From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Aug 2027
Chastening afternoon for Obod
A 0‑3 beating by AGMK was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market23 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Match21 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Obod's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Obod has to find a result from somewhere.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Obod have done the hard part with Bunyodkor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match21 Aug 2027
No clean sheets in sight for Obod
5 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Obod
Eldor Urunov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
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The dugout23 Aug 2027
Eldor Urunov 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Aug 2027
There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market16 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Obod have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market16 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market16 Aug 2027
Rustam Ganiev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Obod they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
The deal with Sogdiana is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Match14 Aug 2027
The wait goes on for Obod
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Eldor Urunov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
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From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces9 Aug 2027
The mood at Obod has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Match9 Aug 2027
Obod are in real trouble now
Position 14, 13 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market9 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
The deal with Neftchi is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
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The dugout9 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Obod may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Rustam Ganiev has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
The offer went to Mashal this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad9 Aug 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Jul 2027
A hiding for Obod
Beaten 1‑8 by Sogdiana, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Umid Mirzaev damages knee ligaments — 47 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 47 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Obod
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
Akmal Shomurodov has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Obod can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market2 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Market2 Aug 2027
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The deal with Navbahor is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Market2 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Islom Abdullaev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Obod the goodbyes have quietly begun.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Jul 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
$250.0K settles it between the clubs for Federico Botti
Bunyodkor have accepted the money. What Obod do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market26 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad26 Jul 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Jul 2027
Otabek Fayzullaev among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, Otabek Fayzullaev on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Obod and Nasaf.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Marked 8.52 — 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.
The dugout26 Jul 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Jul 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Obod have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market19 Jul 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Obod and Bukhara have settled on $77.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Everything agreed with Kokand 1912, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Obod asked and Bunyodkor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match17 Jul 2027
The drought breaks for Obod
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Metallurg were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
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From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces12 Jul 2027
Anger at Obod spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Match12 Jul 2027
Every point is an argument now for Obod
Position 15 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match10 Jul 2027
6 matches without a win for Obod
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Obod are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Navbahor; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Everything agreed with Sogdiana, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad12 Jul 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shaxzod Shaymanov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
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From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Akmal Shomurodov has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Obod can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Obod
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Obod is running low.
Market5 Jul 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
$110.0K settles it between the clubs for Filip Ivanović
Sogdiana have accepted the money. What Obod do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Match3 Jul 2027
The wait goes on for Obod
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Eldor Urunov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shaxzod Shaymanov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nodir Tukhtasinov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
In brief
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Boardroom
Intake day at the Obod academy
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Squad
A place in the month's best eleven for Akmal Ahmedov
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Match
Honours even between Obod and Shortan
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Jun 2027
13 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match26 Jun 2027
Nowhere to hide for Obod
1‑4 against Pakhtakor, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market28 Jun 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
$260.0K settles it between the clubs for Anvar Murodov
Mashal have accepted the money. What Obod do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Obod had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Kokand 1912, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Match26 Jun 2027
4 matches without a win for Obod
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Obod are no longer polite ones.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Obod have gone to Navbahor with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Obod
Eldor Urunov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad28 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
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Looking ahead
A six-pointer for Obod
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The dugout
Otabek Komilov gets it from the manager
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Boardroom
Nobody left the Obod dressing room in a hurry
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Everything agreed with Kokand 1912, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shaxzod Shaymanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
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Match19 Jun 2027
A bad afternoon for Obod against Navbahor
0‑1 to Navbahor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Akmal Shomurodov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Eldor Urunov 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 Obod, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead21 Jun 2027
The leaders are next for Obod
Pakhtakor top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Anger at Obod spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Match12 Jun 2027
A hiding for Obod
Beaten 0‑4 by Bukhara, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match14 Jun 2027
Every point is an argument now for Obod
Position 14 and 7 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Rustam Ganiev: 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.” Obod have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
$270.0K settles it between the clubs for Federico Botti
Bunyodkor have accepted the money. What Obod do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
The paperwork begins on Igor Golban
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Obod have done the hard part with Sogdiana, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Jun 2027
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.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Obod
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Obod is running low.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match5 Jun 2027
A bad afternoon for Obod against Andijon
2‑3 to Andijon, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mirzo Suyunov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match5 Jun 2027
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Otabek Fayzullaev had Obod level again within 3 minutes, and Andijon never got to play with a lead at all.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sherzod Akhmedov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market31 May 2027
Eldor Komilov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 May 2027
It had gone 9 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad31 May 2027
Words exchanged at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shaxzod Shaymanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match29 May 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Islom Abdullaev. 2‑1 against Qizilqum, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces31 May 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings31 May 2027
A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout31 May 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Akmal Shomurodov on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 May 2027
The wait goes on for Obod
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad24 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market24 May 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match22 May 2027
Obod are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad24 May 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match22 May 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout24 May 2027
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The dugout24 May 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Akmal Shomurodov after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces17 May 2027
The mood at Obod has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Match15 May 2027
Chastening afternoon for Obod
A 0‑3 beating by Lokomotiv was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match15 May 2027
The wait goes on for Obod
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market17 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 May 2027
Eldor Urunov 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match15 May 2027
No clean sheets in sight for Obod
4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
The dugout17 May 2027
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The dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Eldor Urunov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
In brief
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Boardroom
Nobody left the Obod dressing room in a hurry
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Bekzod Hamidov does not fit this one
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 May 2027
The wait goes on for Obod
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad10 May 2027
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.
Market10 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 May 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov 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.
Match8 May 2027
AGMK take the points off Obod
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad10 May 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shaxzod Shaymanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 May 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Akmal Shomurodov after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bobur Ganiev, and the manager let it.
Squad10 May 2027
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Obod lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 May 2027
Chastening afternoon for Obod
A 0‑4 beating by Bunyodkor was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad3 May 2027
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market3 May 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match3 May 2027
Obod sink to position 15
4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match1 May 2027
The wait goes on for Obod
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match1 May 2027
The goals have deserted Obod
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Obod can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad3 May 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Doniyor Ahmedov, and the manager let it.
In brief
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Boardroom
Nobody left the Obod dressing room in a hurry
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
Eldor Urunov knocks on the manager’s door
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Apr 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match24 Apr 2027
Obod taken apart
0‑4 to Neftchi, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market26 Apr 2027
Bobur Ganiev hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Match24 Apr 2027
No end in sight to Obod's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Obod has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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.
Match24 Apr 2027
The goals have deserted Obod
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Obod can tell you which week it ends in.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
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Squad26 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bekzod Hamidov and Obod agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Umid Shomurodov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
In brief
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Boardroom
Doors closed at Obod
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Squad
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces19 Apr 2027
The mood at Obod has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Djordje Pavlovic
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Obod lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad19 Apr 2027
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.
Market19 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Match17 Apr 2027
No end in sight to Obod's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Obod has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shaxzod Shaymanov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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Match17 Apr 2027
Sogdiana left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Djordje Pavlovic
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Obod lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match10 Apr 2027
Nowhere to hide for Obod
0‑5 against Nasaf, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
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.
Squad12 Apr 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Umid Shomurodov commits to Obod for another 3 years.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Eldor Urunov
“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 Apr 2027
Shohruh Komilov is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Obod has been clear about where Shohruh Komilov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Boardroom12 Apr 2027
Nobody left the Obod 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Apr 2027
28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Obod lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match31 Mar 2027
The cup run ends for Obod
1‑4 against Pakhtakor, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market5 Apr 2027
Eldor Urunov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
A cup hiding at Pakhtakor leaves Obod explaining themselves
1-4, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Squad5 Apr 2027
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 ratings5 Apr 2027
Eldor Urunov goes up and wins it — 7.14
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.14 for the rest of it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match3 Apr 2027
Metallurg left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Mirzo Suyunov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Djordje Pavlovic
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Obod lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match27 Mar 2027
At last: Obod win one
9 matches without a win, and then this, against Mashal. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Market29 Mar 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Shaxzod Shaymanov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match27 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Eldor Mirzaev. 2‑0 against Mashal, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
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Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Ninety minutes of Eldor Mirzaev at his very best
Marked 8.37. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Obod.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ozodbek Marufov and Obod agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Player ratings
Amir Fayzullaev runs at them all day
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The dugout
Mirzo Suyunov knocks on the manager's door
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces22 Mar 2027
The mood at Obod has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Djordje Pavlovic damages knee ligaments — 42 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 42 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match20 Mar 2027
9 matches without a win for Obod
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Obod are no longer polite ones.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Obod may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market22 Mar 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Eldor Urunov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Shaxzod Shaymanov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
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Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Mar 2027
Nowhere to hide for Obod
0‑5 against Pakhtakor, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match13 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Obod's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Obod has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Mar 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad15 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Eldor Urunov 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Asan Vaniyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom15 Mar 2027
Inquest at Obod
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑5 Akmal Shomurodov left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Mar 2027
Obod taken apart
0‑6 to Navbahor, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market8 Mar 2027
Eldor Urunov hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Match6 Mar 2027
The wait goes on for Obod
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Shaxzod Shaymanov commits to Obod for another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Obod and Navbahor in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
5 academy graduates step up at Obod
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Shaxzod Shaymanov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Amir Akhmedov
“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.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Navbahor in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Market1 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“Ask me in the summer. I will know before anybody else does.” He is 34 with 3 appearances behind him, and Obod have to plan for both answers.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Bobur Ganiev 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 Obod, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Obod would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces22 Feb 2027
Supporters organise against the Obod board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market22 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
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Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jasur Nematov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Akmal Ahmedov and Obod agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Feb 2027
Obod are in real trouble now
Position 15, 3 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shaxzod Shaymanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Obod would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market15 Feb 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Mirzo Suyunov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Akmal Shomurodov has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Obod can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market8 Feb 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Obod
Eldor Urunov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Asan Vaniyev, and the manager let it.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Mirzo Suyunov 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I want to play”: Asan Vaniyev speaks
“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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Obod has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Obod answer back
A squad written off a fortnight ago has closed ranks. Whatever was said behind that door, it has held so far.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Feb 2027
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 20 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 20 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Obod
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Obod until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Eldor Urunov 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rustam Ganiev commits to Obod for another 1 years.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Ulugbek Tukhtasinov is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
Market1 Feb 2027
The window shut and Islom Abdullaev is still in the building
Obod spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces25 Jan 2027
Supporters organise against the Obod board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad25 Jan 2027
28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Obod lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shaxzod Shaymanov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
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From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad18 Jan 2027
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 35 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 35 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match18 Jan 2027
Obod sink to position 15
3 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Andijon have kept their man, and Obod go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Bobur Ganiev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Eldor Urunov 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Mirzo Suyunov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market18 Jan 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Amir Akhmedov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Jan 2027
42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Obod lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Qizilqum have kept their man, and Obod go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Asan Vaniyev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jasur Nematov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I want to play”: Asan Vaniyev speaks
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Jan 2027
49 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Obod lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
Pressure builds in the Obod boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Akmal Shomurodov has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Obod may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Rustam Ganiev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Obod have made the call to Neftchi. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Shaxzod Shaymanov is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces28 Dec 2026
Supporters organise against the Obod board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 57 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 57 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov 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 Dec 2026
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
64 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Obod lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match21 Dec 2026
Every point is an argument now for Obod
Position 15 and 3 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jasur Nematov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Mirzo Suyunov 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 Obod, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market21 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Mirzo Suyunov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Sherzod Akhmedov
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Obod lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Obod
Eldor Urunov 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 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Asan Vaniyev commits to Obod for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 79 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 79 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Obod will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
The scrutiny sharpens at Obod
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Obod is running low.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Eldor Urunov 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Shaxzod Shaymanov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Bobur Ganiev 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 86 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 86 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
Anger at Obod spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Sardor Ismailov: 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.” Obod have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market30 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Asan Vaniyev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Asan Vaniyev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 93 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 93 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match23 Nov 2026
Obod are in real trouble now
Position 15, 3 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Bobur Ganiev: 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.” Obod have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shaxzod Shaymanov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alisher Xayrullayev, and the manager let it.
Market23 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Mirzo Suyunov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Obod, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 100 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 100 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“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.
Market16 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Rustam Ganiev
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rustam Ganiev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Obod the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Mirzo Suyunov falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 107 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 107 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad9 Nov 2026
47 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jasur Nematov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market9 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 115 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 115 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
Anger at Obod spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market2 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sardor Ismailov commits to Obod for another 3 years.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shaxzod Shaymanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad2 Nov 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Mirzo Suyunov. Obod will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Mirzo Suyunov 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
Obod and Asan Vaniyev are talking past each other
“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
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Sherzod Akhmedov damages knee ligaments — 122 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 122 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match26 Oct 2026
Obod sink to position 15
3 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shaxzod Shaymanov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Asan Vaniyev, and the manager let it.
Market26 Oct 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Mirzo Suyunov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
130 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Obod lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market19 Oct 2026
Rustam Ganiev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Obod they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Bobur Ganiev 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 Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Asan Vaniyev 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
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Otabek Fayzullaev
71 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Obod lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad12 Oct 2026
35 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
78 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Obod lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
Anger at Obod spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market5 Oct 2026
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mirzo Suyunov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sardor Ismailov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market5 Oct 2026
5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Obod money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
Otabek Fayzullaev damages knee ligaments — 85 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 85 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match26 Sep 2026
Obod taken apart
1‑4 to Bukhara, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match28 Sep 2026
Obod sink to position 15
3 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match26 Sep 2026
The wait goes on for Obod
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Asan Vaniyev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Asan Vaniyev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom28 Sep 2026
Inquest at Obod
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Otabek Fayzullaev
92 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Obod lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match19 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Obod
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Obod are no longer polite ones.
Market21 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Obod is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Rustam Ganiev has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Obod
Otabek Komilov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Shaxzod Shaymanov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match19 Sep 2026
Obod come up short against Andijon
Andijon left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Umid Shomurodov
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Otabek Fayzullaev damages knee ligaments — 99 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 99 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad14 Sep 2026
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Obod
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Obod are no longer polite ones.
Match12 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Obod against Qizilqum
1‑3 to Qizilqum, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Shaxzod Shaymanov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
The clock did what Qizilqum would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Obod
Rustam Ganiev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eldor Komilov, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Sep 2026
Otabek Fayzullaev damages knee ligaments — 106 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 106 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad7 Sep 2026
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.
Market7 Sep 2026
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 7 in, 1 out at Obod
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 7 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Obod have done the hard part with Qizilqum, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Obod
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mirzo Suyunov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sardor Ismailov, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Obod
Rustam Ganiev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
Otabek Fayzullaev damages knee ligaments — 113 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 113 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Obod can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Obod
Mirzo Suyunov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Obod asked and Pakhtakor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match29 Aug 2026
Obod are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Amir Fayzullaev, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Akmal Shomurodov to a room that had heard them before.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rustam Ganiev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Aug 2026
Otabek Fayzullaev damages knee ligaments — 121 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 121 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad24 Aug 2026
There were 11 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market24 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Mirzo Suyunov again, and this time the name on the line is Nasaf. Obod are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mirzo Suyunov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match22 Aug 2026
Bobur Ganiev scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to AGMK, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Akmal Shomurodov after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bobur Ganiev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 14 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match12 Aug 2026
The small margins put Obod out
Out, 0‑4 to Pakhtakor, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market17 Aug 2026
Obod say no — this time
The offer from Metallurg for Eldor Urunov 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A brace, and Otabek Fayzullaev takes the afternoon — 8.55
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Otabek Fayzullaev provided it, and the 8.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
A cup embarrassment at Pakhtakor follows Obod home
0-4. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match15 Aug 2026
A 3‑2 win over Bunyodkor, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Eldor Urunov
“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 ratings17 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes of Amir Fayzullaev at his very best
Marked 8.18. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Obod.
In brief
-
Boardroom
Nobody left the Obod dressing room in a hurry
-
The terraces
A long trip to Bunyodkor worth making
-
Squad
A row about effort at Obod
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Aug 2026
Nasaf come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Obod did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad10 Aug 2026
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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Eldor Mirzaev and Obod agree another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Obod this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Abdulla Ganiev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Aziz Hasanov joins the Obod first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Aziz Hasanov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Aug 2026
Chastening afternoon for Obod
A 0‑5 beating by Sogdiana was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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 Obod, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Obod
Shaxzod Shaymanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nodir Tukhtasinov and Obod agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Obod training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mirzo Suyunov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Umid Shomurodov, and the manager let it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Obod 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.