Daugavpils and Spartaks have settled on $34.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“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; Daugavpils are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abubakar Maiwada and Daugavpils agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Daugavpils can pretend not to have heard.
7 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.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Ziad Ouled-Haj-M'hand 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.
“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; Daugavpils are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Daugavpils training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ceti Junior Tchibinda 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.
Ventspils next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Igors Gabovs was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Daugavpils dressing room was either.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Daugavpils can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“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 Daugavpils know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Daugavpils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ceti Junior Tchibinda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Daugavpils has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Daugavpils training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ceti Junior Tchibinda 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Daugavpils this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Daniels Aroniško has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Igors Gabovs after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Ziad Ouled-Haj-M'hand 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sani Mubarak and Daugavpils agree another 3 years.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Daugavpils training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Olanrewaju Molade 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.
“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 dugout19 Apr 2027
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 Igors Gabovs to a room that had heard them before.
“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; Daugavpils are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Ziad Ouled-Haj-M'hand 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ceti Junior Tchibinda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Daugavpils know it.
Ziad Ouled-Haj-M'hand 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Daugavpils training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrew Abalogu 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.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Andrew Abalogu is 34, with 110 appearances behind him, and Daugavpils will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
In brief
BoardroomOpen for business: Daugavpils enter the window
Ziad Ouled-Haj-M'hand 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Daugavpils training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamin Jack 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.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Daugavpils know it, and so does everybody who watches him.