From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match31 Mar 2027
A 3‑0 win over Obod, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
No sign of nerves from Mirkomil Murodov at 17 — 8.53
The hardest thing about being 17 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mirkomil Murodov did not need any: 8.53, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bunyodkor may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
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 terraces5 Apr 2027
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.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
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.
Match3 Apr 2027
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match27 Mar 2027
Bunyodkor make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Bunyodkor have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Shohboz Umarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match27 Mar 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Shohboz Umarov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bunyodkor.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mahmudjon Mahamadjonov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Shohboz Umarov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.59. 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.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 7.14, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Islom Komilov, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match20 Mar 2027
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Bunyodkor scored in the 95th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
Lokomotiv made Bunyodkor work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Marked 8.07 — 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Bunyodkor are still strangers to each other
6 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Islom Komilov on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market15 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
Market15 Mar 2027
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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bunyodkor know it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
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
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces15 Mar 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match13 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Noah Saviolo. 2‑0 against AGMK, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bunyodkor may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sardor Rahmonov and Bunyodkor agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
0‑2 to Pakhtakor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
Shohboz Umarov gets picked when it counts
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Boardroom
No investment in the facilities at Bunyodkor
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
Shohboz Umarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bunyodkor know it.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Boburbek Yo'ldoshev, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Noah Saviolo gets picked when it counts
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 Noah Saviolo is on it.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2027
Bunyodkor take on the side everybody is chasing
Pakhtakor arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Pakhtakor in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Bunyodkor would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Noah Saviolo 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 dugout22 Feb 2027
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 dugout22 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefan Đorđević trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market22 Feb 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Azizbek To'lqinbekov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Feb 2027
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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
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 Feb 2027
Stefan Đorđević wants to finish where he started
Every long career reaches the week the player starts thinking about the last one. He would like it to be at the club that first put him on a pitch, and Bunyodkor now know that too.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Feb 2027
6 new faces, and Bunyodkor are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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 Sardor Rahmonov is on it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Stefan Đorđević asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Federico Botti
“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 dugout15 Feb 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Paide is saying, and nobody at Bunyodkor is enjoying the guessing.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market8 Feb 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rustam Akhmedov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Bunyodkor release $900.4K for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Window shuts: 4 in, 1 out at Bunyodkor
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bunyodkor have done the hard part with Nasaf, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Shohboz Umarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Bunyodkor asked and Ufa 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 dugout1 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Noah Saviolo gets picked when it counts
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 Noah Saviolo is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
Lokomotiv come back empty-handed
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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market25 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Farruhjon Qodirov again, and this time the name on the line is Metallurg. Bunyodkor are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rotor have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Đorđević, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Dila: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Paide: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad18 Jan 2027
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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Noah Saviolo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo Moscow have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market18 Jan 2027
The name of Federico Botti has come up in conversations Bunyodkor were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad18 Jan 2027
29 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Abbos G'ulomov is in the works
Bunyodkor have made the call to Navbahor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Bunyodkor are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bunyodkor have done the hard part with AGMK, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bunyodkor are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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
Sadriddin Hasanov is a better footballer than he was
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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
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 dugout11 Jan 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Muzaffar Olimjonov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bunyodkor have done the hard part with Pakhtakor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Bogdan Odinayev is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Noah Saviolo 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Đorđević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Islom Anvarov and Bunyodkor agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan move for Georgi Lazarov is in the works
Bunyodkor have made the call to Cherno More. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Bunyodkor have made the call to Neftchi. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Noah Saviolo has become a man the manager trusts
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.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bogdan Odinayev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Noah Saviolo 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.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 92% of everything Bunyodkor earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
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 Najmiddin Normurodov is on it.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefan Đorđević trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market28 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amir To'raqulov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Noah Saviolo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Muzaffar Olimjonov, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Sardor Rahmonov has become a man the manager trusts
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.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market21 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Azizbek To'lqinbekov signs something — a contract at Bunyodkor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Noah Saviolo in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stefan Đorđević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Đorđević, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Shohboz Umarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Noah Saviolo 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 dugout7 Dec 2026
Noah Saviolo has become a man the manager trusts
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.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Farruhjon Qodirov, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
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. Stefan Đorđević has moved up it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
108% of the income goes out in wages at Bunyodkor
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Bunyodkor will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Nov 2026
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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Noah Saviolo 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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 dugout23 Nov 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom16 Nov 2026
The season a town measures the next twenty against. The trophy comes home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
Match11 Nov 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Shohboz Umarov obliged against Navbahor. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Bunyodkor.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Match11 Nov 2026
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Bunyodkor. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo 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 terraces16 Nov 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Đorđević, and the manager let it.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Marked 7.93. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Stefan Đorđević: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Shohboz Umarov 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
Noah Saviolo 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bunyodkor know it.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Žarko Udovičić, and the manager let it.
Market9 Nov 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Dostonbek Ahmedov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Noah Saviolo has become a man the manager trusts
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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Muzaffar Olimjonov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Noah Saviolo 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Žarko Udovičić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Najmiddin Normurodov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 108% of the Bunyodkor income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Žarko Udovičić knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Žarko Udovičić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Žarko Udovičić: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Oct 2026
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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
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.
Market26 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Azizbek To'lqinbekov signs something — a contract at Bunyodkor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Islom Anvarov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Bogdan Odinayev is a better footballer than he was
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Bunyodkor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noah Saviolo 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
Shohboz Umarov has become a man the manager trusts
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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Federico Botti: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bunyodkor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sadriddin Hasanov is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Abdulla Fayzullaev 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
A promise honoured at Bunyodkor
Something was said to Noah Saviolo and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad12 Oct 2026
13 new faces, and Bunyodkor are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Noah Saviolo gets picked when it counts
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 Noah Saviolo is on it.
Market12 Oct 2026
Federico Botti is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bunyodkor has been clear about where Federico Botti stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 143% of everything Bunyodkor earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Shohruhxon Qahhorov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Bunyodkor prefer.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
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 dugout5 Oct 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Lazar Stojsavljević has written the date down.
Market5 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amir To'raqulov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
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. Noah Saviolo 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Neftchi leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout28 Sep 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.” Islom Komilov chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Player of the week, judged against every other man in the division. A small award, and one most careers never collect.
Squad28 Sep 2026
At 20 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Sep 2026
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Match19 Sep 2026
4‑0, and Noah Saviolo took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bunyodkor tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Bunyodkor keep winning on the road
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Amir To'raqulov ran the middle of the pitch — 7.00
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 14 combined actions and a mark of 7.00, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Noah Saviolo 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 terraces21 Sep 2026
He is 22 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Sogdiana blown away early
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Sogdiana tried to reorganise, Bunyodkor did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Stefan Đorđević
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Sep 2026
The run is over for Bunyodkor
9 matches without defeat, and then Nasaf. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Shohboz Umarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
400 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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
In brief
-
Squad
13 new faces, and Bunyodkor are still learning each other
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
The dugout
Noah Saviolo gets picked when it counts
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match5 Sep 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 9 matches without defeat is a foundation Bunyodkor did not have in the autumn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 16 in, 7 out at Bunyodkor
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 16 arrived, 7 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Noah Saviolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ujpest have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 12 actions, 7.16, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Match5 Sep 2026
Three points for Bunyodkor, 2‑0 the final word against Metallurg in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Match5 Sep 2026
Bunyodkor keep winning on the road
3 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Žarko Udovičić, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match26 Aug 2026
Bunyodkor march on in the cup
Qizilqum are out and Bunyodkor go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Sadriddin Hasanov at 18 — 7.83
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sadriddin Hasanov did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bunyodkor can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 Aug 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Bunyodkor did not have in the autumn.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Alashkert keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Bunyodkor asked and Lokomotiv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 5 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Aug 2026
Bunyodkor march on in the cup
Sogdiana are out and Bunyodkor go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.74, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.45 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Bunyodkor offered $3.0M; Dinamo Makhachkala 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Bunyodkor cannot stop winning
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Bunyodkor
Shohboz Umarov 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Sardor Rahmonov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match15 Aug 2026
6‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Match12 Aug 2026
A 5‑2 win over Shortan, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A brace, and Shohboz Umarov takes the afternoon — 9.65
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Shohboz Umarov provided it, and the 9.65 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Bilolxon Toshmirzayev provided it, and the 9.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad17 Aug 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.06 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Sadriddin Hasanov at 18 — 8.55
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sadriddin Hasanov did not need any: 8.55, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Bunyodkor have gone to Dinamo Makhachkala 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Shohboz Umarov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The deal with Trabzonspor is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at NK Maribor is saying, and nobody at Bunyodkor is enjoying the guessing.
Squad10 Aug 2026
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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Navbahor have kept their man, and Bunyodkor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Qizilqum will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Shahzod Rahmatullayev 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Shohruh Ahmedov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jaloliddin Ahmedov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Timur Abdullaev 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.13, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shohboz Umarov and Bunyodkor agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bunyodkor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Bunyodkor
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sardor Rahmonov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-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.
Match1 Aug 2026
A 2‑0 win over Bukhara, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.