several years of playing at the football school of the Tashkent team “Chilanzar” (Uzbekistan), the defender and his family moved to Tolyatti, where he began to study at the local Yuri Konoplev Academy. After studying for 4 years, Jamaldin fell on the pencil mentor of the youth team of Russia, and also signed a contract with the St. Petersburg “Zenith”, the coaching staff of the youth team which highly appreciated the level of skill of the player.
Career at Zenith
At a new place, the first time Jamaldin Khodzhaniyazov played only in the youth composition of “Zenith”, a couple of times involved in the games of the second team from St. Petersburg. Nevertheless, before the first outing on the field in a T-shirt, the defender did not have to wait long - Luciano Spalletti was pleased with the way Jamal is training, and put him on the start of the game against the “Kuban” in the framework of the Russian championship. The player spent almost an hour on the field, and the Zenit coach, despite the draw, noted the good level and great talent of the young beginner.
As a confirmation of his words, Spalletti soon put Khojaniyazov back at the base, giving him the opportunity to play all 90 minutes in the Champions League in the match against Norschelland. The remainder of the calendar year, Jamaldin Khojaniyazov spent with the youth team, including taking part in 4 meetings in the Youth Champions League.
Rent in Perm and moving to Denmark
In search of playing time, Khodzhaniyazov went to Perm, where he spent six months on loan at Amkar. But the mentor of the “black and red” Stanislav Cherchesov did not seriously count on the player, increasingly holding him on the bench and for all the time just releasing on the field. Such a development of events did not suit the Zenit, and he returned to his club in the summer in the hope of competing for a place at the base.
But the next season, spent entirely in the “Zenith”, did not work out for the player. Jamaldin only once played for the main squad, having reached the Europa League quarterfinal match against Sevilla, the rest of the time training with the club’s second team. In the summer of 2015, Khodzhaniyazov decided to change his team in order to get more playing practice, and signed a contract with the Danish Aarhus, for which he made his debut in September of the same year in the Danish Cup, having won the whole match.
At the end of 2016, the Russian has already had 34 matches in the shirt of the Danish team, where he scored a goal and an assist. Jamal himself does not hide that he would be happy to return to his native club if he makes an offer, but for now is focused on personal growth and helping his club, which has great ambitions in the championship.