Marked for Dmitry Pletnev
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad14 May 2029
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market14 May 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bunyodkor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 May 2029
At 20, Sadriddin Hasanov is already the best thing here
An average of 7.21 in a first team he is several years too young for. Bunyodkor have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Match12 May 2029
Bunyodkor make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Bunyodkor have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad14 May 2029
Hojimat Erkinov 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.
Player ratings14 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom14 May 2029
The numbers do not look good at Bunyodkor
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Match12 May 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bobur Abdiholiqov. 3‑1 against Mashal, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings14 May 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Apr 2029
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market23 Apr 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bunyodkor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad23 Apr 2029
The medical room confirms 61 days on the sidelines for Bilolxon Toshmirzayev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad23 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Apr 2029
Whatever happens, Bunyodkor do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad23 Apr 2029
45 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Marked 8.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Feb 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matija Krivokapić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Shungu Dutiro
“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.
Market12 Feb 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market12 Feb 2029
The market said no: Flamarion stays put
Bunyodkor opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Flamarion stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Nov 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Hojimat Erkinov 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 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Sardor Rahmonov
“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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match26 Aug 2028
Bunyodkor cannot stop winning
6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Hojimat Erkinov 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.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A performance of 9.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market28 Aug 2028
Timur Nematov has left for Andijon in a $9.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match26 Aug 2028
Mashal made Bunyodkor work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Dmitry Pletnev
“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.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Marked 8.23 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match21 Aug 2028
Bunyodkor are in among the leaders
Position 1 and 54 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match19 Aug 2028
Nobody wants to play Bunyodkor right now
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad21 Aug 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 Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A season average of 7.30 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match19 Aug 2028
Three points for Bunyodkor, 2‑1 the final word against Shortan in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.87, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad21 Aug 2028
No hiding place for Flamarion
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Flamarion, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Marked 8.69 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bunyodkor may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Abdumavlon Abdujalilov 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.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.81 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match1 Apr 2028
Qizilqum made Bunyodkor work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Marked 8.30 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Patrick Schmidt, and the manager let it.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Bunyodkor will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Mar 2028
Sherzod Nasrullayev 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.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Flamarion
“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.
Match11 Mar 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Boardroom13 Mar 2028
The numbers do not look good at Bunyodkor
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Wages eat 91% of everything Bunyodkor earn
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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rahimjon Davronov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Aug 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match28 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Bunyodkor
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad30 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match28 Aug 2027
It finished 2‑0, and it was Dmitry Pletnev’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bunyodkor.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
A masterclass from Flamarion
Marked 8.61 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market16 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad16 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match14 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Patrick Schmidt. 4‑2 against Obod, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Match14 Aug 2027
Still nobody has beaten Bunyodkor
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.95, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
One of those days for Flamarion
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.62, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Hojimat Erkinov
7 goals and a season average of 7.38 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.