Marked for Simeon Turlakov
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market10 Jul 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Botev Plovdiv have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market10 Jul 2028
Edson Silva 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 Botev Plovdiv can pretend not to have heard.
Market10 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Botev Plovdiv is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Samuel Kalu 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Simeon Turlakov is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Georgi Milanov has improved at 36, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Market10 Jul 2028
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simeon Petrov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market29 May 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Botev Plovdiv is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 May 2028
Aguibou Camara and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simeon Petrov 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 dugout29 May 2028
The manager makes an example of David Ivanov
“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 dugout29 May 2028
Lucas Araújo 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.
Market29 May 2028
The Bryan Hein story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bryan Hein signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 May 2028
“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 Botev Plovdiv, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 May 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Botev Plovdiv they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad1 May 2028
Samuel Kalu 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 Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 May 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ante Aralica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Gavrilov, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 May 2028
Something was said to Stefan Gavrilov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad1 May 2028
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Botev Plovdiv would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market1 May 2028
The Bryan Hein story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bryan Hein signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout1 May 2028
Antoine Conte has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Botev Plovdiv 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
Upbeat
Squad3 Apr 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market3 Apr 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Botev Plovdiv they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Samuel Kalu 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 Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Simeon Turlakov and Botev Plovdiv agree another 4 years.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Market3 Apr 2028
The Bryan Hein story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bryan Hein signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
Antoine Conte has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Botev Plovdiv 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 dugout3 Apr 2028
Mascote has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mascote has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Mar 2028
A fracture rules Georgi Milanov out for 50 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Plovdiv will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market6 Mar 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Botev Plovdiv they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Samuel Kalu commits to Botev Plovdiv for another 4 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Samuel Kalu 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 Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ante Aralica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“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.
Market6 Mar 2028
The Bryan Hein story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bryan Hein signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
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.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.