Serhii Zaiets

Right Back - Podillia
1 Jun 2028
Thursday
Process

Marked for Serhii Zaiets

94 Edition

The Podillia Courier

15 May 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

The dugout

Nazariy Vanat says Podillia went back on their word

“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.

Squad

A falling-out at Podillia

Yuriy Dudnyk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleksandr Snizhko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Yevhenii Profatylo gets picked when it counts

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 Yevhenii Profatylo is on it.

The dugout

Serhii Zaiets has been promised minutes

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 Serhii Zaiets has written the date down.

In brief

Back issues
90 Edition

The Podillia Courier

17 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A falling-out at Podillia

Yuriy Dudnyk and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleksandr Snizhko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

104% of the income goes out in wages at Podillia

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

The dugout

Yevhenii Profatylo has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Podillia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

No hiding place for Ihor Potimkov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ihor Potimkov, and the manager let it.

In brief

88 Edition

The Podillia Courier

3 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

Anger at Podillia spills outside the ground

It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Podillia

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Yaroslav Kvasov asks to leave Podillia

“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.

The dugout

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Squad

Tempers go at Podillia

Yuriy Dudnyk 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.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Snizhko 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 dugout

Serhii Zaiets 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.

The dugout

Yevhenii Profatylo 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 Yevhenii Profatylo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

Questions about Edoardo Cavaliere on the training pitch

The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.

In brief

87 Edition

The Podillia Courier

27 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Yuriy Dudnyk 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Snizhko 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 dugout

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Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Podillia

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.

The dugout

Vladyslav Chaban has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Podillia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

The dugout

Roman Bodnia 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 Roman Bodnia trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

84 Edition

The Podillia Courier

6 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

The mood at Podillia has turned into something else

Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Podillia

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Yaroslav Kvasov puts it in writing

“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 Podillia, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Nazar Lys turns Probiy down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

The dugout

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The dugout

Ihor Potimkov: 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.” Podillia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Podillia

Yuriy Dudnyk 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.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Snizhko 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 dugout

Serhii Zaiets 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.

In brief

83 Edition

The Podillia Courier

28 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Not going: Yaroslav Kvasov stays at Podillia

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Nyva had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Boardroom

Podillia close the window on a squad of their own making

9 in and 4 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.

Squad

Yuriy Dudnyk 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Podillia

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.

The dugout

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Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Davronbek Azizov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Nazar Lys

“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 dugout

A promise honoured for Volodymyr Rudiuk

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Podillia told Volodymyr Rudiuk something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

The dugout

Serhii Zaiets 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.

In brief

79 Edition

The Podillia Courier

31 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Podillia

10 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.

Match

A hiding for Podillia

Beaten 0‑3 by Metalist, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Match

The goals have deserted Podillia

3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Podillia can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad

Oleksandr Snizhko 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 dugout

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Squad

Words exchanged at Podillia

Volodymyr Rudiuk 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Serhii Zaiets

“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.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Podillia 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.

The dugout

Vasyl Kulach answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

75 Edition

The Podillia Courier

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Podillia's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podillia has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

5 matches without a goal for Podillia

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Ivan Petriak signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ivan Petriak and Podillia agree another 2 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podillia

Yaroslav Kvasov 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.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Snizhko 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 dugout

No hiding place for Serhii Zaiets

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Serhii Zaiets, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Ivan Petriak stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.51 on the card, and the Podillia support went home talking about one name.

Boardroom

Podillia counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Podillia now.

The dugout

Vasyl Kulach: “We have to be better”

“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.

In brief

74 Edition

The Podillia Courier

27 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

5 matches without a win for Podillia

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.

Match

Podillia cannot find the net

4 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.

Player ratings

Serhii Zaiets beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A falling-out at Podillia

Ivan Ponomarenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

A bad afternoon for Podillia against UCSA

0‑1 to UCSA, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

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Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Davronbek Azizov 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.

Boardroom

Wages eat 107% of everything Podillia 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.

The dugout

Vasyl Kulach faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Vasyl Kulach after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

In brief

67 Edition

The Podillia Courier

8 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Serhii Zaiets: 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.” Podillia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Reuben Egan 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 Podillia can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podillia

Yaroslav Kvasov 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.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Snizhko 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.

Match

Podillia at the halfway mark

Half the programme played, position 13, 13 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.

The dugout

Yevhenii Profatylo 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.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Nazar Lys

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Nazar Lys has come out of that comparison in the side, and Podillia have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

The dugout

A promise honoured for Vladyslav Shkinder

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Podillia told Vladyslav Shkinder something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

Boardroom

Belts tighten at Podillia

The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.

In brief

66 Edition

The Podillia Courier

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The drought breaks for Podillia

13 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Feniks were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Vitalii Lobko at 21 — 8.26

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Vitalii Lobko did not need any: 8.26, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Tempers go at Podillia

Yaroslav Kvasov 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.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Oleksandr Snizhko 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.

Match

Vitalii Lobko the difference as Podillia beat Feniks

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vitalii Lobko. 2‑1 against Feniks, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The terraces

Podillia supporters have found a favourite in Vitalii Lobko

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Vitalii Lobko 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.

The dugout

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Player ratings

Yevhen Korokhov beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Serhii Zaiets

“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.

In brief

59 Edition

The Podillia Courier

13 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Alisson Oliveira Da Silva breaks a bone — 24 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

7 matches without a win for Podillia

The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.

Market

So close: Yaroslav Kvasov’s move dies late

The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Livyi Bereh moved on, Yaroslav Kvasov reports back to Podillia, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 18 in, 3 out at Podillia

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 18 arrived, 3 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Match

5 matches without a goal for Podillia

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podillia

Yaroslav Kvasov 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.

Match

UCSA take the points off Podillia

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ivan Ponomarenko

“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.

Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Davronbek Azizov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

58 Edition

The Podillia Courier

6 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Podillia

6 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.

Market

Roman Rostokin asks to leave Podillia

“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.

Match

The goals have deserted Podillia

4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Podillia can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad

A falling-out at Podillia

Ivan Ponomarenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleksandr Snizhko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Yaroslav Kvasov is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Podillia has been clear about where Yaroslav Kvasov stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

No hiding place for Serhii Zaiets

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Serhii Zaiets, and the manager let it.

Squad

A place in the month's best eleven for Nazar Lys

Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Nazar Lys has come out of that comparison in the side, and Podillia have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.

The dugout

Podillia keep their word to Vitalii Lobko

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

54 Edition

The Podillia Courier

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Yaroslav Kvasov breaks a bone — 36 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Vitalii Lobko at 21 — 7.80

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Vitalii Lobko did not need any: 7.80, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

A falling-out at Podillia

Ivan Ponomarenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Oleksandr Snizhko 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.

Player ratings

Oleksandr Snizhko was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 18. 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.

Squad

Volodymyr Rudiuk stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Volodymyr Rudiuk and Podillia agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Match

No time for Ahrobiznes to settle

The goal that put Ahrobiznes ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Podillia equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.

Market

Davronbek Azizov told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Davronbek Azizov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Podillia.

The dugout

Serhii Zaiets 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.

In brief

45 Edition

The Podillia Courier

7 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Yaroslav Kvasov breaks a bone — 99 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Vladyslav Shkinder asks to leave Podillia

“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.

The dugout

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Squad

Yaroslav Kvasov 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The step up is real for Reuben Egan

At 21 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.

Squad

Oleksii Bezruchuk 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.

In brief

39 Edition

The Podillia Courier

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ivan Ponomarenko 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 Podillia can pretend not to have heard.

The dugout

Serhii Zaiets keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Podillia may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yevhen Opanasenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Yaroslav Kvasov 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 Podillia, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Yaroslav Kvasov question follows Podillia around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Yaroslav Kvasov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

32 Edition

The Podillia Courier

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for Podillia

Position 15 and 18 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Market

Vladyslav Shkinder asks to leave Podillia

“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.

The dugout

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Squad

Anton Savin signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Anton Savin and Podillia agree another 2 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podillia

Anton Savin 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.

Transfer targets

The window shuts on the Ihor Kohut deal

Podillia ran out of time with Metalist. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.

Market

One of our own: Maksym Popov joins the Podillia first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Maksym Popov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edoardo Cavaliere was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Pavlo Savchuk 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.

In brief

22 Edition

The Podillia Courier

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Yevhen Opanasenko out for 37 days

37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Podillia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

4 matches without a win for Podillia

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Wages eat 149% of everything Podillia 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.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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 dugout

Half-satisfied: Vasyl Kulach on the draw

“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.

Player ratings

Yevhen Korokhov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ihor Potimkov

“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 dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Serhii Zaiets

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

In brief

21 Edition

The Podillia Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Yevhen Opanasenko

45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Podillia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

A defender's goal wins it for Podillia — 7.09

1 for Nazar Lys, marked 7.09, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.

Squad

Tempers go at Podillia

Anton Savin 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.

Match

UCSA take the points off Podillia

Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Words at Podillia training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadym Shavrin 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.

Looking ahead

Everything rides on Metalurh Zaporizhzhia

Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Podillia know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Vadym Shavrin

“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 dugout

Vasyl Kulach: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Player ratings

Roman Bodnia was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 13. 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.

In brief

18 Edition

The Podillia Courier

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Yevhen Opanasenko damages knee ligaments — 66 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 66 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Match

The drought breaks for Podillia

10 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Probiy were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Player ratings

Anton Savin, 36, rolls back the years — 8.14

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.14 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Squad

Anton Savin 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 Podillia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Podillia find a way past Probiy

Probiy made Podillia work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 150% of the Podillia income

Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.

Player ratings

Oleksandr Snizhko in the eights

A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadym Shavrin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Yevhenii Riazantsev in the eights

A performance of 8.08 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

17 Edition

The Podillia Courier

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Yevhen Opanasenko damages knee ligaments — 73 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 73 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Match

10 matches without a win for Podillia

The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Podillia are no longer polite ones.

The dugout

Yevhen Kondratiuk: 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.” Podillia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Podillia

Anton Savin 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 ratings

Yevhen Korokhov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 21. 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.

Match

Chernihiv take the points off Podillia

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Edoardo Cavaliere wants to go home

“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Podillia can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.

The dugout

Vasyl Kulach: “No excuses”

“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.

Squad

A row about effort at Podillia

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavlo Savchuk was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

8 Edition

The Podillia Courier

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Yevhen Opanasenko out for 137 days

137 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Podillia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Words exchanged at Podillia

Anton Savin 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.

Squad

Edoardo Cavaliere signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edoardo Cavaliere commits to Podillia for another 4 years.

The dugout

No hiding place for Vadym Shavrin

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vadym Shavrin, and the manager let it.

Squad

Podillia are still strangers to each other

10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

Market

Podillia buy the years ahead of Edoardo Cavaliere

He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.

The dugout

Vasyl Kulach on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Vasyl Kulach after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Anton Savin

Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Podillia pick somebody else ahead of Serhii Zaiets

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

In brief