Marked for Mario Dadakov
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 Jan 2028
Ivan Arsov 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 Vihren can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
Mario Dadakov: 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.” Vihren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Vihren
Petko Ganev 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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
A row about effort at Vihren
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Asen Mitkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match1 Jan 2028
3 matches without a goal for Vihren
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Transfer targets3 Jan 2028
Vihren asked and Beroe said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match1 Jan 2028
Vihren come up short against Marek
Marek left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market3 Jan 2028
No place for Ivan Ivanov in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ivan Ivanov has his answer from Vihren; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dimitar Ivanov, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Oct 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 The request is on a desk at Vihren, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
Ivaylo Tunchev: 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.” Vihren have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Vihren
Mario Dilchovski 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 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Vihren
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denislav Aleksandrov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match16 Oct 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout18 Oct 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.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
Stefan Traykov 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 Stefan Traykov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vihren may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Vihren
Petko Ganev 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 Oct 2027
Words at Vihren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Asen Mitkov 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 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Stefan Traykov
“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.
Boardroom11 Oct 2027
Wages eat 85% of everything Vihren 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Kiril Kotev has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Vihren will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Yantra next, and one man in the Vihren dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market11 Oct 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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Daniel Kikiowo 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 Vihren, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Sep 2027
Still nobody has beaten Vihren
The unbeaten run reaches 19. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Vihren
Mario Dilchovski 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Vihren
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denislav Aleksandrov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
Vihren supporters have found a favourite in Kiril Kotev
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Kiril Kotev 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Three points for Vihren, 1‑0 the final word against Ludogorets II in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad27 Sep 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; Vihren are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Momchil Petrov could afford to be generous.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Mario Dadakov
“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 ratings27 Sep 2027
Chances created: 10. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match18 Sep 2027
Still nobody has beaten Vihren
The unbeaten run reaches 18. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Petko Ganev 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 Vihren this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Asen Mitkov 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A goalkeeper's career is counted in the games nobody scored in, and Boris Gruev now has 25 of them across 107 appearances. Nothing about that number was luck.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Radoslav Zafirov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Momchil Petrov was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Vihren dressing room was either.
Match18 Sep 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Spartak Pleven will be the happier side with the point.
Looking ahead20 Sep 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Denislav Aleksandrov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Vihren needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Sep 2027
Still nobody has beaten Vihren
The unbeaten run reaches 17. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mario Dadakov is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Vihren
Petko Ganev 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Vihren
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Asen Mitkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Transfer targets13 Sep 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.
The dugout13 Sep 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.
Market13 Sep 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Vihren, another week without a signature from Martin Kostadinov.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Jul 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.
Market5 Jul 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vihren is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Vihren
Mario Dilchovski 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Vihren training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Denislav Aleksandrov 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.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and Vihren go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
Léo Pimenta 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.
Market5 Jul 2027
Vihren and Ivan Arsov are talking past each other
“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.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Intake day at the Vihren academy
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The numbers do not look good at Vihren
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.