Ismail Dibirov

Central Midfielder - Dinamo Kirov
2 Dec 2027
Thursday
Process

Marked for Ismail Dibirov

70 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

29 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Roman Polkovnikov damages knee ligaments — 105 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 105 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.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Dinamo Kirov

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Dinamo Kirov is running low.

Match

Every point is an argument now for Dinamo Kirov

Position 9 and 14 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.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 207% of the Dinamo Kirov 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Kirov

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

The dugout

Bilal Bilalov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

Back issues
66 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Dinamo Kirov boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Match

Dinamo Kirov sink to position 8

14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

The wait goes on for Dinamo Kirov

5 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

3 matches without a goal for Dinamo Kirov

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.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 178% of the Dinamo Kirov 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.

Squad

Radislav Veselovskiy 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Dinamo Kirov come up short against Leningradets

Leningradets left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Looking ahead

A six-pointer for Dinamo Kirov

Sibir next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.

In brief

  • The dugout Ismail Dibirov gets it from the manager
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • Market Stefan Kalinov is free to find somewhere else
65 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

25 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Bilal Akhjadov is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Dinamo Kirov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market

Stefan Kalinov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 25. 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

4 matches without a win for Dinamo Kirov

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

Squad

Stefan Kalinov 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Bilal Akhjadov left out for the big one

A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Bilal Akhjadov will call it something else in private.

The dugout

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.” Luka Lukin chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

The dugout

Ismail Dibirov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Kirov 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.

Match

Point won or two lost for Dinamo Kirov?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Alania? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

64 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

18 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Artem Philippov out for 14 days

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

Market

Bilal Akhjadov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Danil Novoselov 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Andrey Malykh

7.18, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Dinamo Kirov had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

The dugout

Andrey Malykh 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 Andrey Malykh is on it.

The dugout

Vadim Roldugin 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

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.” Luka Lukin chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

Market

No place for Daniil Zhukovskiy in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Daniil Zhukovskiy has his answer from Dinamo Kirov; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief

63 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

11 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

The mood at Dinamo Kirov 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.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Artem Philippov

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

Match

Dinamo Kirov out of the cup

Spartak Moscow ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Match

Tyumen punish Dinamo Kirov for switching off

2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Nikita Dorofeev will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Dinamo Kirov escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.

Squad

Bilal Bilalov out for 25 days

The medical room confirms 25 days on the sidelines for Bilal Bilalov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Boardroom

The numbers do not look good at Dinamo Kirov

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.

Player ratings

Ismail Dibirov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 20. 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.

The dugout

Bilal Bilalov 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.

Looking ahead

Everything rides on Mashuk

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. Dinamo Kirov know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.

In brief

61 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

27 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Artem Philippov

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

Match

Dinamo Kirov sink to position 9

8 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad

Andrey Savin keeps Dinamo Kirov in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Ismail Dibirov beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Bilal Akhjadov has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Dinamo Kirov they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

5 matches without a win for Dinamo Kirov

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

Match

5 matches without a goal for Dinamo Kirov

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

Eduard Gerasimov out for 15 days

The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Eduard Gerasimov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

100 appearances for Ismail Dibirov

100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

In brief

60 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

20 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Artem Philippov out for 43 days

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

Market

Bilal Akhjadov asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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.

Market

Dinamo Kirov turn down Rodina M for Bilal Akhjadov

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Match

The wait goes on for Dinamo Kirov

4 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

The goals have deserted Dinamo Kirov

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

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Words exchanged at Dinamo Kirov

Radislav Veselovskiy 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

No hiding place for Ismail Dibirov

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

Market

A long bet from Dinamo Kirov on Radislav Veselovskiy

He is 20, and nobody at Dinamo Kirov signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.

In brief

56 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

23 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Artem Philippov 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

Ismail Dibirov sends Dinamo Kirov through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Ismail Dibirov obliged against Dinamo Stavropol. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Dinamo Kirov.

Match

Ismail Dibirov wins it after the whistle should have gone

111 minutes played. Ismail Dibirov found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Dinamo Stavropol went from a point to nothing inside one movement.

Market

Bilal Akhjadov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and it is not being withdrawn.

The terraces

One of their own: Ismail Dibirov

He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Match

Bilal Bilalov the difference as Dinamo Kirov beat Alania

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bilal Bilalov. 1‑0 against Alania, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Ismail Dibirov was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.29. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Squad

Tempers go at Dinamo Kirov

Roman Polkovnikov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Vadim Roldugin

“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

  • Player ratings Nobody on the pitch touched Evgeny Pesikov
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout Andrey Malykh gets picked when it counts
55 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Artem Philippov

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

The terraces

The mood at Dinamo Kirov 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.

Match

5 matches without a win for Dinamo Kirov

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

Boardroom

Dinamo Kirov counting the cost

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

The dugout

No hiding place for Andrey Malykh

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

Match

Mashuk take the points off Dinamo Kirov

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

The dugout

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 Luka Lukin left the room before anybody could ask which.

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 15. 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.

The dugout

Bilal Bilalov 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

53 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

2 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Artem Philippov damages knee ligaments — 94 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 94 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.

Market

Nikolay Kamaev asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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

Alexandr Mironov keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Vadim Roldugin stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Vadim Roldugin and Dinamo Kirov agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Words exchanged at Dinamo Kirov

Roman Polkovnikov 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

No hiding place for Ismail Dibirov

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

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Evgeny Pesikov rescues a point for Dinamo Kirov

It needed Evgeny Pesikov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Veles, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Squad

A step back for Eshonxon Jahbarov at Dinamo Kirov

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

In brief

52 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Artem Philippov

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

Market

Bilal Akhjadov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Dinamo Kirov turn down Luki-Energiya for Alexandr Mironov

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

The dugout

news_h_frozen_out_of_the_side

news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side

Match

Dinamo Moscow 2 take the points off Dinamo Kirov

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

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

Squad

Tempers go at Dinamo Kirov

Roman Polkovnikov 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 dugout

Luka Lukin: “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

Stefan Kalinov 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

51 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

The terraces

Supporters organise against the Dinamo Kirov board

A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Artem Philippov

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

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Evgeny Pesikov

Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Ismail Dibirov says Dinamo Kirov 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.

Boardroom

Belts tighten at Dinamo Kirov

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.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Andrey Malykh

“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.

Market

Eyes on Alexandr Mironov again

The phone has started ringing about Alexandr Mironov again, and this time the name on the line is Luki-Energiya. Dinamo Kirov are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Words exchanged at Dinamo Kirov

Ismail Dibirov 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 Dinamo Kirov training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Kalinov 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.

In brief

48 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Artem Philippov

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

Market

Nikolay Kamaev has said yes to Cherepovets

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Dinamo Kirov have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Market

Bilal Akhjadov 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 Dinamo Kirov can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Dinamo Kirov say no — this time

The offer from Zvezda for Alexandr Mironov 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.

Squad

Real improvement from Danil Novoselov at Dinamo Kirov

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Danil Novoselov is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Stefan Kalinov 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

Bilal Bilalov 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.

Market

Nikita Dorofeev linked with a move away

The name of Nikita Dorofeev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dinamo Kirov say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Ismail Dibirov wants out of the dugout

“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Dinamo Kirov will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.

In brief

46 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Dinamo Kirov sink to position 8

14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Timur Bulatsev 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 Dinamo Kirov can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Kirov

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

Boardroom

105% of the income goes out in wages at Dinamo Kirov

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.

Squad

Stefan Kalinov 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.

Market

Evgeny Ignatovich is free to find somewhere else

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

The dugout

No hiding place for Ismail Dibirov

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

The dugout

Ismail Dibirov 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 Ismail Dibirov is on it.

Market

Evgeny Pesikov linked with a move away

The name of Evgeny Pesikov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dinamo Kirov say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

44 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Loan watch

Vladimir Zadiraka’s loan is measured in nothing happening

17 clean sheets from 21 appearances at Saturn. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.

Squad

Tempers go at Dinamo Kirov

Roman Polkovnikov 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 dugout

Alexandr Stepanov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Alexandr Mironov

“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.

Market

Nikita Dorofeev linked with a move away

The name of Nikita Dorofeev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dinamo Kirov say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

The manager makes Roman Polkovnikov a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Dinamo Kirov. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

42 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for Dinamo Kirov

Position 8 and 14 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

Timur Bulatsev asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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.

Market

Ivan Goryainov is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Dinamo Kirov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 105% of the Dinamo Kirov 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.

Squad

Words at Dinamo Kirov training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Kalinov 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 Ivan Veselkov

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

The dugout

Ismail Dibirov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Kirov 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.

Market

Evgeny Pesikov linked with a move away

The name of Evgeny Pesikov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dinamo Kirov say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Ivan Veselkov: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Dinamo Kirov will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

In brief

38 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Dinamo Kirov sink to position 8

14 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Market

Ivan Goryainov is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Dinamo Kirov is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Roman Polkovnikov 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

105% of the income goes out in wages at Dinamo Kirov

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

Ismail Dibirov 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

Ismail Dibirov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Kirov 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.

Market

The Evgeny Pesikov story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Evgeny Pesikov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Kirov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

Squad

Ismail Dibirov: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Dinamo Kirov will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

The dugout

The manager makes Roman Polkovnikov a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Dinamo Kirov. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

34 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for Dinamo Kirov

Position 8 and 14 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

Only the photograph left for Ivan Goryainov

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ivan Goryainov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Dinamo Kirov the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Boardroom

Wages eat 106% of everything Dinamo Kirov 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 Dinamo Kirov training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Kalinov 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

Ismail Dibirov 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 Ismail Dibirov is on it.

Market

The Evgeny Pesikov story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Evgeny Pesikov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Kirov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

30 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Dinamo Kirov are in real trouble now

Position 8, 14 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.

Market

Alexandr Mironov asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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.

Market

Only the photograph left for Ivan Goryainov

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ivan Goryainov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Dinamo Kirov the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Roman Polkovnikov 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Wages eat 113% of everything Dinamo Kirov 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.

Market

Luki-Energiya expected to open talks for Alexandr Mironov

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Dinamo Kirov will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

The dugout

Alexandr Mironov 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

Ismail Dibirov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Kirov 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.

Market

The Evgeny Pesikov story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Evgeny Pesikov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Kirov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

29 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Nikolay Kamaev has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Dinamo Kirov they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Evgeny Ignatovich 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ismail Dibirov

“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

Evgeny Pesikov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Kirov 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

Alexandr Stepanov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Andrey Savin linked with a move away

The name of Andrey Savin keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Dinamo Kirov say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Ismail Dibirov wants out of the dugout

“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Dinamo Kirov will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.

Squad

Nerves in the Dinamo Kirov squad

Nikita Dorofeev has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.

Market

Ivan Goryainov runs his contract down

5 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Dinamo Kirov money.

In brief

26 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for Dinamo Kirov

Position 8 and 14 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

Timur Bulatsev asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Dinamo Kirov

Andrey 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.

Loan watch

Nobody is scoring past Vladimir Zadiraka at Saturn

15 shut-outs in 19 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Vladimir Zadiraka has been having a lot of them.

Boardroom

130% of the income goes out in wages at Dinamo Kirov

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

No hiding place for Eshonxon Jahbarov

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

The dugout

When it matters, Ismail Dibirov 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.

Market

The Evgeny Pesikov story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Evgeny Pesikov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Kirov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

Squad

Eshonxon Jahbarov 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 Dinamo Kirov will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

In brief

22 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Dinamo Kirov are in real trouble now

Position 8, 14 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.

Market

Timur Bulatsev asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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.

Boardroom

280% of the income goes out in wages at Dinamo Kirov

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.

Loan watch

13 clean sheets on loan for Vladimir Zadiraka

15 appearances at Saturn and the goals have stopped going in. Dinamo Kirov lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.

Squad

Tempers go at Dinamo Kirov

Evgeny Ignatovich 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 Dinamo Kirov training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stefan Kalinov 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

Alexandr Stepanov 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 Alexandr Stepanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

When it matters, Ismail Dibirov 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.

Market

The Evgeny Pesikov story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Evgeny Pesikov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Kirov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

20 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Evgeny Ignatovich keeps the receipts

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

Loan watch

Vladimir Zadiraka’s loan is measured in nothing happening

12 clean sheets from 14 appearances at Saturn. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.

The dugout

Ismail Dibirov 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.

Market

The Nikita Dorofeev story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nikita Dorofeev signs something — a contract at Dinamo Kirov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

Market

Still no ink between Dinamo Kirov and Ivan Goryainov

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Dinamo Kirov, another week without a signature from Ivan Goryainov.

Squad

Ismail Dibirov 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 Dinamo Kirov will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

Squad

Andrey Malykh can feel the drop

The table is being checked before the results are in, which is always the tell. Nobody at Dinamo Kirov says the word and every senior player in the building is thinking it.

The dugout

Stefan Kalinov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Dinamo Kirov put Timur Bulatsev up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Timur Bulatsev may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

18 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Dinamo Kirov are in real trouble now

Position 8, 14 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.

Market

Nikolay Kamaev asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 291% of the Dinamo Kirov 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.

Squad

Roman Polkovnikov 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Loan watch

10 clean sheets on loan for Vladimir Zadiraka

12 appearances at Saturn and the goals have stopped going in. Dinamo Kirov lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.

Squad

A row about effort at Dinamo Kirov

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

The dugout

Ivan Goryainov 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

Ismail Dibirov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Dinamo Kirov 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.

Market

The Evgeny Pesikov story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Evgeny Pesikov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Kirov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

14 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Dinamo Kirov are in real trouble now

Position 8, 11 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.

Market

Nikolay Kamaev 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 Dinamo Kirov, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

Dinamo Kirov end the wait against Leningradets

It had gone 11 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

The dugout

Alexandr Mironov keeps the receipts

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

Boardroom

Wages eat 291% of everything Dinamo Kirov 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.

Match

Dinamo Kirov get the job done against Leningradets

A 1‑0 win over Leningradets, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Maxim Lauk takes the honours

Marked 7.83 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Dinamo Kirov had the best player on the pitch.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Luka Lukin kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

The dugout

Alexandr Stepanov 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 Dinamo Kirov, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

12 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Dinamo Kirov

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.

The dugout

Vadim Avdeev keeps the receipts

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

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Kirov

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

Squad

400 appearances for Andrey Malykh

400 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Nikita Dorofeev

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Dinamo Kirov come up short against Mashuk

Mashuk left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

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 Luka Lukin left the room before anybody could ask which.

Squad

A row about effort at Dinamo Kirov

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

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Roman Polkovnikov

“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

9 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

The wait goes on for Dinamo Kirov

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.

Squad

Andrey Malykh 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.

Looking ahead

Everything rides on Veles

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. Dinamo Kirov know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.

Squad

Tempers go at Dinamo Kirov

Roman Polkovnikov 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

Halfway: Dinamo Kirov sit in position 9

5 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ivan Goryainov

“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

Luka Lukin: “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.

Match

No goals between Dinamo Kirov and Dinamo Moscow 2

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Dinamo Moscow 2 will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

8 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

5 matches without a win for Dinamo Kirov

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

Squad

Andrey Malykh 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Dinamo Kirov

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

Match

Dinamo Kirov refuse to lose to Volgar

A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Ismail Dibirov

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Dinamo Kirov share the spoils with Volgar

A 1‑1 draw with Volgar leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Evgeny Pesikov 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 Evgeny Pesikov is on it.

The dugout

Stefan Kalinov 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

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Luka Lukin was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Dinamo Kirov dressing room was either.

In brief

5 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Vladimir Zadiraka 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 Dinamo Kirov, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Evgeny Pesikov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 22. 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

Andrey 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Andrey Malykh 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.

Match

Ismail Dibirov’s goal not enough for Dinamo Kirov

Ismail Dibirov scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Leningradets, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

The dugout

No hiding place for Artem Philippov

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

The dugout

Luka Lukin: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

When it matters, Ismail Dibirov 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 ahead

A reunion for Andrey Savin

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sibir in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

In brief

4 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Dinamo Kirov march on in the cup

Spartak Tambov are out and Dinamo Kirov go through, 2‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Market

Vladimir Zadiraka agrees terms with Salyut

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Dinamo Kirov people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Roman Polkovnikov delivers — 7.71

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Roman Polkovnikov scored, was marked 7.71, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Market

Timofey Sitnikov asks to leave Dinamo Kirov

“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 terraces

Dinamo Kirov supporters have found a favourite in Roman Polkovnikov

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Roman Polkovnikov 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.

Match

Dinamo Kirov come up short against Alania

Alania left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Ismail Dibirov was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.39. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Squad

Words exchanged at Dinamo Kirov

Roman Polkovnikov 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 view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Luka Lukin to a room that had heard them before.

In brief

3 Edition

The Dinamo Kirov Gazette

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Timur Bulatsev 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 Dinamo Kirov, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Salyut join the queue for Vladimir Zadiraka

Add another name to the list: Salyut have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Vladimir Zadiraka. The answer from Dinamo Kirov has not changed — yet.

Squad

Andrey Malykh 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.

Squad

Vladimir Zadiraka 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 Dinamo Kirov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Mashuk take the points off Dinamo Kirov

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

The dugout

No hiding place for Vladimir Zadiraka

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

The dugout

Luka Lukin faces the questions

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

Looking ahead

Ismail Dibirov faces his old club

Alania next, and one man in the Dinamo Kirov dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

Squad

A first senior shirt for Luka Shilov

Every debut is a small story about the future: Luka Shilov, 14 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.

In brief