James Eto'o 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 CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Solet 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.
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 Ioannis Pittas is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CSKA Sofia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Levski next, and one man in the CSKA Sofia dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
7.89, 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.
James Eto'o 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.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Isaac Solet 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: James Eto'o. 3‑1 against Spartak 1918, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with James Eto'o in the middle of it, and Spartak 1918 unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
James Eto'o 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 interest is real enough to have reached print. CSKA Sofia have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Julien Lamy 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Levski can pretend not to have heard.
Marked 8.04 — 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.
Marked 8.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Nikolay Nedyalkov could afford to be generous.
Successful dribbles: 38. 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.
Botev Vratsa go through and CSKA Sofia go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
He is going to Genoa, the club has $4.4M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
CSKA Sofia have gone to Levski with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
CSKA Sofia offered $2.5M; Levski 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Elche is saying, and nobody at CSKA Sofia is enjoying the guessing.
The fee is $550.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Lokomotiv Plovdiv drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
In brief
SquadWords at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work