Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rustam Mirzaev has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Aziz Akhmedov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abrorbek Ismoilov 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 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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
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 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.
Add another name to the list: Astana have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sadriddin Hasanov. The answer from Bunyodkor has not changed — yet.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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 upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Bunyodkor is running low.
Shohboz Umarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abrorbek Ismoilov 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.
The bid was some way short and Bunyodkor did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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 Muhammadyusuf Sobirov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 offer from Melbourne City for Matija Krivokapić 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.
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.
Add another name to the list: Bukhara have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sadriddin Hasanov. The answer from Bunyodkor has not changed — yet.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matija Krivokapić 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 upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Bunyodkor is running low.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Bunyodkor have had the benefit of it.
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.
Samandarjon Mavlonqulov 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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Shohboz Umarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matija Krivokapić 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 a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
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.
“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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matija Krivokapić 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.
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.
Abdurahmon Komilov 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.
In brief
Squad9 new faces, and Bunyodkor are still learning each other
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.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Bunyodkor have had the benefit of it.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matija Krivokapić 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 watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Navbahor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
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.
“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.
In brief
SquadWords at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
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. Dostonbek Abdullaev 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
In brief
SquadWords at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
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.
“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.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
An order from above at Bunyodkor: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Shohboz Umarov 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 watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Navbahor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
Boardroom90% of the income goes out in wages at Bunyodkor
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 77 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matija Krivokapić 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.
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.
20 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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 unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hamidullo 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.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
6 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.
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.
Lokomotiv will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Muhammedali Reimov 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matija Krivokapić 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 watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Navbahor 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. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Samandarjon Mavlonqulov is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 107 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Abdumavlon Abdujalilov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
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 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 26 say he has earned the hearing.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 114 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Qizilqum for Mirkomil Murodov 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 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.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Marko Bugarin falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 121 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
24 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
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.
The name of Mirkomil Murodov has come up in conversations Bunyodkor were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 128 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.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Nodirbek Karimov has just signed for Bunyodkor, and for once the answer mattered.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Abdurahmon Komilov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 135 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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.
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 watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Tobol runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Marked 8.40 — 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abrorbek Ismoilov. 1‑0 against Andijon, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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 did not go to Maccabi Petach Tikva to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bunyodkor and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 23 matches say the rest.
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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Abror Karimov 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.
Marked 8.96 — 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.
“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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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 8.51 — 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.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Kokand 1912 tried to reorganise, Bunyodkor did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Marked 8.14 — 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 fee is $340.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. AGMK drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The terraces5 Jul 2027
Bunyodkor spend $340.0K on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $340.0K for Hamidullo Abdunabiyev, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.
“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 4 appearances in 24 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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.
“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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
22 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
22 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Murodjon Komilov from Kokand 1912 for $250.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Shohboz Umarov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.27. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Itsuki Urata was one of the reasons people came, and $1.0M does not replace that by itself.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
21 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
The chase for Rian Islomov ended with $130.0K changing hands and AGMK out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
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.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Marked 8.10 — 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.
In brief
Boardroom97% of the income goes out in wages at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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. Mohamed Rahim 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 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 13 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
Itsuki Urata was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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 did not go to Maccabi Petach Tikva to sit and watch. I want to come back to Bunyodkor and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Bunyodkor told Muzaffar Olimjonov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Marko Bugarin was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.79. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“I watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Lokomotiv runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Squad10 May 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Navbahor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
10 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Shohboz Umarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Marko Bugarin was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.29. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“I watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Navbahor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
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 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Maccabi Petach Tikva runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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 Apr 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Two goals and a mark of 8.65 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Matija Krivokapić had Bunyodkor level again within 2 minutes, and Andijon never got to play with a lead at all.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Sardor Rahmonov stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Navbahor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Metallurg go through and Bunyodkor go home, 1‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Shohboz Umarov provided it, and the 9.32 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
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.
Itsuki Urata 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Matija Krivokapić stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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 watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Maccabi Petach Tikva runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Lokomotiv left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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 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 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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.
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.
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.
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Dostonbek Abdullaev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Akmal Tukhtasinov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Doniyor Mirzaev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
“I watch every Bunyodkor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Navbahor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The phone has started ringing about Muhammadyusuf Sobirov again, and this time the name on the line is Irtysh. Bunyodkor are listening politely and promising nothing.
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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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.
Itsuki Urata 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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 words a physio says slowly. 14 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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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 words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
In brief
SquadSardor Rahmonov falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
“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 words a physio says slowly. 44 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Samandarjon Mavlonqulov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
52 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.
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.
Abdumavlon Abdujalilov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
Boardroom139% of the income goes out in wages at Bunyodkor
SquadWords at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
61 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.
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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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 words a physio says slowly. 69 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.
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.
In brief
SquadMohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The words a physio says slowly. 76 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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
In brief
SquadSardor Rahmonov falls out with a teammate over standards
84 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alijon Bekmurodov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Abdumavlon Abdujalilov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadMohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
BoardroomWages eat 156% of everything Bunyodkor earn
93 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.
“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.
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.
100 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.
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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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.
107 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.
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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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 words a physio says slowly. 115 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 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.
Abdumavlon Abdujalilov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 122 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. Narimonjon Ahmadjonov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The words a physio says slowly. 129 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.
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 Oct 2026
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
139 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.
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.
In brief
SquadWords at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
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.
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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 in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Shohboz Umarov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.00. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Abdurahmon Komilov 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.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Bunyodkor did not have in the autumn.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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 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.
Marked 8.14 — 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Bunyodkor told Boburbek Yo'ldoshev something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
“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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alijon Bekmurodov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bunyodkor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Mirjalol Norqobilov has agreed terms with Sogdiana for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
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.
Metallurg made Bunyodkor work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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.
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.
In brief
Player ratingsShohboz Umarov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Player ratingsDmitry Pletnev was on a different afternoon to everybody else
The offer from Andijon 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.
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.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Alijon Bekmurodov has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Rahim 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.
Navbahor will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Joyce Katulondi 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.
“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.
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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Mohamed Rahim falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The 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.
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.
Shortan go through and Bunyodkor go home, 1‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
The phone has started ringing about Samandarjon Mavlonqulov again, and this time the name on the line is Persija. Bunyodkor are listening politely and promising nothing.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
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.
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.
Shohboz Umarov 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.
“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.
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.
Still no offer on the table, and Matija Krivokapić’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amir To'raqulov 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 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Narimonjon Ahmadjonov stands, which is more than many ever get.
The offer from Bnei Sakhnin for Samandarjon Mavlonqulov 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.
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sardor Rahmonov 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Dmitry Pletnev stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.