From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Nov 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 94 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout1 Nov 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“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.
Loan watch1 Nov 2027
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Bukhara and a proper look at me.” He remains Lokomotiv’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Muxammad Yuldashev 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.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Wages swallow 88% of the Bukhara income
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.
Market1 Nov 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Muxammad Yuldashev signs something — a contract at Bukhara or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Oct 2027
102 days out for Bojan Mlađović after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bukhara will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bukhara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market25 Oct 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Sherzod Esanov 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.
Loan watch25 Oct 2027
“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 Bukhara, and 8 appearances in 41 say he has earned the hearing.
Market25 Oct 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bukhara has been clear about where Xidirdavlat Raimqulov stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alisher Xayrullayev, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
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 Temur Mamasiddiqov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match18 Oct 2027
Bukhara finish in position 6
45 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Market18 Oct 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bukhara is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
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.
Squad18 Oct 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces18 Oct 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match16 Oct 2027
Obod made Bukhara work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The team sheet said everything about Temur Mamasiddiqov
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Temur Mamasiddiqov.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Marked 7.86 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Bukhara had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bojan Mlađović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Umidjon Hamroyev, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Luka Čakovan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bukhara know it.
Market11 Oct 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Nicholas Dmitrović has his answer from Bukhara; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Shirinboy Abdullayev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bukhara needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bukhara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market11 Oct 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bukhara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout11 Oct 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
Crisis
Match2 Oct 2027
Chastening afternoon for Bukhara
A 1‑4 beating by Navbahor was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match2 Oct 2027
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 10 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Squad4 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Bojan Mlađović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Xurshidbek Muxtorov and Bukhara agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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 dugout4 Oct 2027
“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.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
97% of the income goes out in wages at Bukhara
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
Squad4 Oct 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Tai Žnuderl knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match25 Sep 2027
10 unbeaten for Bukhara
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 10 matches without defeat is a foundation Bukhara did not have in the autumn.
Squad27 Sep 2027
6 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.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
No sign of nerves from Amirbek Saidov at 21 — 7.83
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Amirbek Saidov did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match25 Sep 2027
Nobody wins at Bukhara
10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Sherzod Esanov 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match25 Sep 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Amirbek Saidov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bukhara.
Loan watch27 Sep 2027
“I did not go to Metallurg to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bukhara and fight for my place.” 8 appearances in 37 matches say the rest.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Market
Luka Čakovan is free to find somewhere else
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Luka Čakovan
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Sep 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bukhara they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.37 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Luka Čakovan: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bukhara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match18 Sep 2027
Still nobody has beaten Bukhara
The unbeaten run reaches 9. 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 ratings20 Sep 2027
A defender's goal wins it for Bukhara — 7.53
1 for Ravshan Xayrullayev, marked 7.53, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bojan Mlađović 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.
Squad20 Sep 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces20 Sep 2027
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Sep 2027
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bukhara lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market13 Sep 2027
“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.
Match11 Sep 2027
Whatever happens, Bukhara do not lose
8 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.
Market13 Sep 2027
The deal that would have taken Albert Nurullayev to Obod has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Bukhara with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
Match11 Sep 2027
Bukhara make home a hard place to visit
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Sherzod Esanov 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Transfer targets13 Sep 2027
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Bukhara will try again when the window opens; Bunyodkor may not be selling by then.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Sep 2027
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bukhara lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market6 Sep 2027
“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.
Market6 Sep 2027
The name of Umidjon Hamroyev has come up in conversations Bukhara were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bukhara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Bukhara close the window on a squad of their own making
10 in and 12 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.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Bukhara had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Bunyodkor, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bukhara have done the hard part with Bunyodkor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Amirbek Saidov 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
The deal that would have taken Mironshoh Shonazarov to Obod has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Bukhara with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match28 Aug 2027
7 unbeaten for Bukhara
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Bukhara did not have in the autumn.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Amirbek Saidov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bukhara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bojan Mlađović 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.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match28 Aug 2027
Three points for Bukhara, 1‑0 the final word against Kokand 1912 in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market30 Aug 2027
No place for Kosta Janjić in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Kosta Janjić has his answer from Bukhara; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
7.75, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Bukhara had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Zagreb: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Aug 2027
Obod come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bukhara did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Bojan Mlađović 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.
Match21 Aug 2027
6 unbeaten for Bukhara
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Bukhara did not have in the autumn.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Sherzod Esanov 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.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pendikspor have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market23 Aug 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Dominik Begić has his answer from Bukhara; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Match21 Aug 2027
The run at home goes on for Bukhara
8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
“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.
Loan watch23 Aug 2027
“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 Bukhara, and 7 appearances in 32 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Aug 2027
22 days out for Luka Čakovan after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bukhara will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market16 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bukhara is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market16 Aug 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bukhara people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
No sign of nerves from Amirbek Saidov at 21 — 7.68
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Amirbek Saidov did not need any: 7.68, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.82, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market16 Aug 2027
Bukhara say no — this time
The offer from Shortan for Nika Kacharava 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.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Bodrum FK, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bojan Mlađović, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
29 days out for Luka Čakovan after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bukhara will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.19, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market9 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bukhara have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Bukhara had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Bunyodkor, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bojan Mlađović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match7 Aug 2027
Bunyodkor made Bukhara work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov 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 terraces9 Aug 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bukhara have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Luka Čakovan breaks a bone — 37 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 37 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.23, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market2 Aug 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bukhara they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch2 Aug 2027
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Bukhara and a proper look at me.” He remains Lokomotiv’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Ravshan Xayrullayev
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Ravshan Xayrullayev has come out of that comparison in the side, and Bukhara have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Luka Čakovan out for 45 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bukhara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 Jul 2027
“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.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Bukhara and Bunyodkor have settled on $67.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Market26 Jul 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bukhara they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. SKA Khabarovsk have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad26 Jul 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 12 combined actions and a mark of 7.14, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
Luka Čakovan breaks a bone — 52 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad19 Jul 2027
There were 8 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bukhara they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market19 Jul 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market19 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Obod waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bukhara is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The dugout19 Jul 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.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
A brace, and Sherzod Esanov takes the afternoon — 8.03
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sherzod Esanov provided it, and the 8.03 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Ravshan Xayrullayev, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market19 Jul 2027
Bukhara say no — this time
The offer from Metallurg for Nika Kacharava 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Jul 2027
Luka Čakovan breaks a bone — 59 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Jul 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market12 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bukhara people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Bunyodkor is saying, and nobody at Bukhara is enjoying the guessing.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Amirbek Saidov 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.
Match10 Jul 2027
Metallurg left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
The name of Nika Kacharava has come up in conversations Bukhara were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Jul 2027
Mashal come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bukhara did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Dominik Begić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Ravshan Xayrullayev is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Bukhara will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Loan watch5 Jul 2027
“I did not go to Sogdiana to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bukhara and fight for my place.” 10 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Wages swallow 89% of the Bukhara income
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.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Intake day at the Bukhara academy
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sahob Rashidov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jun 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bukhara know it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Dominik Begić 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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Egaleo have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Luka Čakovan 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.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Xurshidbek Muxtorov, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Kirov: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Jun 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bukhara people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Match19 Jun 2027
3‑0, and Ravshan Xayrullayev took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bukhara tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
A brace, and Ravshan Xayrullayev takes the afternoon — 8.43
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ravshan Xayrullayev provided it, and the 8.43 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Pakhtakor keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Bukhara offered $17.0K; Andijon said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Bukhara asked and NK Maribor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Sardor Qulmatov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Jun 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bukhara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
The offer went to Andijon this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Sherzod Esanov 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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cukaricki have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov 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.
Loan watch14 Jun 2027
“I watch every Bukhara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Lokomotiv runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Match12 Jun 2027
0‑1 to Navbahor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Jun 2027
“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 Jun 2027
6 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominik Begić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch7 Jun 2027
“I did not go to AGMK to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bukhara and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 18 matches say the rest.
Match5 Jun 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dominik Begić, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings31 May 2027
A brace, and Amirbek Saidov takes the afternoon — 8.80
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amirbek Saidov provided it, and the 8.80 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market31 May 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 May 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match29 May 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Amirbek Saidov. 2‑0 against Andijon, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout31 May 2027
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.
The dugout31 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Jaloliddin Nematov, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout31 May 2027
“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.
Squad31 May 2027
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Amirbek Saidov has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 May 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.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Marked 7.87 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad24 May 2027
Amirbek Saidov 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.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 May 2027
“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.
Squad24 May 2027
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.
Match22 May 2027
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The dugout24 May 2027
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Match22 May 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings17 May 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.80 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings17 May 2027
A defender's goal wins it for Bukhara — 7.72
1 for Sardor Qulmatov, marked 7.72, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Match15 May 2027
The drought breaks for Bukhara
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Kokand 1912 were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Match15 May 2027
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bukhara and Kokand 1912 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Match15 May 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Amirbek Saidov. 4‑2 against Kokand 1912, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Vladimir Rodić did the work nobody counts — 7.60
14 combined actions and 7.60. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominik Begić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces17 May 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad17 May 2027
Luka Čakovan 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 May 2027
Beaten 1‑4 by Lokomotiv, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market10 May 2027
Dominik Begić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
Match8 May 2027
No end in sight to Bukhara's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bukhara has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bukhara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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.
Loan watch10 May 2027
“I watch every Bukhara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metallurg runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Bojan Mlađović 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.
Boardroom10 May 2027
Nobody left the Bukhara 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.
Loan watch10 May 2027
Ibroxim Numonov: I did not sign for Bukhara to play for other people
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Bukhara and a proper look at me.” He remains AGMK’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
There were 9 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.
Match1 May 2027
No end in sight to Bukhara's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bukhara has to find a result from somewhere.
Market3 May 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Amirbek Saidov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.73
A mark of 7.73 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad3 May 2027
Sherzod Esanov 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Kosta Janjić 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout3 May 2027
“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.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Bukhara and a proper look at me.” He remains Lokomotiv’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“I watch every Bukhara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sogdiana runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Apr 2027
Chastening afternoon for Bukhara
A 1‑4 beating by Bunyodkor was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match24 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Bukhara
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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Xurshidbek Muxtorov 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 dugout26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahboz Jo'rabekov, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
Doors closed at Bukhara
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Nematov after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Apr 2027
5 matches without a win for Bukhara
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Bukhara are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.92, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Match17 Apr 2027
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bukhara and Neftchi in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Match17 Apr 2027
A bad afternoon for Bukhara against Neftchi
2‑4 to Neftchi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
The medical room confirms 46 days on the sidelines for Azamat Shomurodov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bukhara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 2‑4 defeat, delivered by Jaloliddin Nematov to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Bukhara
4 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.
Squad12 Apr 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shirinboy Abdullayev, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bukhara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“I watch every Bukhara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metallurg runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
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.
Match10 Apr 2027
It needed Dominik Begić to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Sogdiana, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Jaloliddin Nematov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Bukhara dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match31 Mar 2027
The cup run ends for Bukhara
0‑4 against AGMK, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market5 Apr 2027
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
8 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.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
A cup embarrassment at AGMK follows Bukhara home
0-4. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
The dugout5 Apr 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Amirbek Saidov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kosta Janjić commits to Bukhara for another 4 years.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“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.
In brief
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Boardroom
Doors closed at Bukhara
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Match
Bukhara share the spoils with Nasaf
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Luka Čakovan 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luka Čakovan, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Dominik Begić knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dominik Begić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
Nasaf next, and one man in the Bukhara dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market29 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amirbek Saidov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Bukhara. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
An away day at Nasaf next for Bukhara
They sit in position 6 and they will be waiting. Away form is where a season shows its true character, and this side has a point to make about its own.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match20 Mar 2027
Whatever happens, Bukhara do not lose
6 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match20 Mar 2027
The run is over for Bukhara
5 matches without defeat, and then Metallurg. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“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.
The dugout22 Mar 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.” Jaloliddin Nematov chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Dominik Begić knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dominik Begić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Match20 Mar 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Metallurg came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
11 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad15 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match13 Mar 2027
Bukhara cannot stop winning
5 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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ravshan Xayrullayev did not need any: 7.74, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market15 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Begić 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.
Squad15 Mar 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces15 Mar 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match13 Mar 2027
Mashal made Bukhara work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Mar 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Umidjon Hamroyev: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bukhara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match6 Mar 2027
Bukhara cannot stop winning
4 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shirinboy Abdullayev and Bukhara agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
5 academy graduates step up at Bukhara
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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sherzod Esanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Mar 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Amirbek Saidov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov 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 dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dominik Begić, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Nika Kacharava wants to finish where he started
Every long career reaches the week the player starts thinking about the last one. He would like it to be at the club that first put him on a pitch, and Bukhara now know that too.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Shortan in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
Amirbek Saidov 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bukhara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Begić 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sherzod Esanov 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.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Metallurg to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bukhara and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Squad15 Feb 2027
5 new faces, and Bukhara are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“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 Feb 2027
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Bukhara will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Bukhara had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at AGMK, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Begić 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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Ravshan Xayrullayev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A season on the outside for Dominik Begić
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Bukhara has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mikheil Basheleishvili trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad8 Feb 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 Bukhara will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Market8 Feb 2027
The window shut and Anvarjon Jo'rayev is still in the building
Bukhara spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Bukhara close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 4 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
The deal with AGMK 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bukhara have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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 dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Dominik Begić
“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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Shortan have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
“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 Bukhara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
The deal with Andijon 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.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Pakhtakor is saying, and nobody at Bukhara is enjoying the guessing.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ravshan Xayrullayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market25 Jan 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: AGMK will make the call about Ibroxim Numonov this week. Bukhara have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Sogdiana have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Bukhara have made the call to AGMK. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nika Kacharava, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Jan 2027
Bukhara say no — this time
The offer from Pakhtakor for Sherzod Esanov 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.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The deal with Pakhtakor 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.
Squad18 Jan 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 Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Dilshod Saitov is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Pakhtakor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Sahob Rashidov is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Sogdiana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Navbahor have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Xidirdavlat Raimqulov commits to Bukhara for another 3 years.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Javohir Ro'ziyev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces11 Jan 2027
Bukhara sell a favourite for $240.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Asilbek Qayumov was one of the reasons people came, and $240.0K does not replace that by itself.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
$95.0K settles it between the clubs for Eldor Adhamov
Andijon have accepted the money. What Bukhara do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market11 Jan 2027
Asilbek Qayumov has left for Nasaf in a $240.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muxammad Yuldashev 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.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Navbahor: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“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.
Market11 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Umidjon Hamroyev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bukhara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Amirbek Saidov 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
The name of Muhammadsafo Fozilov has come up in conversations Bukhara were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nasaf have kept their man, and Bukhara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ravshan Xayrullayev 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jasurbek Ubaydullayev commits to Bukhara for another 3 years.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan move for Dilshod Saitov is in the works
Bukhara have made the call to Pakhtakor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Navbahor have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
Amirbek Saidov 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 133% of the Bukhara income
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Market28 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bukhara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
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 Ibroxim Numonov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Sardor Qulmatov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ravshan Xayrullayev 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“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
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Temur Mamasiddiqov 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ibroxim Numonov, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Market7 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amirbek Saidov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Nika Kacharava is 32, with 231 appearances behind him, and Bukhara will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 150% of the Bukhara income
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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Market30 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bukhara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bukhara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Ravshan Xayrullayev 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bukhara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Amirbek Saidov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Umidjon Hamroyev commits to Bukhara for another 4 years.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I watch every Bukhara game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Metallurg runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ibroxim Numonov, and the manager let it.
Market9 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amirbek Saidov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Umidjon Hamroyev and Bukhara agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Luka Čakovan arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Luka Čakovan has, at Bukhara, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
150% of the income goes out in wages at Bukhara
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ravshan Xayrullayev 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Bukhara will try not to make too much of it.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Metallurg to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bukhara and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
Market2 Nov 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bukhara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market2 Nov 2026
Bukhara shop where it costs nothing
Luka Čakovan signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Dominik Begić 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 Bukhara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
6.77 across the ninety minutes, and a place in the division’s best eleven for it. Nobody who saw the match will argue.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Oct 2026
3‑0, and Sherzod Esanov took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bukhara tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A brace, and Sherzod Esanov takes the afternoon — 7.99
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sherzod Esanov provided it, and the 7.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 7.94 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Nobody wants to play Bukhara right now
3 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Sardor Qulmatov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Muxammad Yuldashev 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Shahboz Jo'rabekov commits to Bukhara for another 3 years.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ravshan Xayrullayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bukhara can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Obod in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Market12 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amirbek Saidov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market12 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
There were 8 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from Amirbek Saidov at 20 — 7.85
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Amirbek Saidov did not need any: 7.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bukhara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages swallow 196% of the Bukhara income
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.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match3 Oct 2026
Three points for Bukhara, 1‑0 the final word against Navbahor in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bukhara know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match26 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑0, and it was Dominik Begić’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bukhara.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muxammad Yuldashev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“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 Sep 2026
7.72, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Bukhara had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
Looking ahead28 Sep 2026
Bukhara take on the side everybody is chasing
Navbahor arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bukhara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Sherzod Esanov 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Bukhara
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Transfer targets21 Sep 2026
Bukhara asked and Andijon said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match19 Sep 2026
Andijon left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Ravshan Xayrullayev 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 dugout21 Sep 2026
“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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bukhara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market14 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bukhara can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Bukhara asked and Slavia Prague said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Ravshan Xayrullayev 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 Sep 2026
“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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
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 0‑1 Jaloliddin Nematov left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Sep 2026
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bukhara will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at Bukhara until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Bukhara asked and Real Bamako said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ravshan Xayrullayev 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Bukhara are still strangers to each other
12 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 dugout7 Sep 2026
Dominik Begić 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 Bukhara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead7 Sep 2026
Qizilqum next, and one man in the Bukhara dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market7 Sep 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bukhara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Navbahor, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Bukhara asked and Akhmat Grozny said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Aug 2026
0‑2 to Kokand 1912, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market31 Aug 2026
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“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.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Nematov after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mikheil Basheleishvili 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Aug 2026
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bukhara will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market24 Aug 2026
Bukhara say no — this time
The offer from Metallurg for Dominik Begić 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match22 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Asadbek Jo'raboyev. 1‑0 against Lokomotiv, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Bukhara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Qulmatov 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
“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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 7.61 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Bukhara had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Aug 2026
Bukhara bow out of the cup
Navbahor go through and Bukhara go home, 0‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bukhara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Bukhara are taken apart by Navbahor — 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: PAOK keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Match15 Aug 2026
4 matches without a win for Bukhara
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Bukhara are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Bukhara
Vladimir Rodić 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Bukhara come up short against AGMK
AGMK left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market10 Aug 2026
The name of Shahboz Jo'rabekov has come up in conversations Bukhara were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bukhara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ulugbek Fayzullaev 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aziz Ahmedov 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ulugbek Mirzaev 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.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“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
Uneasy
Squad3 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sherzod Esanov and Bukhara agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Bukhara
Sherzod Esanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Bukhara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Qulmatov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Sherzod Esanov's contract
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ibroxim Numonov, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
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.” Jaloliddin Nematov chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.