Qarabag could easily adopt Barcelona’s 'més que un club' motto, as they stand gallantly as the descendants of a great tragedy, simultaneously symbolising hope and pride. The club are a poignant reminder of how war torments and ravages civilisation but ceases to kill the spirit.

No aspect of life has gone untouched by the war in Azerbaijan’s west — not even football.

The Nagorno-Karabakh war transformed Aghdam from a vibrant city of 40,000 inhabitants with fancy teahouses and Soviet bloc high-rises to the world’s largest ghost town, with 6,000 people killed and many more lives ruined.

Football becomes rather insignificant in the face of the viciousness of conflict and there are many in Azerbaijan who has suffered a far worse fate than those involved with Qarabag.But bearing the Karabakh horses on their chests, Qarabag players are the voice of a displaced refugees, and this the tale of a team that just wouldn’t give up.