Marked for Christopher Kukk
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Mar 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Viimsi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Viimsi
Moses Fofana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Daniil Barinov 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 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Moses Fofana
“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.
Market27 Mar 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Christopher Kukk has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Viimsi.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Nomme Kalju in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Sander Soopalu 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 Sander Soopalu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market27 Mar 2028
The Moses Fofana story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Moses Fofana signs something — a contract at Viimsi or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market27 Mar 2028
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Viimsi could get for him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Feb 2028
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Cercle Brugge had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Viimsi close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words exchanged at Viimsi
Moses Fofana 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.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The numbers do not look good at Viimsi
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.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
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 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Viimsi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tauno Tekko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Moses Fofana, and the manager let it.
Market7 Feb 2028
“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 dugout7 Feb 2028
Sander Soopalu 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 Sander Soopalu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Jan 2028
Viimsi say no — this time
The offer from Vaprus for Moses Fofana was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad3 Jan 2028
A season average of 7.80 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Viimsi know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad3 Jan 2028
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Viimsi have had the benefit of it.
Market3 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Viimsi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Viimsi
Mathias Villota 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 Viimsi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksei Tšernjakov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets3 Jan 2028
Flora 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.
Transfer targets3 Jan 2028
A loan enquiry to Flora: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market3 Jan 2028
James Murage is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Viimsi has been clear about where James Murage stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jan 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 Viimsi can pretend not to have heard.
Market18 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Paide, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Viimsi
Aleksei Tšernjakov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Reinhard Reimaa 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Viimsi
Idalécio Dias 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
A row about effort at Viimsi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Reinhard Reimaa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Idalécio Dias, and the manager let it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Too much change too quickly at Viimsi
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Market16 Nov 2026
He is 18, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Market16 Nov 2026
He is 18, and nobody at Viimsi signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Viimsi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Viimsi
Glaybson 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Viimsi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksei Tšernjakov 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.