Marked for Abdulla Hasanov
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings29 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match27 May 2028
Nowhere to hide for AGMK
0‑3 against Mashal, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad29 May 2028
200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Boardroom29 May 2028
Nobody left the AGMK dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at AGMK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dilshodbek Ahmadaliyev 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 dugout29 May 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Mirzo Mirzaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout29 May 2028
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout29 May 2028
Shahzod Toirov knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AGMK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The terraces29 May 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Javohir Ilyosov
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AGMK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at AGMK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Siavash Haghnazari 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Abdulla Hasanov commits to AGMK for another 3 years.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Nobody on the pitch touched Giorgi Papava
7.33, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. AGMK had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Half-satisfied: Mirzo Mirzaev on the draw
“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.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The formation has left Dachi Gogol behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. AGMK will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Feb 2028
“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.
Market14 Feb 2028
Naoaki Senaga has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around AGMK they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at AGMK
Bogdan Bogdanović 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
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.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Abdulla Hasanov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market14 Feb 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. AGMK know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Abror Karimov knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AGMK, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market14 Feb 2028
AGMK opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Javohir Ilyosov stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Ali Abdurahmonov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
In brief
-
Boardroom
The AGMK academy earns its keep
-
Match
Nothing left to play for but pride at AGMK
-
Squad
Ali Abdurahmonov is training like a man with a point to make
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Dec 2027
A row about effort at AGMK
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Siavash Haghnazari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Tempers go at AGMK
Zayid Sultan 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
AGMK are still strangers to each other
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.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Belts tighten at AGMK
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
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 Ali Abdurahmonov is on it.
Market27 Dec 2027
The name of Nodirbek Abdurazzoqov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. AGMK say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Dec 2027
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad20 Dec 2027
A row about effort at AGMK
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Siavash Haghnazari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Zayid Sultan in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AGMK this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
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 Siavash Haghnazari is on it.
Market20 Dec 2027
The name of Aziz Xolmurodov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. AGMK say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Nov 2027
A row about effort at AGMK
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Siavash Haghnazari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at AGMK
Zayid Sultan 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 dugout8 Nov 2027
Naoaki Senaga has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at AGMK 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
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 AGMK would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market8 Nov 2027
The Uroš Kojić story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Uroš Kojić signs something — a contract at AGMK or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. AGMK would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
Tempers go at AGMK
Giorgi Papava 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at AGMK training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Behruzbek Asqarov 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 dugout11 Oct 2027
Umidjon Ergashev asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sogdiana in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Market11 Oct 2027
The name of Avazbek O'lmasaliyev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. AGMK say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Dmitry Pletnev arrived with a record at a bigger club than this one, and the room has treated him accordingly. The young ones watch him train; the senior ones watch to see whether it lasts.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
29 starts and an average of 6.83. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one AGMK will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Home comforts ahead for AGMK
Sogdiana, position 9, come to town on Saturday. Nobody will call it a big game and nobody at the club will be treating it as anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” AGMK may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Mar 2027
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
The AGMK board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giorgi Papava and AGMK agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at AGMK
Giorgi Papava and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
4 academy graduates step up at AGMK
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Match6 Mar 2027
Uroš Kojić scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Neftchi, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at AGMK
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Siavash Haghnazari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market8 Mar 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sardor Masharipov 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.