Marked for Denis Lebedev
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Alexandr Yeliseev 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 ratings27 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.84, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match25 Sep 2027
A 1‑0 win over Irkutsk, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Leon Aiba 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.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Shots: 5, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 12 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Market27 Sep 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Zvezda know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Raid Bikmukhametov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match18 Aug 2027
The cup run ends for Zvezda
0‑3 against Amkar, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
The terraces23 Aug 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 25 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market23 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 Zvezda can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Denis Lebedev 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
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad23 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Magomed Nasibov
“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.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
Nobody left the Zvezda dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 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 Zvezda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market2 Aug 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zvezda is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alexandr Yeliseev and Zvezda agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Berk Kızıldemir 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
The captaincy has been taken off Andrey Zaitsev. Zvezda will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“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
Squad19 Jul 2027
“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.
Market19 Jul 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 Zvezda can pretend not to have heard.
Match17 Jul 2027
5 matches without a win for Zvezda
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Zvezda are no longer polite ones.
Market19 Jul 2027
As if he never left: Yuri Lukin returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Yuri Lukin is a Zvezda player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market19 Jul 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market19 Jul 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Alexandr Yeliseev 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 Jul 2027
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad19 Jul 2027
No hiding place for Leon Aiba
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leon Aiba, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jul 2027
Denis Lebedev 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 Zvezda can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Jul 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zvezda they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Alexandr Yeliseev 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.
Market5 Jul 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Legion will make the call about Artem Tsvetkov this week. Zvezda have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Berk Kızıldemir trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad5 Jul 2027
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Zvezda will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad28 Jun 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 Zvezda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market28 Jun 2027
The name of Andrey Zenyuk keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zvezda say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mikhail Lukjanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market28 Jun 2027
Zvezda have made Denis Lebedev available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Jun 2027
Denis Lebedev 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 Zvezda can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zvezda is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Alexandr Yeliseev 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 Jun 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandr Yegunov and Zvezda agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Arsen Nyshanaliev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market7 Jun 2027
2 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Zvezda money.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 May 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 Zvezda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market10 May 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zvezda they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 May 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 Zvezda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Artem Tsvetkov and Zvezda agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market10 May 2027
3 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Zvezda could get for him.
Squad10 May 2027
Mikhail Lukjanov 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
Market18 Jan 2027
Petr Timofeev 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 Zvezda can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Igor Smirnov 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Denis Lebedev and Zvezda agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Andrey Zenyuk
“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 ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 13 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match16 Jan 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Cherepovets came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Danila Rulev 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 Zvezda, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 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 Zvezda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings11 Jan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Igor Smirnov 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 Zvezda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Marked 8.68 — 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Berk Kızıldemir. 1‑0 against Irkutsk, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad11 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
Andrey Zenyuk 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 Andrey Zenyuk trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Zvezda's wait for a win
16 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Zvezda has to find a result from somewhere.
Market21 Dec 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 Zvezda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Zvezda
Igor Smirnov 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 ratings21 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Zvezda know it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikhail Lukjanov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match19 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Chertanovo will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2026
15 matches without a win for Zvezda
The run now stands at 15, and the questions being asked around Zvezda are no longer polite ones.
Market14 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Zvezda
Adrian Ziarek 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Berk Kızıldemir and Zvezda agree another 3 years.
Squad14 Dec 2026
No hiding place for Leon Aiba
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leon Aiba, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“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; Zvezda are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Uralets-TS to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zvezda and fight for my place.” 7 appearances in 12 matches say the rest.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Zvezda's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Zvezda has to find a result from somewhere.
Market23 Nov 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.
Squad23 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 Zvezda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad23 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Zvezda know it.
Match21 Nov 2026
Zvezda and Tver cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Tver came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Arsen Nyshanaliev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 Oct 2026
10 matches without a win for Zvezda
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Zvezda are no longer polite ones.
Squad2 Nov 2026
There were 7 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Zvezda have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market2 Nov 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 Zvezda can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 259% of everything Zvezda 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Zvezda
Bryann Fernández 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Leon Aiba
“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 ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Torpedo Vladimir to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zvezda and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Zvezda
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.
Market26 Oct 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 Zvezda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Petr Timofeev: 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.” Zvezda have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Zvezda
Igor Smirnov 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Petr Timofeev and Zvezda agree another 3 years.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Lebedev, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Uralets-TS to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zvezda and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A defender's afternoon for Igor Smirnov
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Zvezda
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Zvezda are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Denis Lebedev
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad28 Sep 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 Zvezda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad28 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Point won or two lost for Zvezda?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Irkutsk? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Roman Zaitsev 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Zvezda
Denis Lebedev 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
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Roman Zaitsev. 1‑0 against Tver, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for Igor Smirnov
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Loan watch10 Aug 2026
“I did not go to Krylya Sovetov to sit and watch. I want to come back to Zvezda and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 0 matches say the rest.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months and counting on Leon Aiba
Still no offer on the table, and Leon Aiba’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Danila Rulev, and the manager let it.
Market10 Aug 2026
Zvezda have made Fedor Solovey available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.