It’s arguable that Leo Higuita transformed an entire sport. It’s inarguable that the goalkeeper took it from zero to one hundred, figuratively, in his adoptive homeland, and the reverse route literally.

Kazakhstan were one of the lowest-positioned nations in Europe when the charismatic Carioca made it his home in 2010. They are now sixth on the FIFA Futsal Men’s World Ranking.

During his time by the Caspian Sea, Higuita’s hypersonic hands, mercurial feet, generalissimo leadership and scouting – he was behind Taynan becoming Kazakhstani after spotting him at an amateur kickabout – have been indispensable to Kairat unexpectedly conquering the UEFA Futsal Champions League twice, and Kazakhstan finishing third at the European finals and fourth at the FIFA Futsal World Cup™.

The game is now, in planet blue’s largest landlocked country, like futebol is in Brazil. To its people, Higuita is king, their Pele. His international reign, he revealed to FIFA, is all but sure to end this year – end, he hopes, with the most regal final chapter imaginable.

Higuita, the record five-time Best Goalkeeper in the World, has already been granted one almighty wish: he will get to play a global finals across the border in Uzbekistan, where Kazakhs will travel en masse. He is out to grab himself, and his adoring public, another: a place on the World Cup podium.

Kazakhstan made history by reaching the semi-finals at the last World Cup. You were moments away from beating Portugal in extra-time, only to lose on penalties. Do you remember that tournament with happiness or rue what could have been?
It was a wonderful World Cup for us. We were there until the very last day. We have amazing memories from that tournament. The best memories are always the victories, especially the hard-fought one against Iran. Remembering it still gives us a lot of happiness. The loss to Portugal hurt us so much. It always hurts to lose, but then you get up, get on with it and learn to live with it. But that loss still irks us, still hurts us a lot. To be so close to being in a World Cup final and to lose the way we did, it’s very hard to get over. I have to give credit to Portugal. They fought so hard at that World Cup. Nothing was easy for them. I think Portugal winning the World Cup was written in the stars. I think they deserved to win it, but of course we have that feeling that it could have been us.

Have you already made the decision over whether this will be your last World Cup?
I think my body, my age are making the decision for me! (laughs) I’ve just turned 38. At the next World Cup, I’ll be 42. I’ll be honest with you: I think it will be too much for me. I’ve been playing futsal since I was six. Thirty-two years on the court. There are a lot of things I’m tired of, I could live without. The stress levels are one. But what I still love as much as always is game time, getting those butterflies in your stomach, the feeling of winning a game. It’s hard to walk away from those things (laughs). I still feel good, am in good shape, can still make a difference on the court. But four years is a long time for an athlete – I have to be realistic. I’ll never say never, but I think it’s very difficult that I’ll be there in 2028. I’m 95 per cent certain this will be my last World Cup.

You must be proud that you’re still playing at the top level at your age?
Without doubt. Since turning 30 I’ve been looking after myself, my body a lot. It’s enabled me to still be an important player at the top level. What’s harder now is the recovery after each game. On the court, I’m still able to fight, to make saves, to play with the ball at my feet. I feel really good. I’m proud that, at 38, I’m still being coveted by some clubs, that I’m still valued in futsal circles. I feel I’ve got another two years in me at the top level.

Are you excited that the World Cup will be across the border in neighbouring Uzbekistan?
Wow, wow. I don’t have the words to describe how excited I am. I’ve fulfilled a lot of dreams in futsal, and this is one of the biggest. Like I said, I’m 95 per cent sure this will be my last World Cup. To play my last World Cup practically at home is a script I feel God wrote for me. He’s giving me the joy of playing it in front of people who love me. Uzbekistan is Kazakhstan’s sister country. It’s really close, just a few hours away. My family will be there. So many Kazakhs are going by car. When we play in Romania, Holland, wherever, we have a big group of supporters with us. Futsal has become so big in Kazakhstan and the supporters are extremely passionate. It makes me very happy, proud to have been part of this process. We were 90-something on the World Ranking and now we’re fourth in Europe, sixth in the world. I’m absolutely certain that, at the World Cup, every time we play we’ll have a lot of Kazakhs in the stands cheering us on. Their support will make a huge difference. And as long as we’re not playing them, the Uzbeks wiil be supporting us too! We’ll try and go as far as possible to reward their tremendous support. I’m so, so motivated for this World Cup I can’t even describe it.

Can you tell us about that relationship between Kazakhs and Uzbeks?
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan have a really good relationship. We have a lot in common. Obviously, in sport, there’s a really big rivalry when we complete against one another. Both countries are really good at boxing, Greco-Roman wrestling. Sometimes we’re battling at the Olympics. But when we’re not competing against each other, the people are like brothers. They support us and we support them.

Taynan finished as the top scorer in the Portuguese league, is in the form of his life…
I’m really, really happy for him. I speak to him a lot and he’s really happy in Portugal, really happy with his form. He was unknown when he arrived at Kairat. In no time at all, he’d piqued the interest of the whole world. It’s unbelievable how quickly he achieved that. It didn’t happen by chance. He’s undisputedly in the top bracket of players in the world. It didn’t take him long to get there. Everything is so effortless to him – he relies on technique, doesn’t need to put a lot into everything – so I think he will have a long career. He’s been playing incredibly for Sporting and Kazakhstan in recent times, and I hope it continues at the World Cup.

And ‘Iron Man’?
I’ll tell you with 100-per-cent conviction that Douglas should have been named the best player in the world several times. In some of those years, he wasn’t just the best, but the best by a distance in my opinion. Douglas is a quiet guy, he keeps himself to himself, doesn’t get much media attention. But when he’s on the court, ‘Iron Man’ is a monster. He’s extremely strong physically but is also very, very talented. He’s easily the best player I’ve ever played with. For me he’s one of the best players in the history of the sport. He’s getting on but he’s still one of the very best players in the world.

The success of Kazakhstan was always attributed to the Brazil-born players, but Birzhan Orazov has developed into a big asset…
He’s a machine, a horse. He’s a great player and he works his socks off. He always had a lot of potential. I remember years ago at Kairat, Divanei – a left-footer, really good – used to hate playing against him. Cacau saw Orazov’s potential and called him up to the national team, but I think Kaka has taken his game to another level. Kaka turned him into a more complete player. He’s a defender who’s really tough, good on the ball, intelligent, gets up and down the court. He was outstanding at the European Championship, finished as the top goalscorer. Orazov isn’t just a star in Kazakhstan but on a global level. I’m really happy to see how far he and [Dauren] Tursagulov have come. They’re both big assets.

What do you think of this Spain team?
There are no words to describe the Spanish national team. One great generation comes and goes, another great generation comes and goes. They always play futsal at the very highest level, their understanding of the game is on another level, they’re always among the few favourites for every competition they enter – year after year, decade after decade. The Spanish championship is at an extremely high level. The final is Cartagena against ElPozo. You look at all the great teams who didn’t reach the final – Palma, Jaen, Barcelona, Inter – and you appreciate just how much quality they have. It must be really difficult for the national team to only pick 12 or 14 players. They could easily pick three great squads. Spain have done a lot for futsal and continue to do a lot for futsal. We have the utmost respect for Spain. We’ll study them a lot just as I’m sure they’ll study us a lot. Kazakhstan against Spain is a mammoth match to get the World Cup going. There will be so much quality on both sides. I know some players prefer to avoid them, but for me I always see it as a privilege to play against Spain, Brazil. Bring it on. Let’s go. This ‘mini final’ will show the world just how good top-quality futsal is.

Do you know much about New Zealand and Libya?
New Zealand are the biggest unknown quantity of this World Cup. They will be making their first appearance and it wasn’t possible to see the [OFC Futsal Nations Cup]. I searched for them on Youtube. I have to say that I was surprised by their standard. I remember the World Cup in Colombia in 2016. You had some new teams who didn’t have an understanding of futsal, who didn’t know how to play as a team, but that’s not the case with New Zealand. They have good players and, from what I saw, they have good game understanding. They link up well together, use their pivot intelligently, make the right runs, produce well-worked set-pieces. We’ll have to be wary of them. Libya were a traditional futsal team. The civil war affected sport in the country, but now they’re back playing really good futsal. Fifteen years ago it was easy to qualify from Africa. Today, any team that qualifies for the World Cup from Africa is really good. They have my utmost respect.

What is the target for Kazakhstan at Uzbekistan 2024?
At my first World Cup, we lost in the last 16. At my second, we lost in the semis and finished fourth. The Kazakh supporters are very optimistic. They always say, ‘Let’s improve on this, let’s reach the final’. It’s way, way harder to go far in the World Cup than it is in any other competition at club or international level. I’d say our first target is to go through in first place. Us and Spain are the favourites. I believe whoever wins that game will go through in first. In the knockout phase, every game is really difficult, but we’ll give it everything we have to go as far as possible. It would be a dream to play in the World Cup final.

How many teams do you believe can win this World Cup?
You have Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina. Morocco are the team that’s most enchanting the futsal world. France have grown so much. France and Morocco have extreme technical quality. Iran are a traditional power. Ukraine are a really strong team, they eliminated us from the EURO. I’d put us in the mix too. We reached the semi-finals at the last World Cup, we qualified with 18 points from a possible 18. Look at how many teams I’ve listed (laughs). It’s so cool. It shows how gigantically futsal has grown over the last 10 years. Take Morocco. They had no history a decade ago. Now they’ve beaten Brazil, other great national teams and are a side everyone fears. It’s beautiful to see. So many games at this World Cup will be of an exceptionally high quality. It will be a spectacle for the supporters, for everyone involved. It will enchant people watching futsal for the first time. It will be the best World Cup ever. I’m really grateful I’ll be involved in a World Cup like this before I retire.

Who do you rate as the best goalkeeper in the world right now?
Guitta has maintained a really, really high standard for the last five years. He’s on a different level to the other goalkeepers. He makes incredible saves, is good with the ball at his feet, scores goals. Leo Gugiel of Benfica is an outstanding goalkeeper. Luan [Muller] is battling with Guitta to be the best goalkeeper in the world. He was magnificent in the two [UEFA Futsal] Champions Leagues Palma won. It’s a shame Luan won’t be at the World Cup. I’d put myself up there with the best in the world too. I believe in myself, I know what I can do in goal and with my feet. I’d say Guitta, Luan and me are the best three goalkeepers in the world right now.

What about the best three players?
I can give you the best without thinking. I believe Pito is on a different level to everyone else. He’s unique, enchanting. He plays on the wing, as a pivot. He creates, he scores. He uses his left, his right. His skills are phenomenal. He’s a great finisher, a good marker, a great competitor. He shows great heart on the court. After Pito, you’ve got Joao Guilherme, who’s playing incredibly in Russia, and Cleber of Palma, but as I said, Pito is a good way ahead of the rest.