Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Farruhjon Qodirov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov 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.
Nobody at Bunyodkor will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
1‑4 to Neftchi, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nosirjon Abdusalomov and Bunyodkor agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Chertanovo have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Mashal waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bunyodkor is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Navbahor; Bunyodkor go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Neftchi keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have given 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 Bunyodkor know it.
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bunyodkor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The offer from Obod for Farruhjon Qodirov 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov 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.
“I watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Nasaf runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 113 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
A mark of 7.65 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
4 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.
Sardor Rahmonov 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Marked 7.78. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout29 May 2028
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.” Jasur Fayzullaev, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
A mark of 8.38 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Sadriddin Hasanov 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Bunyodkor, another week without a signature from Muhammadyusuf Sobirov.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bunyodkor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Matija Krivokapić. 1‑0 against Shortan, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Mirkomil Murodov stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout15 May 2028
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.” Jasur Fayzullaev, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Nobody at Bunyodkor will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A mark of 8.18 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.03 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Bunyodkor know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Amir To'raqulov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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.
Marked 8.45 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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 Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Amir To'raqulov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jasur Fayzullaev after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
A mark of 8.08 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Sadriddin Hasanov 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.
9 combined actions and 6.70. 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.
Islom Anvarov 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bunyodkor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 6.95, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Muhammadyusuf Sobirov is on it.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jasur Fayzullaev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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.
Successful dribbles: 12. 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Farruhjon Qodirov and Bunyodkor agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 18 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.
Ljubiša Pecelj 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.
Sardor Rahmonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Luka Đorđević and Bunyodkor agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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 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.
The young player of the month award goes to a 19-year-old at Bunyodkor who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
“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.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Jasur Fayzullaev was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Bunyodkor dressing room was either.
Amir To'raqulov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nosirjon Abdusalomov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Bilolxon Toshmirzayev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bunyodkor needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Next up on the road: Kokand 1912, position 15. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
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.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sadriddin Hasanov did not need any: 7.69, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bunyodkor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
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.
5 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sadriddin Hasanov and Bunyodkor agree another 5 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov 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.
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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bunyodkor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sadriddin Hasanov provided it, and the 8.37 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Bunyodkor and Pakhtakor, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
2‑4 to Pakhtakor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Bunyodkor
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Sadriddin Hasanov 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.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bunyodkor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azizbek To'lqinbekov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Amir To'raqulov signs something — a contract at Bunyodkor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The words a physio says slowly. 36 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mirkomil Murodov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Azizbek To'lqinbekov and Bunyodkor agree another 4 years.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matija Krivokapić signs something — a contract at Bunyodkor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Sardor Rahmonov 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bunyodkor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He 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.
Bunyodkor 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Metallurg waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bunyodkor is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Bunyodkor close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 2 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ljubiša Pecelj is living that version at Bunyodkor, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Abdumavlon Abdujalilov again, and this time the name on the line is Nasaf. Bunyodkor are listening politely and promising nothing.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nosirjon Abdusalomov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Farruhjon Qodirov had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bunyodkor people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Faxriddin Muhammadov is on it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matija Krivokapić signs something — a contract at Bunyodkor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Bunyodkor asked and Pakhtakor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Muzaffar Olimjonov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bunyodkor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Mirjalol Norqobilov is on it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Bukhara waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bunyodkor is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Bunyodkor asked and Shortan said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Bunyodkor will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mirkomil Abdurazzoqov has his answer from Bunyodkor; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bunyodkor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Add another name to the list: AGMK have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Vladimir Nedeljković. The answer from Bunyodkor has not changed — yet.
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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Bunyodkor will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Bilolxon Toshmirzayev has his answer from Bunyodkor; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Bunyodkor. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Bunyodkor are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sadriddin Hasanov is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Farruhjon Qodirov and Bunyodkor agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shohboz Umarov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Amir To'raqulov has moved up it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Muzaffar Olimjonov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Azizbek To'lqinbekov’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bunyodkor may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Nobody at Bunyodkor will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Narimonjon Ahmadjonov and Bunyodkor agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
Mirkomil Abdurazzoqov 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Bunyodkor would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
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.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nosirjon Abdusalomov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Bunyodkor would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Bunyodkor. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
BoardroomThe Bunyodkor production line keeps running
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Mirjalol Norqobilov is on it.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Neftchi kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Bunyodkor will be asked about the last half hour all week.
A mark of 8.48 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 19 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bunyodkor can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“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 Bunyodkor, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Neftchi next, and one man in the Bunyodkor dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bunyodkor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at Bunyodkor will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Bunyodkor have no good answer.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov 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 young player of the month award goes to a 19-year-old at Bunyodkor who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bunyodkor can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Richmond Adeyeye stands, which is more than many ever get.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sadriddin Hasanov provided it, and the 8.89 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Amir To'raqulov scored, was marked 7.90, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Mirkomil Abdurazzoqov 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Bunyodkor pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The deal that would have taken Abdumavlon Abdujalilov to Bukhara has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Bunyodkor with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Marked 9.37 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
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.
Bunyodkor asked and Neftchi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov 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.
He is 19 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bunyodkor have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 10 arrived, 16 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Narimonjon Ahmadjonov 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.
Bunyodkor ran out of time with Kokand 1912. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Azizbek To'lqinbekov has come out of that comparison in the side, and Bunyodkor have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Metallurg waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bunyodkor is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sadriddin Hasanov did not need any: 7.70, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Minute 93, against Shortan, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Boburbek Yo'ldoshev has his answer from Bunyodkor; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amir To'raqulov provided it, and the 8.12 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Bunyodkor have gone to Andijon with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bunyodkor can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bunyodkor asked and Kairat said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Narimonjon Ahmadjonov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Bukhara had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Andijon keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
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.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bunyodkor people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Zira is saying, and nobody at Bunyodkor is enjoying the guessing.
Najmiddin Normurodov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Esteghlal have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bunyodkor people have started saying his name in the past tense.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dmitry Pletnev provided it, and the 8.11 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Bunyodkor and Andijon, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Federico Botti has left for Sogdiana in a $140.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azizbek To'lqinbekov 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bunyodkor have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.75 for the rest of it.
The offer went to Navbahor 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.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Bunyodkor scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Bukhara had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
A mark of 8.01 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Bunyodkor offered $370.0K; Navbahor 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Bunyodkor asked and Sabah said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Sadriddin Hasanov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” AGMK had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
$370.0K on the table at Navbahor. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
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.
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 clubs have shaken hands with Sogdiana; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bunyodkor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bunyodkor have done the hard part with Neftchi, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Andijon is saying, and nobody at Bunyodkor is enjoying the guessing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Qarabag have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Obod waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Bunyodkor is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The offer from Mashal for Farruhjon Qodirov 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.
The deal with Dinamo Batumi 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.
Bunyodkor had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Pakhtakor, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Bunyodkor asked and Mashal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 26 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The offer from Zob Ahan for Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bunyodkor have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Federico Botti had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“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 Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Fakel keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sochi have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Morteza Pouraliganji 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.
Add another name to the list: Pakhtakor have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Bilolxon Toshmirzayev. The answer from Bunyodkor has not changed — yet.
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.
Bunyodkor asked and Dinamo Batumi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Everything agreed with Radnicki Nis, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Najmiddin Normurodov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Bunyodkor can tell you which week it ends in.
Bunyodkor asked and Qarabag said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bunyodkor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azizbek To'lqinbekov 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 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.
The dugout31 May 2027
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 Jasur Fayzullaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Nasaf in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bunyodkor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Abdurahmon Sulaymonov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jasur Fayzullaev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bunyodkor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.71 for the rest of it.
Morteza Pouraliganji 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.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Abdunabiyev 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.
Boardroom17 May 2027
Nobody left the Bunyodkor 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout17 May 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 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Jasur Fayzullaev to a room that had heard them before.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azizbek To'lqinbekov 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.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, Jasur Fayzullaev could afford to be generous.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
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.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
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. Bunyodkor will try very hard not to make too much of it.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladimir Nedeljković, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 May 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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Jasur Fayzullaev to a room that had heard them before.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Dmitry Pletnev provided it, and the 8.05 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Morteza Pouraliganji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Azizbek To'lqinbekov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 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.
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.
A mark of 7.69 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bunyodkor can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Jasur Fayzullaev on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
Bunyodkor are taken apart by Mashal — 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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.92 for the rest of it.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
Morteza Pouraliganji and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Azizbek To'lqinbekov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Morteza Pouraliganji trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Bilolxon Toshmirzayev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bunyodkor needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
Morteza Pouraliganji was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jasur Fayzullaev after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Morteza Pouraliganji 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.
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
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.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Morteza Pouraliganji’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Bunyodkor needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Abdurahmon Sulaymonov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bunyodkor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Abdunabiyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Position 14 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Krylya Sovetov have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bunyodkor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Bunyodkor would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Morteza Pouraliganji arrived with a record at a bigger club than this one, and the room has treated him accordingly. The young ones watch him train; the senior ones watch to see whether it lasts.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Alijon Bekmurodov is on it.
Bunyodkor close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 0 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.
Morteza Pouraliganji 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 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Widzew Łódź have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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; Bunyodkor are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Faxriddin Muhammadov is on it.
Bunyodkor 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Bunyodkor. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
The dugoutIslom Anvarov asks for a word with the manager
Pakhtakor have accepted the money. What Bunyodkor do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“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 Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Dila keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Abdunabiyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Federico Botti is on it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Pakhtakor is saying, and nobody at Bunyodkor is enjoying the guessing.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Position 14 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Everything agreed with Pakhtakor, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Bunyodkor asked and Shortan said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Abdunabiyev 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bunyodkor can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“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 Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Metallurg for Farruhjon Qodirov 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Mirkomil Abdurazzoqov is living that version at Bunyodkor, and it tends to show in the first month.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Bunyodkor asked and Trabzonspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sadriddin Hasanov and Bunyodkor agree another 5 years.
Bunyodkor have made the call to Radnicki Nis. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Boburbek Yo'ldoshev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Federico Botti is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bunyodkor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Najmiddin Normurodov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Aleksandr Zevadinov is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Boburbek Yo'ldoshev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
“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 Bunyodkor know it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Abdunabiyev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugoutIslom Anvarov knocks on the manager's door
19Edition
The Bunyodkor Post
7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondentUneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Alijon Bekmurodov is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bunyodkor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandr Zevadinov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Abdunabiyev 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.
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.
“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; Bunyodkor are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Abdunabiyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Not a month, not a run of form — a whole season of being the best 21-year-old anybody in this division could put on a pitch. This is the honour that gets mentioned for the rest of his career.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bunyodkor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Position 14 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bogdan Odinayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Bunyodkor will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
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 Abdumavlon Abdujalilov has written the date down.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Najmiddin Normurodov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov 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.
Richmond Adeyeye is 19, and Bunyodkor have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Azizbek To'lqinbekov has come out of that comparison in the side, and Bunyodkor have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Nobody at Bunyodkor will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bunyodkor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Abdurahmon Sulaymonov is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bogdan Odinayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“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; Bunyodkor are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Bunyodkor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bunyodkor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Neftchi next, and one man in the Bunyodkor dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bunyodkor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 86 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Azizbek To'lqinbekov is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Nobody at Bunyodkor is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The words a physio says slowly. 33 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Muhammadyusuf Sobirov is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bogdan Odinayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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.
Marked 9.45 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bunyodkor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Najmiddin Normurodov scored, was marked 7.41, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Mirkomil Abdurazzoqov has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Bunyodkor have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadyusuf Sobirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Partizan have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bunyodkor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Matija Krivokapić had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Bunyodkor close the window on a squad of their own making
15 in and 3 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.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Muhammadali Usmonov has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Bunyodkor have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bunyodkor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Federico Botti had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Bunyodkor asked and Levski said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
10 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 dugout31 Aug 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 1‑2 Jasur Fayzullaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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 Bunyodkor, and it is not being withdrawn.
A mark of 7.70 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.
Najmiddin Normurodov 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 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.
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.
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
0‑3 to Navbahor, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shakhtar have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Matija Krivokapić provided it, and the 8.22 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
$790.0K on the table at Neftchi. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nosirjon Abdusalomov and Bunyodkor agree another 4 years.
Pakhtakor will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Hojimat Erkinov has pre-agreed a move to Bunyodkor, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Boburbek Yo'ldoshev 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Matija Krivokapić 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.
Sardor Rahmonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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.
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
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.” Jasur Fayzullaev chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.