Marked for Ivan Kravchenko
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jan 2030
“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 The request is on a desk at Niva, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jan 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jan 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ivan Kravchenko commits to Niva for another 3 years.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Dec 2029
Igor Monich 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Dec 2029
The manager makes an example of Ivan Kravchenko
“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.
Squad24 Dec 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Niva, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
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Squad
Questions about Artem Kuratnik on the training pitch
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Boardroom
Niva keep producing them
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Sep 2029
“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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Ivan Kravchenko: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Niva have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Igor Monich 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Igor Monich 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 Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match4 Aug 2029
Three points for Niva, 2‑0 the final word against Ostrovets in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Marked 8.19 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Market6 Aug 2029
He is 17, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mihai Chiriches commits to Niva for another 3 years.
Squad6 Aug 2029
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ivan Kravchenko commits to Niva for another 3 years.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“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
Upbeat
Match4 Apr 2029
Niva march on in the cup
Molodechno are out and Niva go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Squad9 Apr 2029
47 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match7 Apr 2029
Niva make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Niva have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gleb Soldatenkov and Niva agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Niva this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.96, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match7 Apr 2029
Three points for Niva, 1‑0 the final word against Osipovichi in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.