Marked for Berk Beyhan
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Jun 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 The request is on a desk at Cherno More, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
$520.0K settles it between the clubs for Vasil Simeonov
Montana have accepted the money. What Cherno More do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Cherno More had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Atromitos, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Plamen Iliev 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 Cherno More this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 18 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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Cherno More have gone to Botev Plovdiv with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 27 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Hernâni 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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Red Bull Salzburg have kept their man, and Cherno More go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 May 2027
Gui Ferreira breaks a bone — 46 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market17 May 2027
Gui Ferreira 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 Cherno More can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 May 2027
Gašper Trdin 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 Cherno More this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernâni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tsvetomir Panov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout17 May 2027
Berk Beyhan 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 Berk Beyhan is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 May 2027
54 days out for Gui Ferreira after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Cherno More will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market10 May 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Gašper Trdin 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernâni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 May 2027
Gašper Trdin 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 Gašper Trdin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Guilherme Alves
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Apr 2027
75 days out for Gui Ferreira after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Cherno More will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Cherno More lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market19 Apr 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 Cherno More, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Gašper Trdin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hernâni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Gui Ferreira out for 107 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Cherno More will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market22 Mar 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 Cherno More, and it is not being withdrawn.
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; Cherno More are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Hernâni 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 Cherno More this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Gašper Trdin 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 dugout22 Mar 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 Cherno More, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Petar Andreev
“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 dugout22 Mar 2027
Berk Beyhan 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 Berk Beyhan is on it.
Market22 Mar 2027
Jakub Burkowski is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Cherno More has been clear about where Jakub Burkowski stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Feb 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 Cherno More, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Gašper Trdin 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Cherno More training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tsvetomir Panov 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zhivko Atanasov, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Too much change too quickly at Cherno More
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Preslav Borukov 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.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Rosen Stefanov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
When it matters, Berk Beyhan 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Hernâni still has not settled
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Cherno More would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
54 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Cherno More lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad28 Dec 2026
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Hernâni 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 Cherno More this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Dec 2026
A 3‑2 win over Beroe, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Jorge Padilla was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.37. 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Plamen Iliev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Nikolay Zlatev 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.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Angel Petrov, on a 3‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Cherno More's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Cherno More has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Vlatko Drobarov
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Cherno More lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match23 Nov 2026
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market23 Nov 2026
Petar Andreev 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 Cherno More can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Hernâni was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tsvetomir Panov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match21 Nov 2026
0‑2 to Lokomotiv Plovdiv, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Plamen Iliev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
98 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Cherno More lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match14 Nov 2026
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.
Market16 Nov 2026
Ertan Tombak 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 Cherno More can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Hernâni 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Plamen Iliev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A mark of 7.85, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Berk Beyhan
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Nov 2026
105 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Cherno More lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match7 Nov 2026
9 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Cherno More may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Age has not caught Hernâni yet — 8.07
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Hernâni and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match7 Nov 2026
Hernâni scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Septemvri, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Market9 Nov 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Viktor Bojinov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gui Ferreira, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
David Teles 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
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tsvetomir Panov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Cherno More training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Plamen Iliev 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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Panathinaikos have kept their man, and Cherno More go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ventsi Yankov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Tsvetomir Panov
“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.
Match12 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Beroe, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market14 Sep 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Cherno More are still strangers to each other
12 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“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
Uneasy
Squad24 Aug 2026
4 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match19 Aug 2026
The small margins put Cherno More out
Out, 2‑3 to CSKA 1948, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
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 ratings24 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Berk Beyhan at 21 — 8.47
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Berk Beyhan did not need any: 8.47, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
Cherno More sell a favourite for $890.0K
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Celso Sidney was one of the reasons people came, and $890.0K does not replace that by itself.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Cherno More's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Cherno More has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Asen Donchev pops up at the right end — 7.41
7.41, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Cherno More had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Club Brugge, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Market24 Aug 2026
Celso Sidney has left for Levski in a $890.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.