Marked for Albert Ratnikov
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Oct 2029
“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.
Match8 Oct 2029
Opatija are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 19 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Match6 Oct 2029
8 unbeaten for Opatija
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Opatija did not have in the autumn.
Squad8 Oct 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Robert Perić-Komšić and Opatija agree another 3 years.
Squad8 Oct 2029
A row about effort at Opatija
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Filip Brekalo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Edi Horvat 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 terraces8 Oct 2029
Opatija supporters have found a favourite in Sven Šunta
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Sven Šunta 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.
Match6 Oct 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Sven Šunta. 1‑0 against Sesvete, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Everybody at Opatija saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
The paperwork begins on Jakov Dedić
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Opatija have done the hard part with NK Osijek, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Gijs van Wijk 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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Albert Ratnikov arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Albert Ratnikov has, at Opatija, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Antonio Buneta and Opatija agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
Opatija asked and Cibalia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Ivan Bjelivuk 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.
Market11 Jun 2029
“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.
Transfer targets11 Jun 2029
HNK Gorica have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market11 Jun 2029
He is 20, and nobody at Opatija signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jul 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ihlan Liberato
57 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mingachevir lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets31 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with DIFAI Agsu, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Roman Hüseynov 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 dugout31 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Words at Mingachevir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cabir Əmirli 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 targets31 Jul 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sumgayit have kept their man, and Mingachevir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Boardroom31 Jul 2028
The borrowing at Mingachevir reaches $9.4M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $9.4M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
Something was said to Albert Ratnikov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leonardo Frugnoli, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Jul 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ihlan Liberato
64 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mingachevir lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Oruc Mammadov 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 Jul 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohammed Kadiri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shafa have kept their man, and Mingachevir go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“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; Mingachevir are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
A loan move for İbrahim Əliyev is in the works
Mingachevir have made the call to Shafa. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
A loan move for João Freitas is in the works
Mingachevir have made the call to DIFAI Agsu. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
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.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“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
Squad3 Jul 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Ihlan Liberato
89 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mingachevir lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The Mingachevir board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Transfer targets3 Jul 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Mingachevir have done the hard part with Sporting Baku, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad3 Jul 2028
David Luis 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 18 days on the sidelines for Léo Príncipe, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
The dugout3 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The owner puts $399.0K into Mingachevir
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Mingachevir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Kadiri 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market5 Jun 2028
Rəhim Cəfərli 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 Mingachevir can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
Everything agreed with Sabail, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad5 Jun 2028
49 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad5 Jun 2028
David Luis 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.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The owner puts $402.3K into Mingachevir
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cabir Əmirli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets5 Jun 2028
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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
34 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 May 2028
Mohammed Kadiri 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.
Squad29 May 2028
David Luis 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 dugout29 May 2028
Cabir Əmirli has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Mingachevir 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 dugout29 May 2028
Daniil Borisov 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 Mingachevir, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad29 May 2028
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Mingachevir would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market29 May 2028
Mingachevir have let the market know Albert Ratnikov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 May 2028
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Mahir Ramazanov has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Igor Pimenta commits to Mingachevir for another 2 years.
Boardroom8 May 2028
The owner puts $405.7K into Mingachevir
This is money that keeps the lights on rather than money that buys a centre-half, and the difference is the whole story. A club funded by its owner rather than by its football has exactly one conversation left ahead of it.
Squad8 May 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cabir Əmirli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad8 May 2028
Franck Otchere 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 dugout8 May 2028
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom8 May 2028
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
The dugout8 May 2028
Cabir Əmirli without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Cabir Əmirli was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The dugout8 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gustavo Puskas, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 May 2028
Mohammed Kadiri 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 May 2028
Roman Hüseynov 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 dugout1 May 2028
Cabir Əmirli has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Mingachevir 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 dugout1 May 2028
The manager's exit leaves Cabir Əmirli exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Cabir Əmirli is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
The dugout1 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andersson Timaná, and the manager let it.
Squad1 May 2028
David Luis still has not settled
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Mingachevir would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 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 Mingachevir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Roman Hüseynov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Mingachevir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cabir Əmirli 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.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Wages swallow 158% of the Mingachevir income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Daniil Borisov
“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.
Market17 Apr 2028
The Igor Pimenta story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Igor Pimenta signs something — a contract at Mingachevir or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Andersson Timaná has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Mingachevir 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 dugout17 Apr 2028
Rəhim Cəfərli 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 Rəhim Cəfərli trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Apr 2028
David Luis 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 Apr 2028
Words at Mingachevir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Kadiri 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 dugout10 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom10 Apr 2028
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Rəvan Kazımov
“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.
Market10 Apr 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Roman Hüseynov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
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 Nicat Məmmədov is on it.
Match10 Apr 2028
Mingachevir in the hunt for Europe
Position 5, 22 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
Daniil Borisov 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 Daniil Borisov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market20 Mar 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mingachevir can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Mar 2028
David Luis 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 Mingachevir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohammed Kadiri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom20 Mar 2028
163% of the income goes out in wages at Mingachevir
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“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 dugout20 Mar 2028
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 Andersson Timaná is on it.
Market20 Mar 2028
The Igor Pimenta story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Igor Pimenta signs something — a contract at Mingachevir or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market20 Mar 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Václav Janovský may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Mingachevir will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Mar 2028
David Luis 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Cabir Əmirli 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stipe Boban, and the manager let it.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom13 Mar 2028
The borrowing at Mingachevir reaches $9.6M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $9.6M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Mingachevir are still strangers to each other
5 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
Franck Otchere 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 Mingachevir, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market13 Mar 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Roman Hüseynov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad13 Mar 2028
His past walked in ahead of him. Players who have been where he has been get a hearing in a dressing room before they have earned one, and he has it for as long as his form does.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Mingachevir
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad28 Feb 2028
David Luis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Mingachevir training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammed Kadiri 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.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
“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 dugout28 Feb 2028
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 Cavid Medvedev is on it.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Rəhim Cəfərli 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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Market28 Feb 2028
Mingachevir have let the market know Albert Ratnikov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Feb 2028
Mohammed Kadiri 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Cabir Əmirli 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 targets14 Feb 2028
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.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom14 Feb 2028
The Mingachevir debt reaches $9.5M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Ihlan Liberato pulls a muscle — 14 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Václav Janovský
“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.
Market14 Feb 2028
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Máté Fekete and Mingachevir agree another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom31 Jan 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Mingachevir
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market31 Jan 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
David Luis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Guilherme has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cabir Əmirli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets31 Jan 2028
Mingachevir asked and Qarabag said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom31 Jan 2028
No signings allowed at Mingachevir
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Franck Otchere
“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 dugout31 Jan 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Jan 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 Mingachevir, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohammed Kadiri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets17 Jan 2028
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.
The dugout17 Jan 2028
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Daniil Borisov commits to Mingachevir for another 3 years.
Boardroom17 Jan 2028
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Ilias Melkas 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 Mingachevir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout17 Jan 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.
Market17 Jan 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Roman Hüseynov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Dec 2027
David Luis 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 Mingachevir this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Cabir Əmirli 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. Albert Ratnikov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Mingachevir is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom20 Dec 2027
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
The dugout20 Dec 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.
Squad20 Dec 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 Mingachevir know it.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.