Marked for Ivan Bakhar
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match30 Aug 2027
50 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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 Dinamo Minsk can pretend not to have heard.
Market30 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Nika Kvekveskiri was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad30 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Jonathan Gómez
“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.
Market30 Aug 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Dinamo Minsk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market30 Aug 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dinamo Minsk will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market23 Aug 2027
Molodechno come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Dinamo Minsk did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Fawaz Abdullahi 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 ratings23 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match21 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ivan Bakhar. 1‑0 against Belshina, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad23 Aug 2027
10 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Karen Vardanyan will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings17 May 2027
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match15 May 2027
Nobody wants to play Dinamo Minsk right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad17 May 2027
Fawaz Abdullahi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings17 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vladimir Obukhov, and the manager let it.
Match15 May 2027
Three points for Dinamo Minsk, 1‑0 the final word against Smorgon in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad17 May 2027
Jhon González knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dinamo Minsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dinamo Minsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
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 Dinamo Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Marked 8.88 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 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.
Match24 Apr 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Naftan leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match13 Mar 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 14 matches without defeat is a foundation Dinamo Minsk did not have in the autumn.
Market15 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Minsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Fawaz Abdullahi 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Štěpán Chaloupek’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Dinamo Minsk.
Squad15 Mar 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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Shots: 14, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
The terraces15 Mar 2027
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match12 Sep 2026
Nobody wants to play Dinamo Minsk right now
9 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Market14 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Minsk can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Vladimir Obukhov 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 ratings14 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A performance of 9.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match12 Sep 2026
Vitebsk made Dinamo Minsk work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Erick Coavoy
“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
Triumph
Match5 Sep 2026
Nobody wants to play Dinamo Minsk right now
8 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
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 Dinamo Minsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Nika Kvekveskiri 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 ratings7 Sep 2026
A performance of 9.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Dinamo Minsk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match5 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ivan Bakhar. 1‑0 against Slavia Mozyr, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match15 Aug 2026
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Fawaz Abdullahi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market17 Aug 2026
Alexandr Alexandrovich has left for Minsk in a $36.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Match15 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Evgeniy Malashevich. 2‑1 against Dinamo Brest, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.89 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market17 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Dinamo Minsk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Moustapha Djimet, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Fawaz Abdullahi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match8 Aug 2026
Three points for Dinamo Minsk, 3‑1 the final word against Molodechno in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad10 Aug 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Dinamo Minsk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 8.54 — 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 ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 8.34 — 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 ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.