Prokhor Struk

Striker - Minsk
1 Nov 2029
Thursday
Process

Marked for Prokhor Struk

146 Edition

The Minsk Courier

14 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Minsk run riot against Arsenal Dzerzhinsk

4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Squad

3 goals for Daouda Natama

The match ball belongs to Daouda Natama, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Daouda Natama was on a different afternoon to everybody else

9.93. 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Ignat Pranovich

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.65, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The dugout

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Squad

Ilya Aleksievich out for 17 days

The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Ilya Aleksievich, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Emir Ernisov 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 dugout

Stanislau Korzun has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Stanislau Korzun on a 4‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

In brief

Back issues
144 Edition

The Minsk Courier

30 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Dmitriy Denisenko D. out for 17 days

17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Minsk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Squad

Words exchanged at Minsk

Vladislav Yatskevich 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Minsk against BATE

0‑2 to BATE, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Squad

Emir Ernisov 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 dugout

The view from the dugout

“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Stanislau Korzun to a room that had heard them before.

Squad

The improving has stalled for Dmitriy Denisenko D.

He is 22 and he is exactly the player he was at the turn of the year. That is fine at twenty-eight and it is the beginning of a difficult conversation at his age.

Player ratings

Daouda Natama was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

Prokhor Struk has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Minsk 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.

In brief

143 Edition

The Minsk Courier

23 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Dmitriy Denisenko D.

24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Minsk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

A falling-out at Minsk

Vladislav Yatskevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Slavia Mozyr take the points off Minsk

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

A row about effort at Minsk

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abena Ottou Felix Christanval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Prokhor Struk signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Prokhor Struk commits to Minsk for another 4 years.

Player ratings

Alexandr Ksenofontov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

The dugout

Stanislau Korzun faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Stanislau Korzun after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Arseniy Migdalenok

“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 dugout

When it matters, Arseniy Migdalenok 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.

In brief

142 Edition

The Minsk Courier

16 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dmitriy Denisenko D. damages knee ligaments — 33 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 33 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

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The dugout

The manager makes an example of Egor Skavysh

“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.

Squad

Emir Ernisov 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.

Squad

Valentin Dikhtievskiy reaches 100 appearances

100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.

Match

Volna Pinsk snatch it back from Minsk

A goal on 90 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.

Player ratings

Ignat Pranovich unlocks it

Chances created: 11. The column nobody reads carried the whole story of the match, and his name was at the top of it.

In brief

141 Edition

The Minsk Courier

9 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Dmitriy Denisenko D.

41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Minsk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

Minsk run riot against Dinamo Brest

4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Match

Minsk out of the cup

Uni-X Labs ended it 1‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Player ratings

A brace, and Ignat Pranovich takes the afternoon — 8.80

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ignat Pranovich provided it, and the 8.80 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Uladzimir Dragun, 18, steals the show — 7.84

Marked 7.84 at 18, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.

Squad

Tempers go at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Squad

Ilya Aleksievich stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ilya Aleksievich and Minsk agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

Daouda Natama in the eights

A performance of 8.65 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

The dugout

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In brief

138 Edition

The Minsk Courier

19 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The knee: Dmitriy Denisenko D. out for 64 days

64 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Minsk lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Minsk throw away a 2-goal lead

2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Dnepr Mogilev the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Minsk will enjoy reviewing.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Market

Prokhor Struk is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

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Squad

Emir Ernisov 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.

Match

Minsk share the spoils with Dnepr Mogilev

A 2‑2 draw with Dnepr Mogilev leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

No hiding place for Ilya Aleksievich

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilya Aleksievich, and the manager let it.

In brief

134 Edition

The Minsk Courier

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Dmitriy Denisenko D.

93 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Minsk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Terms done: Ignat Pranovich is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Lida waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Minsk is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

The dugout

Ignat Pranovich keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Minsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Transfer targets

Dmitriy Kharitonov is a medical away from Minsk

The deal with BATE is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.

Market

Only the photograph left for Prokhor Struk

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Prokhor Struk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Minsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Hleb Kavalyou

Minsk asked and BATE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

Slutsk join the queue for Artem Malashko

Add another name to the list: Slutsk have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Artem Malashko. The answer from Minsk has not changed — yet.

Squad

A row about effort at Minsk

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abena Ottou Felix Christanval was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

130 Edition

The Minsk Courier

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Dmitriy Denisenko D. damages knee ligaments — 121 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 121 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.

Market

Kirill Vorobjov asks to leave Minsk

“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.

Market

Prokhor Struk is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Ji-hun Park 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Minsk

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Ernisov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

When it matters, Arseniy Migdalenok 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.

In brief

126 Edition

The Minsk Courier

25 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Kirill Vorobjov 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 Minsk can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Minsk

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Ernisov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Timur Borisenkov stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Timur Borisenkov and Minsk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout

Minsk keep their word to Ignat Pranovich

Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.

The dugout

Ignat Pranovich 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 dugout

Arseniy Migdalenok has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Minsk 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.

Squad

Questions about Artem Anoshin on the training pitch

The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager comes out for Ji-hun Park
  • Boardroom Minsk keep producing them
124 Edition

The Minsk Courier

11 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Ji-hun Park 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 Minsk can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Artem Malashko is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Squad

Emir Ernisov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Emir Ernisov commits to Minsk for another 4 years.

The dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Minsk

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Ernisov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

122 Edition

The Minsk Courier

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Ji-hun Park 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilya Bondarenko 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.

Squad

Uladzimir Ihnatovich signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Uladzimir Ihnatovich commits to Minsk for another 3 years.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ilya Bondarenko

“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 dugout

Arseniy Migdalenok has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Minsk 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.

In brief

118 Edition

The Minsk Courier

30 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ernisov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Konstantin Malitskiy

“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 dugout

Ignat Pranovich 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 Minsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Arseniy Migdalenok has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Minsk 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.

In brief

114 Edition

The Minsk Courier

2 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ernisov 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.

Squad

The formation has left Artem Anoshin behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Minsk will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

The dugout

No hiding place for Arseniy Migdalenok

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arseniy Migdalenok, and the manager let it.

Squad

A promotion for Francisco Campo Mina

Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Francisco Campo Mina has moved up it.

The dugout

Arseniy Migdalenok 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 Arseniy Migdalenok is on it.

The dugout

Vladislav Yatskevich 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.

Market

Minsk shop where it costs nothing

Artem Anoshin signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.

In brief

111 Edition

The Minsk Courier

11 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Minsk tear Baranovichi apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Baranovichi, and it could have been more.

Market

Minsk turn down Molodechno for Artem Turich

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

3 goals for Daouda Natama

The match ball belongs to Daouda Natama, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Market

Artem Malashko agrees terms with Lida

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Minsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

So close: Andrei Korzun’s move dies late

The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Neman moved on, Andrei Korzun reports back to Minsk, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.

Transfer targets

$52.0K settles it between the clubs for Maksim Dragun

Torpedo-BelAZ have accepted the money. What Minsk do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Squad

At 18, Andrei Korzun is already the best thing here

An average of 7.01 in a first team he is several years too young for. Minsk have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.

The dugout

Prokhor Struk says Minsk went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 3 in, 7 out at Minsk

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 7 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

In brief

110 Edition

The Minsk Courier

4 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Andrei Korzun agrees terms with Smorgon

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Minsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Andrei Korzun puts it in writing

“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 Minsk, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Andrei Korzun, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.16

A mark of 8.16 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

The dugout

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Market

Prokhor Struk is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

A falling-out at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Adam Yakubu

Minsk asked and Dynamo Kyiv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Match

Naftan take the points off Minsk

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

Artem Turich beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

106 Edition

The Minsk Courier

7 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Andrei Korzun agrees terms with Neman

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Minsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Artem Turich asks to leave Minsk

“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.

Transfer targets

Minsk agree $61.0K for Andrey Sorokin

The clubs have shaken hands with Isloch; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.

Market

Prokhor Struk is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

A falling-out at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Minsk rebuffed over Noa Skoko

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hajduk Split have kept their man, and Minsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The dugout

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Match

Vitebsk take the points off Minsk

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Emir Ernisov 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.

In brief

103 Edition

The Minsk Courier

17 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Konstantin Kuchinskiy puts it in writing

“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 Minsk, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Minsk say no — this time

The offer from Molodechno for Artem Turich was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Squad

A fracture rules Kirill Vorobjov out for 17 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Minsk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Transfer targets

$54.0K settles it between the clubs for Artem Sadchenko

Slavia Mozyr have accepted the money. What Minsk do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

The dugout

Prokhor Struk: 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.” Minsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Dinamo Zagreb tell Minsk: Lovre Kulušić is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Minsk come up short against Dinamo Brest

Dinamo Brest left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ernisov 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.

In brief

102 Edition

The Minsk Courier

10 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Artem Turich puts it in writing

“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 Minsk, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Prokhor Struk has said yes to Naftan

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Minsk have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Squad

Kirill Vorobjov breaks a bone — 24 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Minsk turn down Slavia Mozyr for Andrei Korzun

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Transfer targets

Andrey Sorokin due for a Minsk medical

Everything agreed with Isloch, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Player ratings

Alexandr Ksenofontov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Minsk

Konstantin Kuchinskiy 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.

The dugout

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Squad

A row about effort at Minsk

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Ernisov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

  • Player ratings Daouda Natama was on a different afternoon to everybody else
  • Match Late, late show earns Minsk a point
  • The dugout Ilya Aleksievich gets it from the manager
101 Edition

The Minsk Courier

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Artem Turich agrees terms with Molodechno

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Minsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Match

Nowhere to hide for Minsk

0‑4 against Dinamo Minsk, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Squad

Kirill Vorobjov breaks a bone — 31 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

The dugout

Andrei Korzun says Minsk went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

The terraces

The boos come down from three sides

“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Hleb Kavalyou

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Minsk have done the hard part with BATE, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Words exchanged at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Squad

Francisco Campo Mina signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Francisco Campo Mina commits to Minsk for another 4 years.

In brief

99 Edition

The Minsk Courier

19 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Ignat Pranovich settles it late for Minsk

The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Ignat Pranovich decided nobody was going anywhere. BATE had no time left to answer.

Market

Prokhor Struk agrees terms with Smorgon

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Minsk people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Ilya Bondarenko asks to leave Minsk

“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.

The dugout

Ilya Sviridenko says Minsk went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Transfer targets

Ivan Yerokhin due for a Minsk medical

Everything agreed with Isloch, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Match

At last: Minsk win one

7 matches without a win, and then this, against BATE. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Neman tell Minsk: Kirill Semashko is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Ignat Pranovich sends Minsk past BATE

It finished 1‑0, and it was Ignat Pranovich’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Minsk.

In brief

97 Edition

The Minsk Courier

5 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Minsk bow out of the cup

Slavia Mozyr go through and Minsk go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Player ratings

A brace, and Andrei Korzun takes the afternoon — 8.92

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andrei Korzun provided it, and the 8.92 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Andrei Korzun asks to leave Minsk

“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.

Match

The wait goes on for Minsk

6 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.

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Player ratings

Alexey Ivanov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Words exchanged at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Loan watch

Pavel Kislyak wants to come home

“I did not go to Slutsk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Minsk and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Andrei Korzun

At 17 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.

In brief

94 Edition

The Minsk Courier

15 May 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Artem Turich 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 Minsk can pretend not to have heard.

The dugout

Hleb Savitski keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Minsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

A falling-out at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

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Match

Minsk come up short against Isloch

Isloch left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ernisov 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Vladislav Yatskevich

“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 dugout

Stanislau Korzun: “No excuses”

“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.

Player ratings

Daouda Natama was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.

In brief

93 Edition

The Minsk Courier

8 May 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Prokhor Struk is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alexandr Gutor commits to Minsk for another 2 years.

Player ratings

A goal and an assist for Ilya Bondarenko — 7.42

Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.42 beside his name.

Squad

Words exchanged at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Minsk against Dnepr Mogilev

2‑3 to Dnepr Mogilev, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Turich 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Alexandr Gutor

“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 ratings

Daouda Natama was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.12. 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.

Squad

Andrei Korzun is the month’s best young player

At 17 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Minsk will try not to make too much of it.

In brief

89 Edition

The Minsk Courier

10 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Minsk march on in the cup

Uni-X Labs are out and Minsk go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

Andrei Korzun wins it after the whistle should have gone

90 minutes played. Andrei Korzun found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Uni-X Labs went from a point to nothing inside one movement.

Player ratings

Andrei Korzun scores twice — 9.39

Two goals and a mark of 9.39 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

Alexandr Ksenofontov runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Prokhor Struk keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Minsk may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Only the photograph left for Prokhor Struk

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Prokhor Struk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Minsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

The terraces

One of their own: Kirill Vorobjov

He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.

Match

Late, late show earns Minsk a point

Minute 88, against Smorgon, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.

In brief

85 Edition

The Minsk Courier

13 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Prokhor Struk has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Emir Ernisov 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.

Loan watch

Pavel Kislyak counts the days

“I watch every Minsk game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Slutsk runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Squad

Egor Skavysh signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Egor Skavysh and Minsk agree another 3 years.

The dugout

Alexandr Gutor 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 Alexandr Gutor is on it.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ilya Sviridenko

“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 ahead

Alexandr Gutor goes back to face Dinamo Minsk

Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Alexandr Gutor’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Minsk needing him to play as if none of it matters.

Squad

Prokhor Sheremet has had enough of the bench

“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Minsk will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.

In brief

83 Edition

The Minsk Courier

28 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Minsk boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Artem Turich asks to leave Minsk

“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.

Market

Terms done: Prokhor Struk is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Naftan waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Minsk is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Squad

Andrei Korzun is the real thing at 17

A season average of 7.20 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Minsk know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.

Market

The Torpedo-BelAZ deal is off

Everything was agreed until it was not, and Andrei Korzun reports back to Minsk with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 0 in, 1 out at Minsk

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Squad

Alexandr Gutor 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Minsk rebuffed over Marko Miletić

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Beroe have kept their man, and Minsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Transfer targets

Vladislav Ignatjev stays at Slavia Mozyr as time runs out

A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Minsk will try again when the window opens; Slavia Mozyr may not be selling by then.

In brief

81 Edition

The Minsk Courier

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Andrei Korzun has said yes to Torpedo-BelAZ

The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Minsk have lost him in all but the paperwork.

Market

Andrei Korzun 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 Minsk can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets

Arseniy Skopets is a medical away from Minsk

The deal with BATE is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.

Squad

Konstantin Kuchinskiy 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

The Konstantin Kuchinskiy conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Smorgon will make the call about Konstantin Kuchinskiy this week. Minsk have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

Market

Naftan watching Prokhor Struk

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Minsk have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Transfer targets

Torpedo-BelAZ tell Minsk: Vadim Kiselev is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Emir Ernisov 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 dugout

Alexey Tumanov 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 Minsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

76 Edition

The Minsk Courier

10 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

The dugout

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Squad

Emir Ernisov 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 dugout

Francisco Campo Mina 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.

The dugout

Ji-hun Park 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 dugout

Alexey Tumanov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Minsk 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.

In brief

75 Edition

The Minsk Courier

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Minsk spell it out for Stanislau Korzun

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Stanislau Korzun has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Ji-hun Park asks to leave Minsk

“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.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Minsk

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Minsk is running low.

Squad

At 17, Andrei Korzun is already the best thing here

An average of 7.20 in a first team he is several years too young for. Minsk have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.

Market

Andrei Korzun has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Minsk

Alexandr Gutor 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.

Squad

Minsk lose Prokhor Struk

14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

A row about effort at Minsk

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emir Ernisov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Alexandr Gutor has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Minsk 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.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager's exit leaves Alexandr Gutor exposed
  • The dugout Ji-hun Park asks for a word with the manager
  • Boardroom Minsk were not finished after all
74 Edition

The Minsk Courier

27 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Konstantin Kuchinskiy asks to leave Minsk

“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.

Squad

Konstantin Kuchinskiy 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

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Squad

Words at Minsk training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Prokhor Struk 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 dugout

Dmitriy Denisenko D. 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.

The dugout

Andrei Korzun 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 Andrei Korzun is on it.

Loan watch

7 goals on loan for Ignat Pranovich

28 appearances at Naftan and the goals keep coming. Minsk are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

The dugout

Vladislav Yatskevich 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 Minsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Artem Turich placed on the list

Minsk have made Artem Turich available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief