Marked for Dmitriy Sibilev
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Niva lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match31 Mar 2027
The small margins put Niva out
Out, 0‑3 to Naftan, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
A cup hiding at Naftan leaves Niva explaining themselves
0-3, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
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 Niva can pretend not to have heard.
Match3 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Niva
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitriy Sibilev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Mitskevich, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Niva lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market29 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market29 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maxim Mitskevich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Maxim Mardas, 21, steals the show — 8.09
Marked 8.09 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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Evgeniy Ermola: 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.” Niva have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Sibilev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces29 Mar 2027
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Alexandr Grin
“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
Squad22 Mar 2027
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Niva lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Alexandr Grin has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Niva
Denis Khodyko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Sibilev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match20 Mar 2027
A bad afternoon for Niva against Lida
0‑1 to Lida, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Azarov, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Uladzimir Gordeichuk after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Every debut is a small story about the future: Maxim Zhabitskiy, 21 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Mar 2027
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Niva lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market15 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Niva
Denis Khodyko 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 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Sibilev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Market15 Mar 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Maxim Zhabitskiy has his answer from Niva; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Looking ahead15 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Lida in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Alexandr Grin asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market15 Mar 2027
5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Niva money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Mar 2027
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Niva lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
The Niva board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match6 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout8 Mar 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseny Chulkov 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.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
A promise the Niva board did not keep
There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.
Squad8 Mar 2027
7 new faces, and Niva 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.
The dugout8 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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Uladzimir Gordeichuk to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 105 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Niva can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Maxim Mitskevich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Window shuts: 2 in, 0 out at Niva
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Maxim Mitskevich has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Market1 Mar 2027
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Gleb Soldatenkov reports back to Niva with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad1 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets1 Mar 2027
Niva asked and Dinamo Minsk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitriy Sibilev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 112 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Niva
Denis Khodyko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets22 Feb 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitriy Sibilev 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 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Arseny Chulkov
“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.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Minsk: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
A loan move for Pedro Acácio is in the works
Niva have made the call to Torpedo-BelAZ. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Roman Kozel asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market22 Feb 2027
6 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Niva money.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Niva have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market15 Feb 2027
Ivan Novik hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Niva can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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 targets15 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. BATE have kept their man, and Niva go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Maxim Mardas gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Arseny Chulkov 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.
Market15 Feb 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.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
A loan move for Maxim Budko is in the works
Niva have made the call to Torpedo-BelAZ. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
Neman 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
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Niva
Denis Khodyko 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 targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. BATE have kept their man, and Niva go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Dmitriy Sibilev 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Niva, another week without a signature from Ilya Rabeshko.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Too much change too quickly at Niva
7 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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
A loan move for Maxim Gaevoy is in the works
Niva have made the call to Torpedo-BelAZ. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Ilya Rabeshko 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 Ilya Rabeshko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Niva may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market1 Feb 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 Niva can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Niva have done the hard part with Neman, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad1 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Dmitriy Sibilev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout1 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.
Market1 Feb 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan enquiry to Torpedo-BelAZ: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Wages eat 87% of everything Niva 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
Steady
Market25 Jan 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 Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Arseny Chulkov 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stepan Asharin, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Alexandr Grin 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 Niva, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market25 Jan 2027
7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Vitaliy Shikavka 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 dugout18 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 dugout18 Jan 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 Niva, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad18 Jan 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Niva
Denis Khodyko 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitriy Sibilev 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 dugout11 Jan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The formation has left Maxim Mardas behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Niva will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Too much change too quickly at Niva
7 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 dugout11 Jan 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 Niva, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market11 Jan 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Ivan Novik is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
Market11 Jan 2027
7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Dmitriy Sibilev 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 dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Arseny Chulkov
“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.
Squad4 Jan 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Maxim Azarov is no longer first choice
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Maxim Azarov 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Niva, another week without a signature from Vladislav Dybin.
Market4 Jan 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Niva signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Dybin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market4 Jan 2027
Niva shop where it costs nothing
Ivan Vorobjev signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Dec 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Igor Monich 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Dmitriy Sibilev
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 89% of everything Niva 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
Igor Monich has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Niva 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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Artem Kuratnik 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 Artem Kuratnik trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
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 Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
Market28 Dec 2026
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Pavel Palitsevich 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Sibilev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 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.
Market21 Dec 2026
“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.
Market21 Dec 2026
The clock does Mikhail Gordeychuk’s negotiating for him
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Niva could ask drops and the wages Mikhail Gordeychuk can ask rise.
Squad21 Dec 2026
The formation has left Stepan Asharin behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Niva will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Maxim Mitskevich asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
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 Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikhail Gordeychuk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ivan Shikavka has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Azarov, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Maxim Mitskevich 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
“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 dugout14 Dec 2026
Ilya Rabeshko asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market14 Dec 2026
Igor Monich runs his contract down
1 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Niva money.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A new face in his position, and Dmitriy Sibilev suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Niva have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Dec 2026
Artem Kuratnik has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad7 Dec 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavel Palitsevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikita Dovnar
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Uladzimir Arlouski 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
“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.
Market7 Dec 2026
Nikita Paderin is 20, and Niva 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Ilya Rabeshko asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Nov 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 Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market30 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Voronovich, and the manager let it.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 88% of everything Niva 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
Igor Monich has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Niva 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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maxim Zhabitskiy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The manager makes Maxim Azarov a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Niva. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikhail Gordeychuk, and the manager let it.
Market23 Nov 2026
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Maxim Zhabitskiy asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mikhail Gordeychuk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Niva have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom16 Nov 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Mikhail Gordeychuk has agreed terms with BATE for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Maxim Azarov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dmitriy Sibilev 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Evgeniy Mashagin has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad9 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mikhail Gordeychuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market9 Nov 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Valery Hryshyn 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
One of our own: Hleb Kavalyou joins the Niva first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Hleb Kavalyou 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
Steady
Market2 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Artem Kuratnik
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Artem Kuratnik will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
An order from above at Niva: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Mikhail Gordeychuk 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 dugout2 Nov 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 88% of everything Niva 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
Igor Monich gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Igor Monich is on it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maxim Mitskevich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Oct 2026
Only the photograph left for Igor Monich
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Igor Monich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Dmitriy Galuza 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Niva
17 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.
Market26 Oct 2026
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 2026
Dmitriy Galuza has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Alexandr Voronovich has agreed terms with Neman for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Dybin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market19 Oct 2026
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Dybin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Igor Monich
“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 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
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 Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Oct 2026
Artem Kuratnik has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilya Rabeshko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
95% of the income goes out in wages at Niva
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 dugout5 Oct 2026
When it matters, Igor Monich plays
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.
The dugout5 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 Niva, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Maxim Azarov has been promised minutes
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 Maxim Azarov has written the date down.
Market5 Oct 2026
2 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Sep 2026
Igor Monich has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Azarov, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Kuratnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Niva are still strangers to each other
17 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Market28 Sep 2026
He is 18, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Niva is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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 targets21 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Minsk have kept their man, and Niva go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Maxim Mitskevich 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.
Market21 Sep 2026
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Niva could get for him.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Dmitriy Galuza asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes Maxim Azarov a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Niva. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market21 Sep 2026
The market said no: Roman Kozel stays put
Niva opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Roman Kozel stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market7 Sep 2026
Artem Kuratnik has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Artem Kuratnik has agreed terms with Dinamo Brest for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Neman have kept their man, and Niva go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Kuratnik 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 dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Alexandr Grin
“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
“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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Vladimir Skomarovskiy has come out of that comparison in the side, and Niva have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 7.61 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Dmitriy Sibilev pops up at the right end — 7.66
7.66, 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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Niva asked and Orsha said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 2‑1 win over Osipovichi, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
In brief
-
The terraces
One of their own: Nikita Dovnar
-
Squad
A row about effort at Niva
-
Squad
16 new faces, and Niva are still learning each other
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Aug 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market24 Aug 2026
Only the photograph left for Igor Monich
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Igor Monich will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Niva the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Niva's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Niva has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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 targets24 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match22 Aug 2026
Dmitriy Galuza scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Slonim, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout24 Aug 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Aug 2026
Niva out of the cup
Gomel ended it 1‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Igor Monich has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Market17 Aug 2026
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Vladislav Dybin is a Niva player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Maxim Azarov in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Niva asked and BATE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dmitriy Sibilev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitriy Sibilev, and the manager let it.
Match15 Aug 2026
Niva caught on 87 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Bumprom Gomel scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market10 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Niva they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev 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 targets10 Aug 2026
Niva offered $110.0K; Neman said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Grigory Komovnikov has, at Niva, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Niva
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilya Rabeshko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.17 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dmitriy Sibilev and Niva agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Niva
Dmitriy Sibilev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match1 Aug 2026
Uni-X Labs made Niva work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
He is 19 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
7 new faces, and Niva 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Niva training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Evgeniy Mashagin 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.