The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Montana is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Svetoslav Kovachev 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Georgi Kraev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Tsvetan Chochev 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Emil Milanov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Muhammad 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.
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. Montana will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“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 The request is on a desk at Montana, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Vasil Simeonov has left for Cherno More in a $520.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad5 Jul 2027
David Carmona 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.
Montana asked and Gimnasia y Esgrima said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ibrahim Muhammad is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Montana have done the hard part with Godoy Cruz, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Spartak Moscow is saying, and nobody at Montana is enjoying the guessing.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to Spartak Moscow: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Botev Vratsa waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Montana is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Petar Atanasov is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Svetoslav Kovachev from Arda for $1.7M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Muhammad was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Dário Miranda
Vajebah Sakor 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Muhammad 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Carmona signs something — a contract at Montana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Dário Miranda has written the date down.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Montana, another week without a signature from Filipe Quintas.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Tsekov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Montana the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Muhammad was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Montana. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Márcio Rosa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgos Pontikos 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Xavier Venâncio is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Vladislav Tsekov has his answer from Montana; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Hossam Abdelmaguid 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.
Words at Montana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Xavier Venâncio 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ibrahim Muhammad trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Montana. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Montana they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Tomás Azevedo 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Montana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Giacomo Corona provided it, and the 8.96 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Montana asked and Ludogorets said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Giacomo Corona has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Three points for Montana, 2‑0 the final word against Spartak 1918 in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Tomás Azevedo 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.
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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Kristiyan Balov is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Hossam Abdelmaguid 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Montana have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
“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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against CSKA Sofia in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Tomás Azevedo 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.
Albin Linnér 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
It needed Giacomo Corona to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Spartak 1918, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Stoycho Bojinov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Montana dressing room was either.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ibrahim Muhammad trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
There were 88 minutes on the clock and CSKA 1948 had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Montana did not stop to explain themselves.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 23 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Giacomo Corona. 1‑0 against CSKA 1948, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tomás Azevedo 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.
Marked 7.70. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Stoycho Bojinov kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Montana has been clear about where Arian Mršulja stands, which is more than many ever get.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Ibrahim Muhammad scored in the 88th minute, Beroe had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Montana took the lot.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Montana will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Montana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Ibrahim Muhammad has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Azevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
In brief
Boardroom92% of the income goes out in wages at Montana
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Tiago Rodrigues 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.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Stoycho Bojinov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Radnicki Nis 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.