Metallurg

Uzbek Super League
3 Dec 2026
Thursday
Process
18 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Jahongir Abdumo'minov

69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metallurg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Metallurg board

A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.

Squad

A falling-out at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Metallurg training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sanjar Shoahmedov 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 dugout

Metallurg keep their word to Humoyun Abdualimov

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

The dugout

The manager makes Jahongir Abdumo'minov a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Metallurg. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

Back issues
17 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Jahongir Abdumo'minov

76 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metallurg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

Metallurg sink to position 16

1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad

Words exchanged at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Dilshod Jo'rayev

“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.

Squad

A row about effort at Metallurg

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mustafo Abdumannopov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

The Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev signs something — a contract at Metallurg or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

16 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Jahongir Abdumo'minov damages knee ligaments — 83 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 83 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 dugout

Albert Nurullayev: 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.” Metallurg have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Muhammad Ubaydullayev puts it in writing

“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 Metallurg, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Metallurg

Dilshod Jo'rayev 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.

Squad

Sanjar Shoahmedov 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.

Squad

Asan Vaniyev signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Asan Vaniyev and Metallurg agree another 3 years.

In brief

15 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Jahongir Abdumo'minov out for 90 days

90 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Metallurg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Azimjon Ahmedov 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 Metallurg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Metallurg

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sanjar Shoahmedov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Ulugbek Abdullaev steps up from the Metallurg academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ulugbek Abdullaev 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Asiljon Begimqulov

“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 dugout

Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev 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 Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev is on it.

In brief

14 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Jahongir Abdumo'minov out for 97 days

97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Metallurg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Metallurg board

A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.

Squad

A falling-out at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Metallurg training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Husniddin G'afurov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Davron Anvarov

“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 dugout

Dilshod Jo'rayev has been promised minutes

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 Dilshod Jo'rayev has written the date down.

In brief

13 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Jahongir Abdumo'minov

104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metallurg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

Metallurg are in real trouble now

Position 16, 1 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

The dugout

Muslimbek Habibullayev says Metallurg went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Sanjar Shoahmedov 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Metallurg

Muslimbek Habibullayev 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.

Squad

27 new faces, and Metallurg 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.

In brief

12 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Jahongir Abdumo'minov out for 112 days

112 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Metallurg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Muhammad Ubaydullayev asks to leave Metallurg

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov 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.

Squad

Hasanboy Tojiboyev is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.

Squad

Words at Metallurg training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sanjar Shoahmedov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Jahongir Abdumo'minov

“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.

In brief

11 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Jahongir Abdumo'minov out for 119 days

119 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Metallurg lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Azimjon Ahmedov 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 Metallurg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Aziz Nematov signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Aziz Nematov and Metallurg agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev 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 Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev is on it.

Squad

Words at Metallurg training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mustafo Abdumannopov 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 dugout

A promise honoured for Samandar Sindarov

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Metallurg told Samandar Sindarov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

In brief

10 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Jahongir Abdumo'minov

127 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Metallurg lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Metallurg board

A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.

Squad

Dilshod Jo'rayev 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 Metallurg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Sanjar Shoahmedov 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.

Squad

Aziz Nematov is the month’s best young player

At 15 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Metallurg will try not to make too much of it.

Boardroom

104% of the income goes out in wages at Metallurg

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.

In brief

9 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Metallurg

10 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.

Match

Metallurg sink to position 16

1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Player ratings

Husniddin G'afurov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 29. 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov 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.

Squad

Sanjar Shoahmedov 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.

Match

Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev answers Kokand 1912 immediately

Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev had Metallurg level again within 4 minutes, and Kokand 1912 never got to play with a lead at all.

Player ratings

Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev was the difference for Metallurg

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.

Match

Metallurg share the spoils with Kokand 1912

A 1‑1 draw with Kokand 1912 leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Asan Vaniyev

“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.

In brief

8 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Metallurg's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Metallurg has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Metallurg

9 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Market

Muhammad Ubaydullayev hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Metallurg can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets

Danil Baklanov due for a Metallurg medical

Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Tempers go at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov 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.

Match

Metallurg come up short against Lokomotiv

Lokomotiv left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Muslimbek Habibullayev gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Metallurg are still strangers to each other

26 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 dugout

Doniyor Masharipov answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

7 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Metallurg taken apart

0‑4 to AGMK, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Match

8 matches without a win for Metallurg

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Metallurg are no longer polite ones.

Match

Metallurg are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 8 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Boardroom

Metallurg beat the market to Asilbek Tojiddinov from Andijon

Andijon will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Asilbek Tojiddinov has pre-agreed a move to Metallurg, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.

Squad

Words at Metallurg training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sanjar Shoahmedov 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 targets

Metallurg rebuffed over Mirkomil Murodov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bunyodkor have kept their man, and Metallurg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Muslimbek Habibullayev 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 Metallurg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

One of our own: Abdulla Suyunov joins the Metallurg first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Abdulla Suyunov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

The dugout

Jahongir Abdumo'minov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief

6 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Metallurg taken apart

2‑6 to Bunyodkor, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Match

7 matches without a win for Metallurg

The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Metallurg are no longer polite ones.

Match

Metallurg are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 7 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

Boardroom

Metallurg close the window on a squad of their own making

33 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.

Squad

A falling-out at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev among the goals in a wild afternoon

8 goals in one match, Shahzodbek Ubaydullayev on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Metallurg and Bunyodkor.

Squad

A row about effort at Metallurg

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sanjar Shoahmedov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Metallurg rebuffed over Nurbek Sarsenbaev

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Neftchi have kept their man, and Metallurg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Azimjon Ahmedov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Azimjon Ahmedov, and the manager let it.

In brief

5 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Suhrobjon Sultonov stands alone

7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

The wait goes on for Metallurg

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.

Match

Metallurg leaking at the back

6 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Transfer targets

Zafarbek Rahimjonov turns down Metallurg

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Squad

Words exchanged at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov 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.

Squad

Omadillo Abdubannobov gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Omadillo Abdubannobov has just signed for Metallurg, and for once the answer mattered.

Boardroom

Metallurg agree a free transfer for Mironshox Mexmonov

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.

Transfer targets

Metallurg rebuffed over Yegor Kortsov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Brest have kept their man, and Metallurg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Words at Metallurg training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Husniddin G'afurov 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.

In brief

4 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Metallurg's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Metallurg has to find a result from somewhere.

Transfer targets

O'ktamjon Abdumalikov turns down Metallurg

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Kokand 1912 keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Metallurg

5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

Squad

Words exchanged at Metallurg

Dilshod Jo'rayev 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Metallurg against Sogdiana

1‑3 to Sogdiana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Sanjar Shoahmedov 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 dugout

No hiding place for Sardor Sadullayev

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sardor Sadullayev, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Husniddin G'afurov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 16. 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.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Metallurg

24 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.

In brief

3 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The small margins put Metallurg out

Out, 0‑3 to Nasaf, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Market

Metallurg turn down Lokomotivi for Shahriyor Jabborov

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

The terraces

Metallurg are taken apart by Nasaf — and the town wants answers

It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.

Transfer targets

O'ktamjon Abdumalikov due for a Metallurg medical

Everything agreed with Kokand 1912, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Transfer targets

Miraziz Mahamadaliyev turns down Metallurg

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Andijon keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Match

4 matches without a win for Metallurg

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Metallurg are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Azimjon Ahmedov 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 Metallurg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Lokomotiv tell Metallurg: Jasur Yaxshiboyev is not for sale

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.

Squad

Sanjar Shoahmedov 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.

In brief

2 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Suhrobjon Sultonov

There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

Metallurg taken apart

0‑3 to Pakhtakor, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.

Transfer targets

Hasanboy Tojiboyev due for a Metallurg medical

Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Words exchanged at Metallurg

Azimjon Ahmedov 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.

Boardroom

Metallurg agree a free transfer for Shohrux Mahmudhojiyev

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.

Transfer targets

Metallurg rebuffed over Akbar To'rayev

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Neftchi have kept their man, and Metallurg go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market

One of our own: Islom Tukhtasinov joins the Metallurg first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Islom Tukhtasinov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Abdulla Ismailov steps up from the Metallurg academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Abdulla Ismailov 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.

Market

Metallurg promote Sardor Suyunov from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sardor Suyunov 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.

In brief

1 Edition

The Metallurg Herald

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Metallurg

Beaten 0‑6 by Mashal, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

7 saves: Suhrobjon Sultonov was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Player ratings

Armin Bošnjak beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Sanjar Shoahmedov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sanjar Shoahmedov commits to Metallurg for another 2 years.

Squad

Shahriyor Jabborov 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 Metallurg this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

6 goals as Metallurg and Mashal go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Metallurg and Mashal, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Squad

Words at Metallurg training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sanjar Shoahmedov 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.

Market

Javohir Rasulov already looking beyond Metallurg

He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.

The dugout

Asiljon Begimqulov gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

In brief