Bunyodkor, which means "creator" in
Uzbek (and originally from the
Persian بنیادکار| bonyad-Kar), was created on 6 July 2005, with the name
Neftgazmontaj-Quruvchi, which was typically abbreviated "Kuruvchi" (the Uzbek word for "builder"). In 2005, the club played initially in the championship of Tashkent region and played its way into the playoff for promotion into the
First League, the second level of Uzbek football. Kuruvchi gained promotion that year, its first, and under the management of Khikmat Irgashev, Kuruvchi won the
First League in its first attempt, winning 27 of 38 matches with 5 draws and 6 defeats. With its victory in the second level of Uzbek football in 2006, the
2007 season was Kuruvchi's debut in the
Uzbek League. Never before had a club moved with such alacrity from the lower reaches of Uzbek competition into the top league. In club's first season Bunyodkor finished runner-up after
Pakhtakor Tashkent. In December 2007
Mirjalol Kasymov was appointed as head coach of Bunyodkor, replacing Hikmat Irgashev. 2008 was debut year of Bunyodkor in
AFC Champions League where they qualified to the semi-final of tournament. In semi-final they were beaten over two legs by
Adelaide United 3–1 on aggregate.
Famous signings On 14 July 2008, the club, then called Kuruvchi, announced through their official website that they had signed
Barcelona star
Samuel Eto'o on a six-month contract. The story was confirmed by Bakhtiyor Babaev, the club's sporting director, stating that it was a performance-related contract. He also went on to say that the
Cameroonian football star would sign on 17 July, and that the transfer had taken place due to the good relationship enjoyed between both clubs' presidents. Despite this,
Barcelona official spokesperson denied any knowledge of the transfer, stating "I don't think it's very likely". On 16 July 2008, the Uzbek radio
Maxima reported that Davut Kivrak and Barcelona managers are expected to arrive in Tashkent to hold talks with the
Uzbek Football Federation and to promote youth football (Barcelona and Bunyodkor have a yearly renewable deal to help in youth football). The following day, Eto'o confirmed that he was thinking of joining Kuruvchi – the team stated that they would have confirmation on whether Eto'o would join the team on 23 July 2008. Shortly thereafter, Bunyodkor and Barcelona managements announced that the two clubs had reached an agreement to play a
friendly in Tashkent and the Uzbek side will be able to train at
Camp Nou. As of 31 July 2008, Eto'o's status had become no clearer, as Bunyodkor was still in the running to obtain the services of the Cameroonian international, but he was also being sought by
Milanese powerhouses
A.C. Milan and
Internazionale. Just a couple of days after Eto'o's visit to Tashkent, two other players from Barcelona visited the team –
Andrés Iniesta and
Carles Puyol, as well as
Arsenal midfielder
Cesc Fàbregas. Although unsuccessful in obtaining Eto'o's services by September 2008, Bunyodkor brought two famous
Brazilians to Tashkent:
Rivaldo as a midfielder and
Zico as manager. Rivaldo signed a contract that he termed "very good for the end of my career" to play for Bunyodkor. Three weeks later, his countryman Zico signed on to manage the club on a one-year deal.
Mirjalol Qosimov became adviser-coach to Brazilian Zico. On 17 November 2008 Rivaldo extended his contract with club until December 2011. Zico left Bunyodkor in January 2009 after he was signed by
PFC CSKA Moscow as head coach. On 8 June 2009
Luiz Felipe Scolari was announced as Bunyodkor's new head coach. In 2010 AFC Champions League, Bunyodkor failed to reach the quarter-final after losing on 12 May 2010 in Round of 16 to
Al-Hilal FC 3–0. Scolari resigned from his post on 28 May 2010 and Mirjalol Qosimov was named as his successor. Qosimov became head coach of Bunyodkor again. Also Rivaldo unexpectedly terminated his multi-million contract and was released from the club on 12 August 2010.
2011–present , played for Bunyodkor in 2008–2010 On 26 February 2011 Bunyodkor unveiled 11 new players for the 2011 season. In the 2012 season, Bunyodkor was unable to defend its league title, despite winning its third
Uzbek Cup; the club finished runner-up to Pakhtakor in the league. In the 2012 AFC Champions League, the club repeated its 2008 achievements, reaching the semi-final of the tournament. In the semi-final, Bunyodkor lost to
Ulsan Hyundai over two legs. Bunyodkor made play-off of AFC Champions League for the 6th successive season in 2013, winning the group stage of tournament. The club renewed its own previous record and record of AFC Champions League history. On 7 March 2014 Bunyodkor won
Lokomotiv Tashkent with 2–1 in
Uzbekistan Super Cup match, match between League champion and Uzbek Cup winner. The Super Cup was held for the second time since 1999. On 6 June 2014, Sergey Lushan succeeded Mirjalol Kasymov to become the manager of Bunyodkor after Kasymov resigned his post at club in April 2014. During his time as head coach in club Lushan brought many talents from Bunyodkor academy to main squad. 2014 season club finished only 4th after
Nasaf Qarshi. In 2015 AFC Champions League group stage Bunyodkor failed to qualify to play-off for the first time. After match
Neftchi Farg'ona- Bunyodkor on 20 September 2015 he resigned his post on 23 September. On 5 May 2017,
Sergey Lushan was sacked, with
Mirjalol Qosimov being appointed as the club's new manager the same day. On 12 January 2019,
Vadim Abramov was appointed as manager of Bunyodkor. ==Recent seasons==