From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Oct 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nasaf have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Oct 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Älibek Qasym commits to Nasaf for another 4 years.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Umarbek Eshmurodov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom1 Oct 2029
Nasaf counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Nasaf now.
Squad1 Oct 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market1 Oct 2029
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Nasaf could ask drops and the wages Samandar Muratboyev can ask rise.
Market1 Oct 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Älibek Qasym’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Sep 2029
No end in sight to Nasaf's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nasaf has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“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.
Market24 Sep 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nasaf they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.24 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad24 Sep 2029
The team sheet said everything about Sharof Muhiddinov
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Sharof Muhiddinov.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Sep 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nasaf is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match15 Sep 2029
5 matches without a win for Nasaf
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Nasaf are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Davronbek Usmonov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Marked 8.49 — 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.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Sep 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match15 Sep 2029
It needed Ilias Takidine to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against AGMK, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match8 Sep 2029
No end in sight to Nasaf's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nasaf has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings10 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market10 Sep 2029
“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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Nasaf pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Market10 Sep 2029
Everyone has stopped pretending: Shortan will make the call about Eldor Tukhtasinov this week. Nasaf have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad10 Sep 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The terraces10 Sep 2029
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Squad10 Sep 2029
2 goals and a season average of 7.27. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Kingsley Sokari
“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.
Market3 Sep 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Marked 7.82 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Nasaf had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match1 Sep 2029
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Neftchi defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market3 Sep 2029
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Nasaf could ask drops and the wages Samandar Muratboyev can ask rise.
Market3 Sep 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Älibek Qasym’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Aug 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match25 Aug 2029
Adenis Shala scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Sogdiana, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad27 Aug 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vlatko Stojanovski, and the manager let it.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market27 Aug 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The terraces27 Aug 2029
Everybody has an opinion about Yusuf Otubanjo
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Aug 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Samandar Muratboyev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nasaf the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market20 Aug 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasaf can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market20 Aug 2029
Kokand 1912 pay $46.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Match18 Aug 2029
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“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.
Market20 Aug 2029
Everyone has stopped pretending: Obod will make the call about Islom Tukhtasinov this week. Nasaf have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad20 Aug 2029
The team sheet said everything about Sharof Muhiddinov
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Sharof Muhiddinov.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Aug 2029
Nasaf make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Nasaf have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad13 Aug 2029
The manager makes an example of Yusuf Otubanjo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.76, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match11 Aug 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Davronbek Usmonov. 1‑0 against Metallurg, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Marked 9.07 — 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.
Match4 Aug 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Shammasu Muhammed. 2‑1 against Mashal, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Marked 8.41 — 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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Nasaf pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Squad6 Aug 2029
17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market6 Aug 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Nasaf, another week without a signature from Davronbek Usmonov.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Jul 2029
Shortan come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Nasaf did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samandar Muratboyev, and the manager let it.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.63, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match28 Jul 2029
Nasaf get the job done against Shortan
A 1‑0 win over Shortan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Boardroom30 Jul 2029
90% of the income goes out in wages at Nasaf
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market23 Jul 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Samandar Muratboyev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nasaf the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market23 Jul 2029
The name of Jasur Masharipov has come up in conversations Nasaf were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Match21 Jul 2029
Davronbek Usmonov scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Obod, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings23 Jul 2029
Marked 8.37 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad23 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sharof Muhiddinov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom23 Jul 2029
Nobody left the Nasaf dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market23 Jul 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Nasaf, another week without a signature from Samandar Muratboyev.
Market23 Jul 2029
Everyone has stopped pretending: Shortan will make the call about Eldor Tukhtasinov this week. Nasaf have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Jul 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nasaf is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad16 Jul 2029
The manager makes an example of Stefan Čolović
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings16 Jul 2029
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Sardorbek Bahromov
2 goals and a season average of 7.20 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match14 Jul 2029
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Navbahor defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kingsley Sokari trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yusuf Otubanjo commits to Nasaf for another 2 years.
Squad9 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings9 Jul 2029
A performance of 9.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match7 Jul 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market9 Jul 2029
Everyone has stopped pretending: Obod will make the call about Jasur Masharipov this week. Nasaf have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bahodir Halilov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings9 Jul 2029
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Jul 2029
“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 Nasaf, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yusuf Otubanjo and Nasaf agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.85, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match30 Jun 2029
Andijon made Nasaf work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings2 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market2 Jul 2029
Everyone has stopped pretending: Kokand 1912 will make the call about Eldor Tukhtasinov this week. Nasaf have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jun 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nasaf they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market25 Jun 2029
“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 Nasaf, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nasaf may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
A performance of 8.81 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match23 Jun 2029
A 1‑1 draw with Qizilqum leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings25 Jun 2029
Shots: 9, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Jun 2029
The cup run ends for Nasaf
2‑3 against Navbahor, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Player ratings18 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Match16 Jun 2029
Kokand 1912 left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings18 Jun 2029
A performance of 8.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings18 Jun 2029
A performance of 8.33 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad18 Jun 2029
The manager makes an example of Carlos Martínez
“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.
Squad18 Jun 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings18 Jun 2029
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Nasaf needed to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jun 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nasaf have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
Marked 9.52 — 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.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
A performance of 9.27 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“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.
Match9 Jun 2029
Three points for Nasaf, 2‑0 the final word against Lokomotiv in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market11 Jun 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Deruo Wisdom has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Nasaf.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
The name of Issa Fadyl Ousmanou has come up in conversations Nasaf were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Player ratings4 Jun 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings4 Jun 2029
A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“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.
Market4 Jun 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad4 Jun 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Market4 Jun 2029
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Nasaf has been clear about where Issa Fadyl Ousmanou stands, which is more than many ever get.
Match2 Jun 2029
Nasaf and AGMK take a point apiece
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 May 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Samandar Muratboyev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nasaf the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings28 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 May 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings28 May 2029
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad28 May 2029
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings28 May 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings28 May 2029
Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match26 May 2029
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Bunyodkor defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad28 May 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 May 2029
“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.
Squad21 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 May 2029
It finished 2‑1, and it was Davronbek Usmonov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Nasaf.
Player ratings21 May 2029
Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad21 May 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings21 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 May 2029
“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.
Squad14 May 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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.
Squad14 May 2029
“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 May 2029
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 May 2029
The medical room confirms 30 days on the sidelines for Jaloliddin Ahmedov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings14 May 2029
Shots: 14, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market14 May 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Boardroom14 May 2029
Nasaf keep producing them
15 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 May 2029
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings7 May 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 May 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kingsley Sokari commits to Nasaf for another 2 years.
Player ratings7 May 2029
Marked 8.75 — 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.
Squad7 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Davronbek Usmonov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Marked 9.21 — 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.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Marked 9.07 — 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.
Match28 Apr 2029
Three points for Nasaf, 2‑1 the final word against Metallurg in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad30 Apr 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Marked 8.35 — 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.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad30 Apr 2029
21 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market30 Apr 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Nasaf, another week without a signature from Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad23 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
A defender's afternoon for Älibek Qasym
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad23 Apr 2029
“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.
Match21 Apr 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Davronbek Usmonov. 1‑0 against Mashal, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad23 Apr 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad23 Apr 2029
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Nasaf have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov, and the manager let it.
Match14 Apr 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom16 Apr 2029
Nobody left the Nasaf dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match4 Apr 2029
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Dostonbek Hasanov obliged against Metallurg. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Nasaf.
Match7 Apr 2029
Whatever happens, Nasaf do not lose
9 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
A performance of 8.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Match7 Apr 2029
It needed Yusuf Otubanjo to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Obod, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match31 Mar 2029
Still nobody has beaten Nasaf
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Murodbek Rahmatov and Nasaf agree another 4 years.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad2 Apr 2029
53 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.90 on the card, and the Nasaf support went home talking about one name.
Market2 Apr 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Mar 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Murodbek Rahmatov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nasaf the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Rayan Al-Sharekh: 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.” Nasaf have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Mar 2029
Whatever happens, Nasaf do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Mar 2029
“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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shahriar Shojaei and Nasaf agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match24 Mar 2029
Honours even between Nasaf and Bukhara
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Mar 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
A performance of 9.30 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match17 Mar 2029
Nasaf get the job done against Andijon
A 2‑0 win over Andijon, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Marked 8.68 — 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Marked 8.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad19 Mar 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shahriar Shojaei and Nasaf agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sardorbek Bahromov commits to Nasaf for another 4 years.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.70 on the card, and the Nasaf support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Nasaf will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Match10 Mar 2029
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Qizilqum defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Mar 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Adenis Shala and Nasaf agree another 3 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Market5 Mar 2029
The shirt still fits. Jamshidbek Toshmuhammadov is back at Nasaf, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market5 Mar 2029
The shirt still fits. Shahriar Shojaei is back at Nasaf, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market5 Mar 2029
The shirt still fits. Islom Tukhtasinov is back at Nasaf, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market5 Mar 2029
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Jaloliddin Nematov is a Nasaf player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Match3 Mar 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vlatko Stojanovski. 2‑1 against Kokand 1912, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings5 Mar 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.70, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad5 Mar 2029
The medical room confirms 83 days on the sidelines for Shahriar Shojaei, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Feb 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nasaf they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to G'iyosjon Rizaqulov, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Feb 2029
A new face in his position, and Yusuf Otubanjo suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Nasaf have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market26 Feb 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sharof Muhiddinov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Feb 2029
Shakhtar arrived with $7.6M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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.
Market19 Feb 2029
The name of Kingsley Sokari keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Nasaf say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad19 Feb 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shammasu Muhammed trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market19 Feb 2029
Nasaf shop where it costs nothing
Bill Rufer signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
Market19 Feb 2029
Nasaf shop where it costs nothing
Ryan Sutton signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market12 Feb 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Älibek Qasym’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A new face in his position, and Vlatko Stojanovski suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Nasaf have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market12 Feb 2029
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Dane Lockyer arrives at Nasaf with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
Market12 Feb 2029
The clock does Murodbek Rahmatov’s negotiating for him
6 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Nasaf could ask drops and the wages Murodbek Rahmatov can ask rise.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A season on the outside for Dane Lockyer
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Nasaf has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Feb 2029
Nasaf are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 47 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Market5 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasaf can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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.
Market5 Feb 2029
A conversation is coming this week. Nasaf will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
The numbers do not look good at Nasaf
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Market5 Feb 2029
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market5 Feb 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
$98.1K a year onto the Nasaf books
A new partner, a signature and a photograph nobody will remember. It funds a fortnight of wages, which is more than most headlines on this page can say for themselves.
Squad5 Feb 2029
The manager plants his flag on Yusuf Otubanjo
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Yusuf Otubanjo’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 Jan 2029
“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 Nasaf, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Davronbek Usmonov, and the manager let it.
Market29 Jan 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sharof Muhiddinov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bahodir Halilov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 Jan 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nasaf can pretend not to have heard.
Market22 Jan 2029
Nasaf say no — this time
The offer from Bnei Yehuda for Samandar Muratboyev was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market15 Jan 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Nasaf.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match8 Jan 2029
Nasaf are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 47 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Market8 Jan 2029
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Nasaf has been clear about where Shammasu Muhammed stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
The numbers do not look good at Nasaf
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Market8 Jan 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market8 Jan 2029
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Jan 2029
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Nasaf have had the benefit of it.
Squad1 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market1 Jan 2029
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Bahodir Halilov has his answer from Nasaf; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Dec 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Deruo Wisdom
“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.
Market25 Dec 2028
The name of Kingsley Sokari keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Nasaf say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Dec 2028
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Dec 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Älibek Qasym’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match11 Dec 2028
Nasaf refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 47 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
Wages eat 87% of everything Nasaf 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.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
The numbers do not look good at Nasaf
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“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.
Market11 Dec 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yusuf Otubanjo commits to Nasaf for another 2 years.
Squad4 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market4 Dec 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Nov 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nasaf may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Loan watch27 Nov 2028
“I watch every Nasaf game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Atyrau runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
There were 12 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Nasaf have had the benefit of it.
Squad20 Nov 2028
20 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad20 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch20 Nov 2028
“I watch every Nasaf game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Lokomotiv runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings20 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match13 Nov 2028
Nasaf refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 47 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Abduvohid Ne'matov 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.
Boardroom13 Nov 2028
Wages eat 95% of everything Nasaf 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.
Squad13 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Abrorjon Aliyev
“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.
Boardroom13 Nov 2028
The numbers do not look good at Nasaf
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Market13 Nov 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Nov 2028
The medical room confirms 138 days on the sidelines for Eldorbek Suyunov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch6 Nov 2028
“I did not go to Andijon to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 6 appearances in 12 matches say the rest.
Squad6 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Deruo Wisdom
“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.
Market6 Nov 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Sharof Muhiddinov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nasaf may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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.
Loan watch30 Oct 2028
“I did not go to Atyrau to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Oct 2028
The medical room confirms 54 days on the sidelines for Yusuf Otubanjo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad23 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch23 Oct 2028
“I did not go to Lokomotiv to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 6 appearances in 41 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match16 Oct 2028
Nasaf refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 47 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Abduvohid Ne'matov knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 8.87 — 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.
Boardroom16 Oct 2028
106% of the income goes out in wages at Nasaf
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.
Boardroom16 Oct 2028
The numbers do not look good at Nasaf
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Kingsley Sokari commits to Nasaf for another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to G'iyosjon Rizaqulov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kingsley Sokari and Nasaf agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad25 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
A defender's afternoon for Älibek Qasym
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Loan watch25 Sep 2028
“I did not go to Lokomotiv to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 6 appearances in 37 matches say the rest.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“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.
Match23 Sep 2028
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Lokomotiv came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match18 Sep 2028
Nasaf refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 46 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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.
Match16 Sep 2028
Three points for Nasaf, 1‑0 the final word against AGMK in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“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.
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
Wages eat 105% of everything Nasaf 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.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom18 Sep 2028
The numbers do not look good at Nasaf
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 16 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Čolović, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Sep 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Nasaf pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Aug 2028
Nasaf out of the cup
Shortan ended it 1‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad4 Sep 2028
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Defensive actions: 29. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad4 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.96, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match2 Sep 2028
It finished 2‑0, and it was Vlatko Stojanovski’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Nasaf.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Umarbek Eshmurodov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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 Aug 2028
“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.
Match26 Aug 2028
Sogdiana left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Loan watch28 Aug 2028
“I watch every Nasaf game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Lokomotiv runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market28 Aug 2028
The Älibek Qasym talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A mark of 5.60 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A mark of 5.73 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Aug 2028
Ilias Takidine scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Pakhtakor, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vlatko Stojanovski, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
95% of the income goes out in wages at Nasaf
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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Nasaf counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Nasaf now.
Squad21 Aug 2028
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Nasaf have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Aug 2028
Nasaf are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 40 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match12 Aug 2028
Still nobody has beaten Nasaf
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Loan watch14 Aug 2028
“I did not go to Neftchi to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 6 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.76 on the card, and the Nasaf support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vlatko Stojanovski and Nasaf agree another 3 years.
Match5 Aug 2028
Whatever happens, Nasaf do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.46, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match5 Aug 2028
Mashal made Nasaf work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Market7 Aug 2028
Add another name to the list: Atyrau have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Bogdan Odinayev. The answer from Nasaf has not changed — yet.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Marked 8.30 — 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.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
Marked 8.15 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nasaf may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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 Jul 2028
6 unbeaten for Nasaf
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Nasaf did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.31, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match29 Jul 2028
Nasaf get the job done against Shortan
A 2‑0 win over Shortan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“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 watch31 Jul 2028
“I did not go to Lokomotiv to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
A performance of 8.24 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
Wages eat 110% of everything Nasaf 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.
Match22 Jul 2028
Honours even between Nasaf and Obod
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
Nasaf counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Nasaf now.
The terraces24 Jul 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Kingsley Sokari 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Jul 2028
Nasaf are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 32 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
Marked 9.01 — 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.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
A performance of 8.84 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match15 Jul 2028
Navbahor made Nasaf work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.48, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch17 Jul 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nasaf, and 6 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.86, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Marked 8.69 — 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 51 days on the sidelines for Mirshod Suyunov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match8 Jul 2028
Honours even between Nasaf and Bukhara
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Shots: 10, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Jul 2028
“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.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
A performance of 8.33 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch3 Jul 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nasaf, and 5 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
Match1 Jul 2028
Honours even between Nasaf and Andijon
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Bogdan Odinayev
“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.
Market3 Jul 2028
The Älibek Qasym talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Yusuf Otubanjo wants a proper job in this side
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Yusuf Otubanjo has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Nasaf know, and have known for weeks.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Marked 9.88 — 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.
Match24 Jun 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Älibek Qasym’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Nasaf.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad26 Jun 2028
“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.
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Wages eat 106% of everything Nasaf 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.
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Nasaf counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Nasaf now.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Jun 2028
Nasaf through in the cup
A 3‑2 win over Bukhara, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nasaf have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Abduvohid Ne'matov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
A performance of 9.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Marked 8.80 — 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.
Match17 Jun 2028
0‑1 to Kokand 1912, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“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 watch19 Jun 2028
“I did not go to Neftchi to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.15, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match10 Jun 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oybek Rustamov. 1‑0 against Lokomotiv, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
A performance of 8.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad12 Jun 2028
The manager makes an example of Oybek Rustamov
“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.
Market12 Jun 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Nasaf has been clear about where Issa Fadyl Ousmanou stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kingsley Sokari trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Jun 2028
Nasaf come up short against AGMK
AGMK left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Älibek Qasym 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.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch5 Jun 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nasaf, and 5 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
The terraces5 Jun 2028
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Kingsley Sokari 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
The Älibek Qasym talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
A mark of 5.74 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abduvohid Ne'matov, and the manager let it.
Match27 May 2028
A bad afternoon for Nasaf against Bunyodkor
0‑1 to Bunyodkor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom29 May 2028
101% of the income goes out in wages at Nasaf
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.
Boardroom29 May 2028
Nasaf counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Nasaf now.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad29 May 2028
Oybek Rustamov knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market29 May 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Oybek Rustamov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 May 2028
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings22 May 2028
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings22 May 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad22 May 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings22 May 2028
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Player ratings22 May 2028
A performance of 8.77 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match20 May 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Älibek Qasym. 1‑0 against Neftchi, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad22 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch22 May 2028
“I watch every Nasaf game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Neftchi runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings15 May 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings15 May 2028
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.
Squad15 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 May 2028
A defender's afternoon for Älibek Qasym
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match13 May 2028
Sogdiana made Nasaf work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Marked 8.44 — 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.
Squad15 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Deruo Wisdom
“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.
Squad15 May 2028
Ilias Takidine 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.
Market15 May 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yusuf Otubanjo and Nasaf agree another 2 years.
Squad8 May 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings8 May 2028
A defender's afternoon for Älibek Qasym
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Loan watch8 May 2028
“I watch every Nasaf game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Lokomotiv runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings8 May 2028
A mark of 7.65, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad8 May 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match6 May 2028
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Pakhtakor came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings1 May 2028
Defensive actions: 34. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad1 May 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad1 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Defensive actions: 22, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match29 Apr 2028
Metallurg made Nasaf work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings1 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.40, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad1 May 2028
“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.
Boardroom1 May 2028
Wages eat 94% of everything Nasaf 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.
Player ratings1 May 2028
A defender's afternoon for Älibek Qasym
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Apr 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nasaf have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“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.
Match22 Apr 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
Nobody left the Nasaf dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Loan watch24 Apr 2028
“I watch every Nasaf game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Neftchi runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Shots: 11. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Davronbek Usmonov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 Apr 2028
Whatever happens, Nasaf do not lose
11 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 25, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Kingsley Sokari 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.
Match15 Apr 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vlatko Stojanovski. 2‑0 against Shortan, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
A defender's afternoon for Älibek Qasym
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kingsley Sokari, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vlatko Stojanovski trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Apr 2028
Nasaf through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Qizilqum, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match8 Apr 2028
Still nobody has beaten Nasaf
The unbeaten run reaches 10. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 25, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
A defender's afternoon for Älibek Qasym
Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Älibek Qasym 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.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Loan watch10 Apr 2028
“I did not go to Lokomotiv to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 3 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Apr 2028
Whatever happens, Nasaf do not lose
8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.49, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match1 Apr 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Navbahor leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Abrorjon Aliyev
“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.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Nasaf counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Nasaf now.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Nasaf will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Carlos Martínez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Mar 2028
Still nobody has beaten Nasaf
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Marked 9.12 — 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.
Match25 Mar 2028
Bukhara made Nasaf work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.48, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch27 Mar 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nasaf, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Adenis Shala finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Nasaf have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad27 Mar 2028
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Nasaf have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match18 Mar 2028
9 matches without a win for Nasaf
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Nasaf are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Mar 2028
Whatever happens, Nasaf do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad20 Mar 2028
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Umarbek Eshmurodov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 13. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Nasaf's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nasaf has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Abduvohid Ne'matov 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch13 Mar 2028
“I did not go to Lokomotiv to sit and watch. I want to come back to Nasaf and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Match11 Mar 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Qizilqum leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match4 Mar 2028
7 matches without a win for Nasaf
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Nasaf are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 28, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Eldorbek Suyunov: 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.” Nasaf have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market6 Mar 2028
The shirt still fits. Jaloliddin Ahmedov is back at Nasaf, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market6 Mar 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market6 Mar 2028
The shirt still fits. Eldor Tukhtasinov is back at Nasaf, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market6 Mar 2028
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Jasur Masharipov is a Nasaf player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kingsley Sokari and Nasaf agree another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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 Feb 2028
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Loan watch28 Feb 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nasaf, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom21 Feb 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Nasaf
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad21 Feb 2028
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad21 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
30 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Loan watch14 Feb 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nasaf, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abduvohid Ne'matov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market14 Feb 2028
The Älibek Qasym talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market14 Feb 2028
Nasaf have let the market know Murodbek Rahmatov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad7 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market7 Feb 2028
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Nasaf counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Nasaf now.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Nasaf pull $33.5K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A new face in his position, and Abduvohid Ne'matov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Nasaf have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market7 Feb 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Oybek Rustamov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market7 Feb 2028
Nasaf have made Carlos Martínez available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Jan 2028
The medical room confirms 48 days on the sidelines for Sardorbek Bahromov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 Jan 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Abduvohid Ne'matov keeps the shirt for now, at Nasaf's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Nasaf boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market24 Jan 2028
“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 Nasaf, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“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.
Market24 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Zafarmurod Abdurahmatov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym 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.
Market17 Jan 2028
The Älibek Qasym talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Davronbek Usmonov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Jan 2028
Nasaf say no — this time
The offer from Neftchi for Samandar Muratboyev was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Älibek Qasym 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Oybek Rustamov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Diyor Abdunazarov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A new face in his position, and Umarbek Eshmurodov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Nasaf have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market10 Jan 2028
Nasaf shop where it costs nothing
Abrorjon Aliyev signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Shohruh Komilov has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Nasaf can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad3 Jan 2028
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Nasaf have had the benefit of it.
Squad3 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jan 2028
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Nasaf know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
85% of the income goes out in wages at Nasaf
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.
Market3 Jan 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Tohirbek To'xtasinov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Nasaf.
Boardroom3 Jan 2028
Nasaf pull $33.5K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Somebody is after Älibek Qasym’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Älibek Qasym suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Nasaf have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market3 Jan 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Pressure builds in the Nasaf boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad27 Dec 2027
18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Dec 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 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.
Market20 Dec 2027
The name of Älibek Qasym keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Nasaf say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Adenis Shala has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Adenis Shala keeps the shirt for now, at Nasaf's convenience rather than his own.
Market13 Dec 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Oybek Rustamov signs something — a contract at Nasaf or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Shohruh Komilov has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market6 Dec 2027
Nasaf say no — this time
The offer from Libertad for Abduvohid Ne'matov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad6 Dec 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Davronbek Usmonov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
93% of the income goes out in wages at Nasaf
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.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Nasaf pull $33.5K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A new face in his position, and Yusuf Otubanjo suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Nasaf have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Market6 Dec 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nasaf know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nasaf, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Nasaf boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nasaf may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Nasaf
Älibek Qasym was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Nov 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Nasaf have had the benefit of it.
Squad22 Nov 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 Nasaf this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market22 Nov 2027
The name of Älibek Qasym keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Nasaf say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Nasaf
Yusuf Otubanjo 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 Nov 2027
Älibek Qasym called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Nasaf that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Nasaf that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.