“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartaks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Spartaks will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Plovdiv have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pavels Zjuzins 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartaks 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 Pavels Zjuzins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Spartaks, and it is not being withdrawn.
Kristaps Zjuzins 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.
“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 Spartaks know it.
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.
Nobody at Spartaks 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ifeanyi Ihemekwele 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavels Zjuzins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Spartaks can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartaks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
3 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Ifeanyi Ihemekwele obliged against Ventspils. 2‑2 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Spartaks.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kolawole Oladipo, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dehinde Ibrahim 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 Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amri Kallaku was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Janis Oss
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ifeanyi Ihemekwele 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 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pavels Zjuzins 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 have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Spartaks can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Nobody at Spartaks 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.
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Spartaks would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Tibeau van Leerdam’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Kristaps Zjuzins 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dehinde Ibrahim 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.
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 Kristaps Zjuzins is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartaks, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Kolawole Oladipo plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Daniel Viljoen on the training pitch
Kristaps Zjuzins 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pavels Zjuzins 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 at Spartaks 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksandrs Bulvitis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartaks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Nobody at Spartaks 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartaks, another week without a signature from Pavels Gabovs.
Spartaks spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
“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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 15 gone
That is the business done at Spartaks until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
The deal with Zalgiris 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Remo Stars have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dehinde Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Dehinde Ibrahim has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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; Spartaks are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Ifeanyi Ihemekwele 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.
Spartaks asked and FCSB said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dehinde Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to Kauno Zalgiris: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Spartaks asked and Levski said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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 Spartaks can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Spartaks have made the call to Viktoria Plzen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Spartaks 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.
49 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartaks lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aleksandrs Bulvitis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartaks the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Spartaks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Spartaks have done the hard part with FCSB, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Ifeanyi Ihemekwele 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavels Gabovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Spartaks, and 0 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
58 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartaks lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Spartaks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ifeanyi Ihemekwele 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 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dehinde Ibrahim 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.
A loan enquiry to Kauno Zalgiris: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Nobody at Spartaks 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 words a physio says slowly. 79 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dehinde Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Kaspars Oss has come up in conversations Spartaks were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at GKS Katowice runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The words a physio says slowly. 100 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartaks 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 Dehinde Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
“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; Spartaks are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
109 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartaks lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartaks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Simeon Vasilev 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dehinde Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Spartaks, and 3 appearances in 14 say he has earned the hearing.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Spartaks will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Spartaks prefer.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavels Gabovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartaks is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at GKS Katowice runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pavels Gabovs was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Eduards Rugins was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Spartaks dressing room was either.
Squad26 Apr 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Spartaks man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Pavels Gabovs was the best thing in any of them.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.80 for the rest of it.
“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 Spartaks 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 Spartaks 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 Dehinde Ibrahim was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 23 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
6 new faces, and Spartaks 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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Eduards Rugins, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Spartaks have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aleksandrs Bulvitis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartaks the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Simeon Vasilev 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 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 watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at GKS Katowice runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Eduards Gabovs has his answer from Spartaks; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartaks they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Spartaks know it.
Ifeanyi Ihemekwele 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 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartaks, another week without a signature from Kolawole Oladipo.
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 Kolawole Oladipo is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spartaks will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Marcis Stolcers had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Spartaks close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 3 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aleksandrs Bulvitis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartaks the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Simeon Vasilev 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.
Spartaks asked and Olympiacos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Spartaks know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Liepaja will make the call about Raivis Jagodinskis this week. Spartaks have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spartaks will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartaks lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Spartaks have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Spartaks have done the hard part with Arda, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Wasiu Falolu 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 name of Raivis Jagodinskis has come up in conversations Spartaks were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spartaks will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartaks lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. ETO Győr have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Marcis Vanins again, and this time the name on the line is Liepaja. Spartaks are listening politely and promising nothing.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartaks, another week without a signature from Dehinde Ibrahim.
Ifeanyi Ihemekwele 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.