Marked for David Kokoev
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market6 Sep 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.
Match4 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Zvezda
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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zvezda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match4 Sep 2027
0‑1 to Chertanovo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Marked 8.10 — 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Artem Kolobov
“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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Zvezda know it.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
The numbers do not look good at Zvezda
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 ratings6 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Aug 2027
Chastening afternoon for Zvezda
A 0‑4 beating by Zenit 2 was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market30 Aug 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Zvezda
Alexandr Yeliseev 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.
Squad30 Aug 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.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
Nobody left the Zvezda dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
The cruellest goal, and it is Adrian Ziarek's
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Zvezda will not try tonight.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Berk Kızıldemir 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.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market30 Aug 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Zvezda know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Aug 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 Zvezda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad9 Aug 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market9 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bryann Fernández will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zvezda the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandr Yeliseev and Zvezda agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zvezda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match7 Aug 2027
Tver made Zvezda work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Marked 8.75 — 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.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.57 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Kokoev, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Jul 2027
Every point is an argument now for Alania
Position 8 and 18 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
Artem Zakirov 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 Alania can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Ramazan Aliev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Victor Nafikov commits to Alania for another 3 years.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Alania
Ibragim Tsallagov 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
The medical room confirms 78 days on the sidelines for Anzor Amiraliev, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Alania, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market28 Jun 2027
Rubin Yalta come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Alania did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anzor Amiraliev commits to Alania for another 3 years.
Squad28 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market28 Jun 2027
Alan Khugaev has left for Arsenal Tula in a $11.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market28 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Byazrov signs something — a contract at Alania or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Jun 2027
Every point is an argument now for Alania
Position 8 and 18 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Artem Zakirov 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 Alania can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Jun 2027
107 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Artur Byazrov and Alania agree another 4 years.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Alania
Taras Gagloev 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.
Boardroom14 Jun 2027
190% of the income goes out in wages at Alania
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Jun 2027
Alan Khugaev 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 Alania can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jun 2027
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Alania will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Market7 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Alania is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Alan Bagaev 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 Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market7 Jun 2027
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Stanislav Bondarenko commits to Alania for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Alania can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 May 2027
Tempers go at Alania
Alan Bagaev 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.
Squad31 May 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Alania know it.
Loan watch31 May 2027
“I watch every Alania game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Nosta runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad31 May 2027
Alan Khugaev 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 Alan Khugaev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market31 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Byazrov signs something — a contract at Alania or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nosta is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad10 May 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; Nosta are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad10 May 2027
David Kokoev 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 Nosta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 May 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 Alania, and it is not being withdrawn.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Alania, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Market3 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until David Byazrov signs something — a contract at Alania or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Apr 2027
David Kobesov 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 Alania can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Alan Bagaev 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 Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“I watch every Alania game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Nosta runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Market5 Apr 2027
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The captaincy has been taken off Ibragim Tsallagov. Alania will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Squad5 Apr 2027
David Kobesov 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 Alania, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nosta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nosta, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Yegor Pigaev
“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
Steady
Market8 Mar 2027
David Kobesov 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 Alania can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ibragim Tsallagov and Alania agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“I watch every Alania game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Nosta runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Arsen Djioev 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Artem Zakirov 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 Artem Zakirov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nosta this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Artur Koshman 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I watch every Alania game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sevastopol runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad14 Dec 2026
David Kokoev 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
The name of David Byazrov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Alania say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Alania may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“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.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.15, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Alania know it.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch16 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Sevastopol to sit and watch. I want to come back to Alania and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Match14 Nov 2026
It needed David Kokoev to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Leningradets, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Alania
Makhach Abdulkhamidov 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Marked 8.55 — 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.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
“I watch every Alania game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sevastopol runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match17 Oct 2026
It needed Dato Chertkoev to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Veles, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market19 Oct 2026
The name of David Byazrov keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Alania say nothing, which says plenty.
Market19 Oct 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Lauri Hulkkonen may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad19 Oct 2026
David Kokoev 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 Alania, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Oct 2026
Alania sink to position 10
9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match30 Sep 2026
The cup run ends for Alania
0‑1 against CSKA Moscow, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 5 of the 23 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Alan Bagaev 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 Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Oct 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Dato Chertkoev’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Alania.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 1359% of everything Alania 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.76 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Byazrov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Alania's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alania has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad21 Sep 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market21 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Alan Bagaev 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 Alania this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
David Kobesov 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 Alania, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A mark of 4.95 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Match19 Sep 2026
Point won or two lost for Alania?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Sibir? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Sep 2026
Nowhere to hide for Alania
1‑4 against Leningradets, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market14 Sep 2026
“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 Alania, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Alania's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alania has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad14 Sep 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Alania
Alan Bagaev 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 ratings14 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.66 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Doors closed at Alania
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Market14 Sep 2026
Tver are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Alania will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Aug 2026
Inal Dudaev 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 Alania can pretend not to have heard.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Alania's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alania has to find a result from somewhere.
Market24 Aug 2026
The deal that would have taken Ruslan Bagaev to Torpedo Vladimir has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Alania with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Alania
Makhach Abdulkhamidov 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
The name of Zaurbek Ramonov has come up in conversations Alania were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match22 Aug 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Dinamo Kirov came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Kokoev, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A first senior shirt for David Kokoev
Every debut is a small story about the future: David Kokoev, 19 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.