The Naftan Gazette
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Alexandr Naumovich keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Naftan may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Naftan
Yamoussa Camara and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Abakar Akaev is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Dmitriy Krivosheev 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
Alexey Kharitonovich 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 Alexey Kharitonovich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market12 Oct 2026
No place for Alexandr Naumovich in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alexandr Naumovich has his answer from Naftan; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Vadim Yakovlev
“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.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
A reunion for Vladislav Krolik
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Molodechno in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Evgeniy Zemko 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 Evgeniy Zemko is on it.
In brief
- Squad Vadim Yakovlev has had enough of the bench
- Looking ahead Naftan host Molodechno