Marked for Ivan Aleksiev
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Dec 2027
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market20 Dec 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 The request is on a desk at Spartak 1918, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartak 1918 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match18 Dec 2027
No clean sheets in sight for Spartak 1918
6 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Market20 Dec 2027
Ivan Aleksiev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak 1918 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Martin Yankov 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.
Match18 Dec 2027
Dobrudzha left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Halachev, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Xande runs at them all day
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Nov 2027
Chastening afternoon for Spartak 1918
A 1‑4 beating by Lokomotiv Sofia was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match20 Nov 2027
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.
Market22 Nov 2027
Ivan Aleksiev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak 1918 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Mihail Tsonev 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
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Georgiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Boris Ivanov
“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.
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Oct 2027
0‑4 against Ludogorets, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market25 Oct 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak 1918 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Xande and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Angel Granchov, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Spartak 1918 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mihail Tsonev 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Spartak 1918 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout25 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 0‑4 Bojidar Yankov left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.62, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Lyubomir Vasilev: 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.” Spartak 1918 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market27 Sep 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak 1918 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Mihail Tsonev 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 dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Daniel Halachev
“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 dugout27 Sep 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 2‑3 Bojidar Yankov left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Stanislav Dyulgerov 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 dugout27 Sep 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Spartak 1918's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Spartak 1918 has to find a result from somewhere.
Market30 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.
Squad30 Aug 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.
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.
Market30 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak 1918 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match28 Aug 2027
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA Sofia have kept their man, and Spartak 1918 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad30 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak 1918 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Martin Georgiev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Aug 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 Spartak 1918, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market16 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Spartak 1918 have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Match14 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Spartak 1918's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Spartak 1918 has to find a result from somewhere.
Market16 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak 1918 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
Match14 Aug 2027
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad16 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak 1918 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Aug 2027
Late, late show earns Spartak 1918 a point
Minute 95, against Dobrudzha, 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.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Georgi Valchev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Loan watch10 May 2027
The goals keep arriving from Daniel Halachev’s exile
19 goals in 28 games at Fratria — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Spartak 1918 updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Spartak 1918 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florian Krebs 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 dugout10 May 2027
Xande 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.
Market10 May 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 dugout10 May 2027
Dimo Krastev 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.
Squad10 May 2027
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Spartak 1918 the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
Squad10 May 2027
A few words of the language, a friend at the next peg, and a training ground that has stopped feeling foreign. Nothing measurable, and everything visible on Saturdays.
Match10 May 2027
Nothing left to play for but pride at Spartak 1918
28 points in position 12: too many to go down, too few to go anywhere. The honest description of a season like this is a shrug, and the supporters have already given it.
The dugout10 May 2027
Pedro Victor keeps his manager's vote
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Pedro Victor plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florian Krebs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Georg Stojanovski 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 dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Aleksiev, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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 Petar Prindzhev is on it.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
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 dugout19 Apr 2027
Saad Moukachar asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
28 appearances at Fratria and the goals keep coming. Spartak 1918 are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Spartak 1918 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florian Krebs 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Georg Stojanovski and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout12 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.
Squad12 Apr 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; Spartak 1918 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market12 Apr 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartak 1918, another week without a signature from Ivan Aleksiev.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Dec 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Georg Stojanovski 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
Cherno More left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Spartak 1918 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emmanuel John is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stanislav Dyulgerov, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead28 Dec 2026
Slavia Sofia next, and one man in the Spartak 1918 dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“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
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 16 signed and 8 gone
That is the business done at Spartak 1918 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 targets7 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Sabadell keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets7 Sep 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Emmanuel John 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The young player of the month award goes to a 19-year-old at Spartak 1918 who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ivan Aleksiev 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Vasco Oliveira named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Vasco Oliveira 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
“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 dugout7 Sep 2026
Dimo Krastev 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 Spartak 1918, and both men came out saying it was fine.