 Following the tragedy in 1979 and spurred on by its prolific goalscorer Andrei Yakubik a few years later, Pakhtakor had its best record in 1982, finishing sixth and in front of several Russian and Ukrainian football powerhouses such as Zenit Saint Petersburg, CSKA Moscow, and Shakhtar Donetsk amongst the few.Pakhtakor had a point deducted that season due to exceeding the allowed limit for the games tied (drawn), but it did not influence the club's final standings.After leading Pakhtakor to its best finish, age finally caught up with Yakubik and he moved back to his hometown of Moscow to continue his football career.