Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I watch every Neftchi game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bunyodkor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Obod? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
6 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Bekjon Rahmatov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Neftchi needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Two goals and a mark of 8.93 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Eldor Masharipov kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Neftchi has been clear about where Daler Tuxsanov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Regont Murati has, at Neftchi, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zoran Marušić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Neftchi, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Nurbek Sarsenbaev is on it.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Neftchi have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Neftchi can pretend not to have heard.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Bunyodkor will make the call about Muhsinjon Ubaydullayev this week. Neftchi have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Nobody at Neftchi will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Neftchi can pretend not to have heard.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Neftchi had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Add another name to the list: Shortan have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Izzatillo Po'latov. The answer from Neftchi has not changed — yet.
The medical room confirms 45 days on the sidelines for Farhodjon Sohibjonov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Neftchi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bekjon Rahmatov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody at Neftchi will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bekjon Rahmatov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Neftchi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anvar Murodov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Neftchi would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Neftchi will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Neftchi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Neftchi, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Neftchi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anvar Murodov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Neftchi, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Zoran Marušić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nodirbek Karimov has his answer from Neftchi; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Muhsinjon Ubaydullayev is on it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ibrohimhalil Yo'ldoshev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Neftchi needing him to play as if none of it matters.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Konstantinos Angelakis has written the date down.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Metallurg kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Neftchi will be asked about the last half hour all week.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.41 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Neftchi know which stage they are at.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bekjon Rahmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Neftchi lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Add another name to the list: Shortan have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Izzatillo Po'latov. The answer from Neftchi has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zoran Marušić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Zoran Marušić. 1‑0 against Obod, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Neftchi pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
75 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Neftchi lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Andijon had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Neftchi have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The offer from Navbahor for Ikromjon Aliboev was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Neftchi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Izzatillo Po'latov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Level with 86 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Neftchi had all but put away. Kokand 1912 will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Shortan had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Kokand 1912, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $15.0K — a club that wants Joyce Katulondi enough to be asked twice.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Shortan have done the hard part with Mashal, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Asadbek Rahimjonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shortan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Bekzod Suvonov is on it.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shortan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abrorbek Toshqo'ziev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 7.06 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Og'abek Asadov has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Islom Komilov after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
In brief
The dugoutBekzod Suvonov dropped after a run of poor form
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abrorbek Toshqo'ziev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Roman Vegerya and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Minute 86, against Nasaf, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Islom Komilov chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Nobody at Shortan will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Sogdiana next, and one man in the Shortan dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Shortan, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
Shortan are taken apart by Bunyodkor — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Shortan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abrorbek Toshqo'ziev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Abbos Ergashboyev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Farruhbek Muxtorov is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Pakhtakor in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Asadbek Rahimjonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abrorbek Toshqo'ziev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Islom Kenjaboyev has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Shortan, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Shortan can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shortan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bekjon Rahmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Islom Komilov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
BoardroomNo investment in the facilities at Shortan
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Shortan, and it is not being withdrawn.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shortan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Bukhara next, and one man in the Shortan dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Shortan asked and Navbahor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Iskandar Shayqulov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Otabek Ahmedov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Timur Masharipov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Aziz Shomurodov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Mirzo Ahmedov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Shortan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bekjon Rahmatov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Og'abek Asadov are not good
The deal with Navbahor died in the treatment room. Nobody will say what was found and everybody in the game will find out by Friday.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Shortan close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Shortan had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Andijon, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Asadbek Rahimjonov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ulug'bek Xoliqov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The deal with Navbahor is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Andijon have kept their man, and Shortan go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bekjon Rahmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Asadbek Rahimjonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Og'abek Asadov is on it.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Shortan will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shortan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Navbahor have kept their man, and Shortan go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Shortan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bekjon Rahmatov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Shortan are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Shortan know which stage they are at.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Shortan know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shortan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Shortan asked and Sogdiana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Abbos Ergashboyev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Shortan will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Shortan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fazliddin Karamatov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Shortan will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Shortan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nasaf have kept their man, and Shortan go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Adhamjon Musulmonov again, and this time the name on the line is Mashal. Shortan are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bekjon Rahmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Choriyor Tursunqulov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shortan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Shortan, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shortan they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Shortan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abrorbek Toshqo'ziev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Shortan this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Shortan than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Bekzod Suvonov is on it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shortan they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Shortan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abbos Ergashboyev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ulug'bek Xoliqov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Shortan will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Shortan know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Shortan, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Abbos Ergashboyev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Shortan is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abbos Ergashboyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Shortan they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Shortan training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abrorbek Toshqo'ziev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Abbos Ergashboyev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.