Marked for Prokhor Shevtsov
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match19 Aug 2026
Alashkert through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Urartu, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Karen Nalbandyan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market24 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Alashkert will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
At 22 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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.24 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Alashkert training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Caio Henrique 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 Aug 2026
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Alashkert will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Nicolas Rajsel dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Inter can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Inter
Kamran Guseynov 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 Inter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afran Guseynov 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 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Match22 Aug 2026
Inter and Gabala cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Gabala came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market24 Aug 2026
7 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Inter could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: Sumgayit have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Bahlul Huseynov. The answer from Inter has not changed — yet.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Inter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Graduation day at Inter
2 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Inter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniil Ilyin 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Cavid Madatov 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mahir Bayramov 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Daniil Ilyin
“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 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Inter will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kamran Guseynov and Inter agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Inter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Inter
Kamran Guseynov 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 Aug 2026
Words at Inter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afran Guseynov 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.