Marked for Dongo Cresus
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Apr 2028
Full time on the season at MC Oran
Position 7 on 52 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Market24 Apr 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 The request is on a desk at MC Oran, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Mokhtar Belkhiter 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at MC Oran training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juba Aguieb 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
25 games in 90 appearances where nobody scored at all. A keeper's career is counted in nothing happening, and none of this happened by accident.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Half-satisfied: Adel Medjani on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
A MC Oran teenager takes the young player award
Farouk Laoufi is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Feb 2028
“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 dugout14 Feb 2028
Mohanad Mohamed: 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.” MC Oran have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match12 Feb 2028
8 unbeaten for MC Oran
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation MC Oran did not have in the autumn.
Market14 Feb 2028
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Hamza Belahouel reports back to MC Oran with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“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 MC Oran know it.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A falling-out at MC Oran
Mokhtar Belkhiter and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A move Dongo Cresus would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Dongo Cresus is living that version at MC Oran, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A row about effort at MC Oran
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juba Aguieb was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Feb 2028
After 6 games, MC Oran finally taste it again
The first defeat in 6 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against JS Saoura; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Jul 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 Kapaz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
$1.0M settles it between the clubs for Taofeek Ismaheel
Qarabag have accepted the money. What Kapaz do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market26 Jul 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kapaz is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
The paperwork begins on Jhon Flórez
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Kapaz have done the hard part with Marcílio Dias, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Kapaz
Diogo Verdasca 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Umarali Rahmonaliyev 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 dugout26 Jul 2027
Luiz Fernando 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 Luiz Fernando trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
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.
Market26 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Kapaz know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Pressure builds in the Kapaz boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market5 Jul 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.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Yusif İmanov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Kapaz is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Kapaz have gone to Zira with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Kapaz
Diogo Verdasca 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Umarali Rahmonaliyev falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Progreso have kept their man, and Kapaz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Home is on Camargo's mind
“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; Kapaz are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market5 Jul 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kapaz, another week without a signature from Rodrigo Antunes.
In brief
-
Squad
Too much change too quickly at Kapaz
-
Boardroom
Kapaz sign 6 boys into the academy
-
The dugout
When it matters, Olawale Onanuga plays
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Namig Huseynov has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Kapaz can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market7 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 Kapaz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Kapaz
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Kapaz is running low.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kapaz can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Kapaz
Diogo Verdasca 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Kapaz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Umarali Rahmonaliyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Progreso have kept their man, and Kapaz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luiz Fernando, and the manager let it.
Market7 Jun 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Kapaz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Umarali Rahmonaliyev 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.
Squad31 May 2027
A falling-out at Kapaz
Camargo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout31 May 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.
Market31 May 2027
A loan that did nothing for Dongo Cresus
1 appearances and 0 goals is not a season away, it is a year lost. He is back at Kapaz no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their fault.
The dugout31 May 2027
Luiz Fernando 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 Kapaz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 May 2027
Pachu linked with a move away
The name of Pachu keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Kapaz say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout31 May 2027
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 Arzu Atakişiyev is on it.
The dugout31 May 2027
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.
Market31 May 2027
The shop window has Dongo Cresus in it
Kapaz have let the market know Dongo Cresus can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
Tempers go at Kapaz
Diogo Verdasca was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Umarali Rahmonaliyev 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.
Squad10 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Camargo and Kapaz agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout10 May 2027
“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 dugout10 May 2027
Fərid Nəbiyev 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 Fərid Nəbiyev is on it.
Market10 May 2027
The Mahamadou Ba story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mahamadou Ba signs something — a contract at Kapaz or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kapaz can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Kapaz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marquinhos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Kapaz
Samuel Bastos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Luiz Fernando 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 Luiz Fernando trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Fərid Nəbiyev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Kapaz 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
Elcan Əbilov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces29 Mar 2027
The mood at Kapaz has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market29 Mar 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kapaz can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Kapaz
Marquinhos 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Kapaz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Umarali Rahmonaliyev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Kapaz, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Olawale Onanuga, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Rodrigo Antunes 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
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 Olawale Onanuga is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Imishli
Andrey Sinenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Imishli training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Xəyal Əliyev 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.
Squad1 Mar 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 Imishli know it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Imishli are still strangers to each other
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dongo Cresus, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager's exit leaves Yaw Moses exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Yaw Moses is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces1 Mar 2027
Supporters organise against the Kapaz board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market1 Mar 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kapaz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Pachu wants to go home
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kapaz can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Kapaz
Umarali Rahmonaliyev 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Kapaz
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marquinhos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Imishli to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kapaz and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Luiz Fernando 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 dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Elcan Əbilov, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
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 Olawale Onanuga is on it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
At last: Imishli win one
13 matches without a win, and then this, against Araz-Nakhchivan. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Market18 Jan 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 Imishli can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Ingro, 34, rolls back the years — 8.16
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.16 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Market18 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Andrey Sinenko 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
Three points for Imishli, 1‑0 the final word against Araz-Nakhchivan in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Tobías Moriceau falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Kapaz: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Émerson left out for the big one
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Émerson will call it something else in private.
In brief
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
The dugout
Imishli keep their word to Émerson
-
Boardroom
Imishli counting the cost
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
Chastening afternoon for Kapaz
A 1‑8 beating by Neftchi was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Kapaz may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market18 Jan 2027
Yusif İmanov 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 Kapaz can pretend not to have heard.
Match16 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Kapaz's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Kapaz has to find a result from somewhere.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Kapaz
Diogo Verdasca 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
9 goals as Kapaz and Neftchi go for it
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Kapaz and Neftchi, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Kapaz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marquinhos 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.
Match16 Jan 2027
Kapaz leaking at the back
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Dongo Cresus: 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.” Kapaz have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Kapaz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marquinhos 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Schloffer, and the manager let it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Luiz Fernando 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 Kapaz, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A Kapaz teenager takes the young player award
Pedro Cobra is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 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 Kapaz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Kapaz close the window on a squad of their own making
20 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Kapaz have done the hard part with Neftchi, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Kapaz
Diogo Verdasca and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Kapaz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marquinhos 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 dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Caique Gomes, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
10 new faces, and Kapaz are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Aug 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 Kapaz, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Marquinhos 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 Kapaz this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Kapaz asked and Neftchi said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Kapaz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Schloffer 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dongo Cresus, and the manager let it.
Market31 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Match29 Aug 2026
Honours even between Kapaz and Qarabag
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Namig Huseynov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Kapaz dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Aug 2026
Rodrigo Antunes gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Rodrigo Antunes has just signed for Kapaz, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad24 Aug 2026
6 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.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The deal with Atlético Mineiro 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Kapaz
Diogo Verdasca 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Kapaz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marquinhos is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Kapaz come up short against Gabala
Gabala left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market24 Aug 2026
Kapaz and Marquinhos are talking past each other
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Kapaz asked and Sabail said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Cavid Nadirov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Richard Medvedev has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rahid Huseynov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tamkin Guseynov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad10 Aug 2026
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Kapaz are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Kapaz
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Kapaz would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.