Marked for Ivan Grudko
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market13 Dec 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 The request is on a desk at Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
Ivan Grudko 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 dugout13 Dec 2027
Kirill Rodionov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“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 Vitebsk will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market6 Dec 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 The request is on a desk at Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad6 Dec 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout6 Dec 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Nikita Vekhtev slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Nikita Vekhtev is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Vitebsk will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Vladislav Pulkach 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vitebsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Vitebsk
Mikhail Bashilov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Devid Kokoev, and the manager let it.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Artem Korolev and Vitebsk agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad29 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Vitebsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Pulkach was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Nov 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 Vitebsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Nov 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Radivoj Bosić makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
Nikita Naumov 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 Nikita Naumov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Vitebsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Kuntsevich 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 dugout8 Nov 2027
Ivan Grudko 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 Ivan Grudko is on it.
Squad8 Nov 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Vitebsk would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market8 Nov 2027
The name of Alexandr Anufriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Vitebsk say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad8 Nov 2027
The coaching staff have set Soslan Dzarasov something separate to do. Whether it is a weakness being addressed or a strength being sharpened, nobody outside the building will know until it shows up on a Saturday.
In brief
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Boardroom
The Vitebsk production line keeps running
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Lan Milanović
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Oct 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 Vitebsk can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Vitebsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Vitebsk
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Sergei Kendysh for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Vitebsk will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
Ivan Grudko 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 dugout25 Oct 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Vitebsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Kuntsevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market25 Oct 2027
Abdula Kichukov is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Vitebsk has been clear about where Abdula Kichukov stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Oct 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Devid Kokoev, and the manager let it.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Ivan Grudko 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 Ivan Grudko is on it.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vitebsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market11 Oct 2027
The name of Alexandr Anufriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Vitebsk say nothing, which says plenty.
Market11 Oct 2027
36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Squad11 Oct 2027
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2027
Next up on the road: Dnepr Mogilev, position 5. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market27 Sep 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 Vitebsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Vitebsk
Evgeniy Krasnov 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 dugout27 Sep 2027
Ivan Grudko 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 dugout27 Sep 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market27 Sep 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Vladlen Anikeev has his answer from Vitebsk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Yahor Shikavka after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Vitebsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Pulkach was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Sep 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Dinamo Minsk defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Aug 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marin Žgomba and Vitebsk agree another 4 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Vitebsk
Evgeniy Krasnov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Vitebsk asked and Stal Mielec said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Devid Kokoev
“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 dugout9 Aug 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Vitebsk told Marin Žgomba something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Vitebsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
When it matters, Ivan Grudko plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Looking ahead9 Aug 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nikita Bylinkin’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Vitebsk needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Jul 2027
The wait goes on for Vitebsk
11 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 Jul 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Vitebsk have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market26 Jul 2027
Roman Minaev 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 Vitebsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Mikhail Bashilov 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 Jul 2027
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Transfer targets26 Jul 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.
Match24 Jul 2027
Slavia Mozyr left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market26 Jul 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Vitebsk will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Vitebsk's wait for a win
10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Vitebsk has to find a result from somewhere.
Market19 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Vitebsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad19 Jul 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets19 Jul 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Add another name to the list: Ostrovets have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Vladislav Pulkach. The answer from Vitebsk has not changed — yet.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Grudko
“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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Nizhniy Novgorod: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
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.
Match17 Jul 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad31 May 2027
Mikhail Bashilov 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
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lan Milanović and Vitebsk agree another 4 years.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marin Žgomba, and the manager let it.
Player ratings31 May 2027
10 combined actions and 7.63. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Vitebsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Evgeniy Novykh was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout31 May 2027
A promise honoured for Ivan Grudko
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Vitebsk told Ivan Grudko something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Match29 May 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout31 May 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 May 2027
No end in sight to Vitebsk's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Vitebsk has to find a result from somewhere.
Market10 May 2027
Nikita Vekhtev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vitebsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad10 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marin Žgomba and Vitebsk agree another 5 years.
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Vitebsk
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Match8 May 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout10 May 2027
Ivan Grudko 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 ratings10 May 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.
Loan watch10 May 2027
“I watch every Vitebsk game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Smorgon runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout10 May 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Apr 2027
A one-man rearguard from Nikita Goilo
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.
Market19 Apr 2027
Only the photograph left for Evgeniy Novykh
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Evgeniy Novykh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vitebsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Apr 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Apr 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“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 dugout19 Apr 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Yahor Shikavka after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Vitebsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Evgeniy Novykh was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Devid Kokoev is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Ivan Grudko has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Vitebsk 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match20 Mar 2027
Radivoj Bosić had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Naftan were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Market22 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vitebsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 Mar 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 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; Vitebsk are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Lan Milanović
“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 ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Evgeniy Novykh 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Feb 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dinamo Brest waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Vitebsk is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market22 Feb 2027
Vitebsk say no — this time
The offer from Smorgon for Nikita Vekhtev 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.
Squad22 Feb 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets22 Feb 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.
Market22 Feb 2027
Everyone has stopped pretending: Niva will make the call about Roman Lisovskiy this week. Vitebsk have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Transfer targets22 Feb 2027
Slavia Prague 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.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
When it matters, Ivan Grudko plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market22 Feb 2027
The name of Alexandr Anufriev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Vitebsk say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jan 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.
Squad25 Jan 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Vitebsk has been clear about where Mikhail Bashilov stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Milad Mohammadi is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Evgeniy Novykh
“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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Roman Minaev 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 Roman Minaev is on it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Vitebsk have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Ivan Grudko 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
Only the photograph left for Evgeniy Novykh
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Evgeniy Novykh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vitebsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikhail Bashilov, and the manager let it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Ivan Grudko, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Semyon Yegorov commits to Vitebsk for another 3 years.
Squad18 Jan 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 Vitebsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match11 Jan 2027
Vitebsk are in real trouble now
Position 13, 6 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Vitebsk
Mikhail Bashilov 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 dugout11 Jan 2027
Mikhail Bashilov 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
Squad14 Dec 2026
Dzmitry Ihnatovich damages knee ligaments — 33 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 33 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.
Match14 Dec 2026
Vitebsk are in real trouble now
Position 13, 6 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Ivan Grudko 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 Ivan Grudko is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Vladlen Anikeev is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Evgeniy Novykh, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Vladislav Pulkach is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
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 Evgeniy Novykh is on it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Ivan Grudko 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 Ivan Grudko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Vitebsk will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match16 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for Vitebsk
Position 13 and 6 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Vitebsk
Mikhail Bashilov 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Ivan Grudko has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Vitebsk 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Oct 2026
Vitebsk sink to position 13
6 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match17 Oct 2026
4 matches without a win for Vitebsk
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Vitebsk are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 19 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match17 Oct 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Yahor Shikavka chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout19 Oct 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
A promise honoured at Vitebsk
Something was said to Dmitriy Kharitonov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Ivan Grudko has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Vitebsk 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Vitebsk
Mikhail Bashilov 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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
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 targets21 Sep 2026
Vitebsk asked and Dukla Prague said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout21 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Torpedo-BelAZ, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Yahor Shikavka left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Ivan Grudko 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 Ivan Grudko is on it.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dinamo Minsk in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Nobody at Vitebsk is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Aug 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Brian Leroy Onana obliged against Slonim. 3‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Vitebsk.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.70 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A defender's goal wins it for Vitebsk — 7.32
1 for Marin Žgomba, marked 7.32, 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Vitebsk had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Skonto, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
$140.0K on the table at Slavia Mozyr. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Vitebsk
Mikhail Bashilov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Vitebsk asked and Slavia Mozyr said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match15 Aug 2026
A bad afternoon for Vitebsk against Slutsk
1‑2 to Slutsk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Vitebsk supporters have found a favourite in Ivan Grudko
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Ivan Grudko 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.