From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market31 Jul 2028
Obod come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Qizilqum did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Shahzod Rahmatullayev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad31 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Murodbek Rahmatov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
$7.0K on the table at Shortan. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad31 Jul 2028
A season average of 7.03 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Qizilqum know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Match29 Jul 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad31 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Jul 2028
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Qizilqum may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roman Paparyga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Qizilqum asked and Shortan said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match22 Jul 2028
1‑2 to Bunyodkor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Marked 7.31 on 10 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev 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
Steady
Market17 Jul 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Qizilqum have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad17 Jul 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market17 Jul 2028
The chase for Shohrux Mahmudhojiyev ended with $77.0K changing hands and Kokand 1912 out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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 targets17 Jul 2028
The offer went to Shortan 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout17 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
A brace, and Sardor Sobirxo'jaev takes the afternoon — 8.43
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sardor Sobirxo'jaev provided it, and the 8.43 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market10 Jul 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Match8 Jul 2028
It finished 3‑1, and it was Sardor Sobirxo'jaev’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Qizilqum.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Qizilqum asked and Mashal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
8.18. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout3 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Shahzod Rahmatullayev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Jul 2028
At 21, Sardorbek Hoshimov is already the best thing here
An average of 7.08 in a first team he is several years too young for. Qizilqum have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad3 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Roman Paparyga 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 targets3 Jul 2028
Qizilqum asked and AGMK said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout3 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match1 Jul 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jun 2028
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Shahzod Rahmatullayev had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Market26 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sardorbek Hoshimov did not need any: 7.81, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad26 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Qizilqum asked and Nasaf said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match24 Jun 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Farhod Rahmatov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Jun 2028
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Qizilqum scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Marked 7.98 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout19 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Qizilqum know it.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mashal have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match17 Jun 2028
A 2‑1 win over Mashal, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad19 Jun 2028
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.
Match19 Jun 2028
Qizilqum at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 4, 25 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jun 2028
Obod come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Qizilqum did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sardorbek Hoshimov did not need any: 7.76, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market12 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Murodbek Rahmatov 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 Jun 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roman Paparyga 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 targets12 Jun 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mashal have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match10 Jun 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
Murodbek Rahmatov has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Qizilqum will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 Jun 2028
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Market5 Jun 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sardorbek Hoshimov did not need any: 7.97, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.80 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout5 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Shahzod Rahmatullayev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
A defender's goal wins it for Qizilqum — 7.69
1 for Nikola Kumburović, marked 7.69, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jun 2028
He is 21, he is averaging 7.01, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Nikola Kumburović 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
Crisis
Squad29 May 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad29 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 May 2028
Navbahor left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov 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 dugout29 May 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout29 May 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout29 May 2028
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Looking ahead29 May 2028
Obod next, and one man in the Qizilqum dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 11. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings22 May 2028
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sardorbek Hoshimov did not need any: 7.97, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings22 May 2028
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.90 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad22 May 2028
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Match20 May 2028
A 3‑2 win over Bukhara, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout22 May 2028
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad22 May 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roman Paparyga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Farhod Rahmatov, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 May 2028
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑2, already talking about the next one.
The dugout22 May 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 May 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 May 2028
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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 May 2028
Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout15 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 May 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 May 2028
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Match13 May 2028
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Andijon defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings8 May 2028
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sardorbek Hoshimov did not need any: 7.71, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The dugout8 May 2028
This is not rotation. Shahzod Rahmatullayev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 May 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Roman Paparyga
“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.
Squad8 May 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 May 2028
Sardorbek Hoshimov is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Qizilqum will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Squad8 May 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Loan watch8 May 2028
“I watch every Qizilqum game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Shortan runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings1 May 2028
A brace, and Sardorbek Hoshimov takes the afternoon — 9.38
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Sardorbek Hoshimov provided it, and the 9.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad1 May 2028
15 days out for Nodir Suyunov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market1 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout1 May 2028
Asilbek No'monov: 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.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Apr 2028
A 3‑1 win over Kokand 1912, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad1 May 2028
Roman Paparyga 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 terraces1 May 2028
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 ratings1 May 2028
Ninety minutes of Luka Ratković at his very best
Marked 8.36. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Qizilqum.
In brief
-
The dugout
Alisher Shukurov gets it from the manager
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
Looking ahead
A test against the best for Qizilqum
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Apr 2028
23 days out for Nodir Suyunov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Murodbek Rahmatov 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 dugout24 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Match22 Apr 2028
1‑3 to Lokomotiv, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout24 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Farhod Rahmatov, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
4.53. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Nodir Suyunov out for 30 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Sardorbek Hoshimov did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Qizilqum know it.
Match15 Apr 2028
Sardorbek Hoshimov scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to AGMK, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Qizilqum is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“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
Upbeat
Squad10 Apr 2028
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match5 Apr 2028
Qizilqum bow out of the cup
Lokomotiv go through and Qizilqum go home, 1‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Nodir Suyunov out for 38 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad10 Apr 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch10 Apr 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Qizilqum, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Match8 Apr 2028
A 1‑0 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 dugout10 Apr 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Sardorbek Hoshimov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.93
A mark of 7.93 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Apr 2028
2‑3 to Neftchi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad3 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
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 2‑3 defeat, delivered by Jaloliddin Mirzaev to a room that had heard them before.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Jaba Jighauri has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Mar 2028
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sardorbek Hoshimov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
Neftchi next, and one man in the Qizilqum dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market27 Mar 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Shahzod Rahmatullayev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Market27 Mar 2028
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Qizilqum will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Sardorbek Hoshimov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.80
A mark of 7.80 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The terraces20 Mar 2028
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Sardorbek Hoshimov has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match18 Mar 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sardorbek Hoshimov. 1‑0 against Sogdiana, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alijon Bekmurodov 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Too much change too quickly at Qizilqum
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Jaloliddin Mirzaev could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match11 Mar 2028
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Roman Paparyga decided nobody was going anywhere. Nasaf had no time left to answer.
Squad13 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match11 Mar 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Roman Paparyga. 1‑0 against Nasaf, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Loan watch13 Mar 2028
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Qizilqum, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.72 on the card, and the Qizilqum support went home talking about one name.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. 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
Uneasy
Market6 Mar 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
Kamron Norqulov: 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.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
7.87, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad6 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Qizilqum
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Asror G'ofurov commits to Qizilqum for another 2 years.
Market6 Mar 2028
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jaloliddin Abdullaev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market6 Mar 2028
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Farhod Ismailov 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.
Market6 Mar 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Farhod Ahmedov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Feb 2028
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Artur Sekerin is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Market28 Feb 2028
Roman Paparyga is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Qizilqum has been clear about where Roman Paparyga stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alijon Bekmurodov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Feb 2028
The medical room confirms 45 days on the sidelines for Alisher Shukurov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Qizilqum know it.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roman Paparyga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
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.
Loan watch14 Feb 2028
“I watch every Qizilqum game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Shortan runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Humoyunshoh Sayyotov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Qizilqum close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad7 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
Qizilqum asked and Metallurg said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Qizilqum will try again when the window opens; Metallurg may not be selling by then.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alijon Bekmurodov 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Sardor Sobirxo'jaev has moved up it.
Squad7 Feb 2028
His past walked in ahead of him. Players who have been where he has been get a hearing in a dressing room before they have earned one, and he has it for as long as his form does.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Humoyunshoh Sayyotov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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 dugout31 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 targets31 Jan 2028
Qizilqum asked and Nasaf said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad31 Jan 2028
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Qizilqum will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bobomurod Bozorov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market31 Jan 2028
Qizilqum have let the market know Humoyunshoh Sayyotov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Market31 Jan 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until G'iyosjon Rizaqulov signs something — a contract at Qizilqum or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Nikola Kumburović 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 targets24 Jan 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shortan have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout24 Jan 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market24 Jan 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market17 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets17 Jan 2028
The deal with Andijon 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shohruh Ahmedov, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Jan 2028
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Qizilqum know which stage they are at.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Qizilqum will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market17 Jan 2028
Qizilqum have let the market know Nikola Kumburović can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jan 2028
Qizilqum say no — this time
The offer from Obod for Alisher Shukurov 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.
Market10 Jan 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Jan 2028
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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shohruh Ahmedov and Qizilqum agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout10 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samandar Shukurullayev, and the manager let it.
Squad10 Jan 2028
27 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market10 Jan 2028
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Jan 2028
The phone has started ringing about Alisher Shukurov again, and this time the name on the line is Obod. Qizilqum are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roman Paparyga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Shohruh Ahmedov commits to Qizilqum for another 3 years.
Transfer targets3 Jan 2028
Qizilqum 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.
Market3 Jan 2028
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Qizilqum has been clear about where Nikola Kumburović stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Qizilqum know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Dec 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Wages swallow 98% of the Qizilqum income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout20 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market20 Dec 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luka Ratković signs something — a contract at Qizilqum or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Questions about Bobomurod Bozorov on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Dec 2027
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Qizilqum know it.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roman Paparyga was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Dec 2027
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market6 Dec 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.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Nov 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout29 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Wages eat 111% of everything Qizilqum earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout22 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Nov 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout15 Nov 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting G'iyosjon Rizaqulov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Qizilqum would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Qizilqum will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Qizilqum may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Nov 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Qizilqum know it.
Market8 Nov 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Suhrob Eshboyev has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Qizilqum.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bobomurod Bozorov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout1 Nov 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov and Qizilqum agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
93% of the income goes out in wages at Qizilqum
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Market1 Nov 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Bobomurod Bozorov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Qizilqum.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Oct 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 Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Qizilqum is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Kamron Norqulov
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market25 Oct 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luka Ratković signs something — a contract at Qizilqum or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shahzod Turopov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Oct 2027
The season ends: position 13 for Qizilqum
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 30 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Squad18 Oct 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.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Ilhomjon Vahobov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match16 Oct 2027
Mashal left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad18 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Oct 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 1‑3 Jaloliddin Mirzaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting G'iyosjon Rizaqulov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Oct 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Qizilqum know it.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Rahmatullayev, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alisher Shukurov and Qizilqum agree another 3 years.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Samandar Shukurullayev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Qizilqum needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Squad11 Oct 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 Qizilqum would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Diyor Rahmatullayev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market11 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with G'iyosjon Rizaqulov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout4 Oct 2027
Roman Paparyga: 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.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jaba Jighauri commits to Qizilqum for another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samandar Shukurullayev, and the manager let it.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
104% of the income goes out in wages at Qizilqum
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match2 Oct 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Shortan leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout4 Oct 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Sep 2027
5‑1, and Jaba Jighauri took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Qizilqum tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.09, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
6 goals as Qizilqum and Obod go for it
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Qizilqum and Obod, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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 ratings27 Sep 2027
Marked 8.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Shahzod Rahmatullayev was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.07. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
A long trip to Obod worth making
5-1, and a corner of somebody else's ground that made more noise than the rest of it put together. Those coaches leave before dawn and nobody outside them ever mentions it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Sep 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.
Market20 Sep 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 Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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 targets20 Sep 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nasaf have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match18 Sep 2027
0‑2 to Navbahor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market20 Sep 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roman Paparyga, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad13 Sep 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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Tigran Hakobyan gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Tigran Hakobyan has just signed for Qizilqum, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ozodbek Ergashev commits to Qizilqum for another 3 years.
Market13 Sep 2027
Artur Sekerin is 20, and Qizilqum have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market13 Sep 2027
Tigran Hakobyan is 20, and Qizilqum have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Match11 Sep 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Sep 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 Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout6 Sep 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Qizilqum close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 12 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pakhtakor have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Rahmatullayev, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
Qizilqum ran out of time with Kokand 1912. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Squad6 Sep 2027
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
Crisis
Market30 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 Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Qizilqum had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Pakhtakor, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Match28 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksiy Shchebetun 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
7 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Aug 2027
There were 8 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Qizilqum 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.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nasaf have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match21 Aug 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Islom Kenjaboyev’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Qizilqum.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.38, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Shahzod Turopov 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 dugout23 Aug 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Roman Paparyga
“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
Crisis
Squad16 Aug 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Qizilqum and Pakhtakor have settled on $1.6M. 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
$660.0K on the table at Nasaf. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets16 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.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
0‑2 to Kokand 1912, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout16 Aug 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
Uneasy
Squad9 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 75 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
The deal with Kokand 1912 is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pakhtakor have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Farhod Rahmatov commits to Qizilqum for another 4 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Qizilqum can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout9 Aug 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
Qizilqum caught on 89 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Lokomotiv scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Market9 Aug 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Qizilqum, another week without a signature from Samandar Shukurullayev.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Pakhtakor is saying, and nobody at Qizilqum is enjoying the guessing.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad2 Aug 2027
32 appearances across 9 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Qizilqum know exactly what they have.
Market2 Aug 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The offer went to Nasaf 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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Qizilqum have done the hard part with Navbahor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Farhod Rahmatov and Qizilqum agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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
Uneasy
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Navbahor have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Jul 2027
Bunyodkor made Qizilqum work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Match24 Jul 2027
The drought breaks for Qizilqum
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Bunyodkor were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Ninety minutes of Islom Kenjaboyev at his very best
Marked 8.07. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Qizilqum.
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.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market19 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Qizilqum people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Match17 Jul 2027
5 matches without a win for Qizilqum
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Qizilqum are no longer polite ones.
Market19 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilhomjon Kenjayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Qizilqum the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nasaf have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match17 Jul 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksiy Shchebetun 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 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
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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
The offer went to Nasaf 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.
Transfer targets12 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.
Match10 Jul 2027
The wait goes on for Qizilqum
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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match10 Jul 2027
Luka Ratković scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Sogdiana, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
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 Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A muscle injury and 18 days out for Jaba Jighauri
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Qizilqum will quote 18 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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.
Match3 Jul 2027
A bad afternoon for Qizilqum against Nasaf
0‑1 to Nasaf, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout5 Jul 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 0‑1 Jaloliddin Mirzaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Intake day at the Qizilqum academy
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The dugout5 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.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market5 Jul 2027
Sulton Rahmatov is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Qizilqum has been clear about where Sulton Rahmatov stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
The offer went to Nasaf 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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Navbahor have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Ninety minutes of Islom Kenjaboyev at his very best
Marked 8.22. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Qizilqum.
Match26 Jun 2027
Late, late show earns Qizilqum a point
Minute 85, against Metallurg, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match26 Jun 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ozodbek Ergashev 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 targets28 Jun 2027
Qizilqum have made the call to Navbahor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roman Paparyga, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Pakhtakor is saying, and nobody at Qizilqum is enjoying the guessing.
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
Qizilqum 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market21 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilhomjon Kenjayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Qizilqum the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Jun 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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nasaf have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Rahmatullayev, and the manager let it.
Match21 Jun 2027
Qizilqum at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 9, 17 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Jun 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Shortan moved on, Shahzod Rahmatullayev reports back to Qizilqum, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
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
Qizilqum have gone to Nasaf 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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pakhtakor have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Ilhomjon Vahobov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Qizilqum have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match12 Jun 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Islom Kenjaboyev’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Qizilqum.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Shortan waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market7 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 Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Age has not caught Jaba Jighauri yet — 8.10
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.10 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleksiy Shchebetun was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Chances created: 11. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings31 May 2027
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 7.59 for the rest of it.
Squad31 May 2027
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match29 May 2027
Navbahor left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
The dugout31 May 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Farrux Jo'rayev, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead31 May 2027
Obod next, and one man in the Qizilqum dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout31 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oleksiy Shchebetun trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout24 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Qizilqum may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market24 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad24 May 2027
Asror G'ofurov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Marked 8.25 — 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.
Match22 May 2027
A goal on 88 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Player ratings24 May 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.
Match22 May 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout24 May 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match15 May 2027
There were 85 minutes on the clock and Andijon had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Qizilqum did not stop to explain themselves.
Squad17 May 2027
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 34 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Qizilqum is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings17 May 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.
Match15 May 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Roman Paparyga’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Qizilqum.
The dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Rahmatullayev, and the manager let it.
Squad17 May 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Dostonbek Tursunov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.51 on the card, and the Qizilqum support went home talking about one name.
The dugout17 May 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings10 May 2027
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 7.52 for the rest of it.
Match8 May 2027
Pakhtakor left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Shahzod Turopov 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 dugout10 May 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev 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
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout10 May 2027
G'iyosjon Rizaqulov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Looking ahead10 May 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Andijon in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match1 May 2027
Kokand 1912 will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Qizilqum were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.77 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad3 May 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings3 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.46, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Ninety minutes of Islom Kenjaboyev at his very best
Marked 8.16. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Qizilqum.
Squad3 May 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Ozodbek Ergashev 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 dugout3 May 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev on a 4‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout3 May 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.
Looking ahead3 May 2027
Pakhtakor next, and one man in the Qizilqum dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Apr 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match24 Apr 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Nikola Kumburović was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.04. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
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 Jaloliddin Mirzaev to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Apr 2027
At last: Qizilqum win one
7 matches without a win, and then this, against AGMK. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad19 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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Apr 2027
AGMK made Qizilqum work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.24, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad19 Apr 2027
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev on a 3‑2 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 10. 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 Apr 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 Apr 2027
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Market12 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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.
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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Apr 2027
0‑1 to Bunyodkor, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Grigol Chabradze did the work nobody counts — 7.01
9 combined actions and 7.01. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 Mar 2027
The cup run ends for Qizilqum
0‑1 against Nasaf, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Match3 Apr 2027
A 3-goal lead gone for Qizilqum
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Neftchi kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Qizilqum will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Match3 Apr 2027
6 matches without a win for Qizilqum
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Qizilqum are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Apr 2027
6 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.
Market5 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 Qizilqum can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Farrux Jo'rayev: 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.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Qizilqum can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Qizilqum may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market29 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Shahzod Turopov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Rahmatullayev, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
Neftchi next, and one man in the Qizilqum dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market29 Mar 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Oleksiy Shchebetun signs something — a contract at Qizilqum or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Qizilqum's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Qizilqum has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 13 actions, 7.06, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 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 0‑1 Jaloliddin Mirzaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roman Paparyga, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Market22 Mar 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Qizilqum know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 Mar 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov scored, was marked 7.50, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Match13 Mar 2027
A bad afternoon for Qizilqum against Nasaf
2‑3 to Nasaf, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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 dugout15 Mar 2027
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 2‑3 defeat, delivered by Jaloliddin Mirzaev to a room that had heard them before.
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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market15 Mar 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 11. 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match6 Mar 2027
Qizilqum throw away a 2-goal lead
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Metallurg the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Qizilqum will enjoy reviewing.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.17 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Roman Paparyga: 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.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jaba Jighauri and Qizilqum agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Qizilqum can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Graduation day at Qizilqum
1 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market8 Mar 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sardor Hasanov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Mar 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market1 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 Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilhomjon Kenjayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Qizilqum the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Qizilqum can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Jaba Jighauri wants one last season at home
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Qizilqum know now that the thought has arrived.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Asror G'ofurov 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 dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Turopov, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Metallurg in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Suhrob Eshboyev has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Feb 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match22 Feb 2027
Qizilqum up to position 2
20 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to G'iyosjon Rizaqulov, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Qizilqum will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Feb 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market15 Feb 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“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.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Farrux Jo'rayev, and the manager let it.
Market15 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Qizilqum would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market15 Feb 2027
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Qizilqum. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Qizilqum release $558.6K for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Qizilqum would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Qizilqum will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Feb 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market1 Feb 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Qizilqum people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Nasaf is saying, and nobody at Qizilqum is enjoying the guessing.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Qizilqum 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. AGMK have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market1 Feb 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilhomjon Kenjayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Qizilqum the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Jan 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match25 Jan 2027
Qizilqum up to position 2
20 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
$1.9M on the table at Nasaf. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Market25 Jan 2027
Add another name to the list: Obod have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Shahzod Rahmatullayev. The answer from Qizilqum has not changed — yet.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Qizilqum asked and Arda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad25 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
A loan move for Dilshod Saitov is in the works
Qizilqum have made the call to Pakhtakor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Qizilqum have made the call to AGMK. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market25 Jan 2027
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad18 Jan 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Oleksiy Shchebetun 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 targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Dilshod Saitov is in the works
Qizilqum have made the call to Pakhtakor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to AGMK: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Jan 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market11 Jan 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Qizilqum people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Navbahor: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
AGMK have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Qizilqum have made the call to Pakhtakor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Jan 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad4 Jan 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Qizilqum have had the benefit of it.
Market4 Jan 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilhomjon Kenjayev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Qizilqum the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market4 Jan 2027
Add another name to the list: Mashal have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Shahzod Rahmatullayev. The answer from Qizilqum has not changed — yet.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Qizilqum have done the hard part with AGMK, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Diyor Rahmatullayev and Qizilqum agree another 3 years.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Navbahor have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Pakhtakor have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match28 Dec 2026
Qizilqum up to position 2
20 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Asror G'ofurov 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
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 90% of everything Qizilqum earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Nikola Kumburović falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Qizilqum will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Market21 Dec 2026
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Qizilqum. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Dec 2026
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Shahzod Turopov 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 dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Roman Paparyga, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market7 Dec 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Farrux Jo'rayev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Shahzod Turopov, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Roman Paparyga knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Roman Paparyga trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Qizilqum will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match30 Nov 2026
Qizilqum refuse to drop out of the race
Position 2, 20 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Qizilqum may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 Nov 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 Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
106% of the income goes out in wages at Qizilqum
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bobomurod Bozorov, and the manager let it.
Market30 Nov 2026
The name of Oleksiy Shchebetun keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Qizilqum will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Qizilqum have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Market23 Nov 2026
The name of Luka Ratković keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Qizilqum say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 15 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom16 Nov 2026
Qizilqum book their European place
Done, and with games to spare. Next season has floodlit nights against clubs from other countries in it, and the accounts have a line they did not have last year.
Squad16 Nov 2026
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Qizilqum have had the benefit of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 22 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market9 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Islom Kenjaboyev 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Muhammadaziz Ibrohimov 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Qizilqum. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Farrux Jo'rayev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 29 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match2 Nov 2026
Qizilqum are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 20 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
The dugout2 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 106% of the Qizilqum income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Squad2 Nov 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 36 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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
8 new faces, and Qizilqum are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 43 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 35. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. G'iyosjon Rizaqulov is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Nikola Kumburović 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad19 Oct 2026
35 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jaloliddin Mirzaev after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Qizilqum told G'iyosjon Rizaqulov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diyor Rahmatullayev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 50 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market12 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Qizilqum is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Islom Kenjaboyev and Qizilqum agree another 4 years.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Humoyunshoh Sayyotov, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Samandar Shukurullayev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Qizilqum needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The dugout12 Oct 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 Qizilqum, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 57 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match5 Oct 2026
Qizilqum are in among the leaders
Position 2 and 20 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Qizilqum are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Asror G'ofurov 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
144% of the income goes out in wages at Qizilqum
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match3 Oct 2026
A 1‑0 win over Shortan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Sep 2026
A fracture rules Jaba Jighauri out for 64 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Qizilqum will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match26 Sep 2026
3‑0, and Oleksiy Shchebetun took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Qizilqum tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.92, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Nikola Kumburović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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 Sep 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, Jaloliddin Mirzaev could afford to be generous.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bobomurod Bozorov, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Jaba Jighauri breaks a bone — 71 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Qizilqum
Nikola Kumburović 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 targets21 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Navbahor have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match19 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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 0‑1 Jaloliddin Mirzaev left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Murodali Usmonov, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
Obod next, and one man in the Qizilqum dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
Jaba Jighauri breaks a bone — 78 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 78 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market14 Sep 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Qizilqum they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Qizilqum training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikola Kumburović 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
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA Moscow have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match12 Sep 2026
Bukhara made Qizilqum work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 8.19 — 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Looking ahead14 Sep 2026
Navbahor next, and one man in the Qizilqum dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
85 days out for Jaba Jighauri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Qizilqum will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Qizilqum close the window on a squad of their own making
12 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
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 Qizilqum, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Qizilqum
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Kumburović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Radnik Surdulica have kept their man, and Qizilqum go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Qizilqum ran out of time with Navbahor. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Qizilqum this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Jaba Jighauri named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Jaba Jighauri is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Suhrob Eshboyev
“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.