Marked for Roberts Zjuzins
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Apr 2027
Pavels Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 52 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 52 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 dugout5 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.50, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match3 Apr 2027
The wait goes on for Spartaks
5 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.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Eduards Vanins 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
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.
Match3 Apr 2027
A point taken on 92 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Match3 Apr 2027
A 3‑3 draw with Jelgava leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Pavels Savalnieks
67 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.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Spartaks's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Spartaks has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Roberts 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.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Roberts Fertovs
“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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Spartaks are still strangers to each other
11 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
“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 dugout22 Mar 2027
Aleksandrs Cauna 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.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Pavels Savalnieks
74 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad15 Mar 2027
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.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eduards Vanins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Roberts Zjuzins
“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.
Match13 Mar 2027
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 dugout15 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 Eduards Vanins is on it.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Igors Jurkovskis was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Spartaks dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
81 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 dugout8 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartaks may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Mar 2027
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.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
6 academy graduates step up at Spartaks
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Roberts Fertovs and Spartaks agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Eduards Vanins 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Marcis Gabovs 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Arturs Jagodinskis is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market8 Mar 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Igors Savalnieks 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
89 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Roberts 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iļja Korotkovs 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
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Pavels Savalnieks
96 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Roberts 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.
Transfer targets22 Feb 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Spartaks
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eduards Vanins was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Feb 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Too much change too quickly at Spartaks
13 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 2027
Pavels Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 103 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 103 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Spartaks
Roberts Zjuzins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets15 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Vicenza have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eduards Vanins 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
Nikita Dubra 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.
The dugout15 Feb 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vitalijs Rugins trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market15 Feb 2027
Spartaks opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Vitalijs Rugins stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
Pavels Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 110 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 110 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.
Market8 Feb 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Akim Bouheddi gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Akim Bouheddi has just signed for Spartaks, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets8 Feb 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Rodolphe Ekou 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Spartaks know which stage they are at.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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 dugout8 Feb 2027
Nikita Dubra 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 Nikita Dubra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market8 Feb 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
Pavels Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 117 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 117 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 9 signed and 2 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Roberts 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eduards Vanins 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 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” João Vale commits to Spartaks for another 3 years.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
A loan enquiry to Wigan Athletic: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Slovan Liberec 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.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Spartaks told Vitalijs Rugins something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
Pavels Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 132 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 132 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.
Market18 Jan 2027
Spartaks say no — this time
The offer from Skonto for Tomas Sernas was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Spartaks
Roberts Zjuzins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Spartaks asked and Egnatia Rrogozhinë said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Chinaza Joseph and Spartaks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout18 Jan 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Aleksandrs Dubra, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Leonards Čevers is in the works
Spartaks have made the call to Salernitana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market18 Jan 2027
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Pavels Savalnieks
139 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
The unthinkable, invoiced: Igors Vanins sold
Skonto arrived with $250.0K and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Market11 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
Tomas Sernas 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 Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
The terraces11 Jan 2027
Igors Vanins has gone, the accounts have $250.0K in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Skonto keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad11 Jan 2027
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.
Transfer targets11 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
The name of Alvis Ciganovs has come up in conversations Spartaks were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
Pavels Savalnieks damages knee ligaments — 147 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 147 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.
Market4 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 Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
Market4 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Roberts 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Market4 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Tomas Sernas again, and this time the name on the line is Skonto. Spartaks are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vitalijs Rugins, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan enquiry to Skonto: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A loan move for Arturs Cauna is in the works
Spartaks have made the call to Skonto. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Pavels Savalnieks
155 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Roberts 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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikita Dubra
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Roberts 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Raivis Bulvitis and Spartaks agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Spartaks
Roberts Zjuzins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Arsenal Dzerzhinsk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Spartaks and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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
Steady
Squad16 Nov 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 Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Vitalijs Rugins 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Roberts 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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Roberts Fertovs
“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.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“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 9 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Marcis Jagodinskis is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Roberts 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Raivis Bulvitis, and the manager let it.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I did not go to Skonto to sit and watch. I want to come back to Spartaks and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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 Raivis Bulvitis is on it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
Viktor Lunyov damages knee ligaments — 19 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Market5 Oct 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 Spartaks can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Roberts 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Pavels Savalnieks is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
“I watch every Spartaks game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Daugavpils runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Nikita Dubra 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 Nikita Dubra is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Viktor Lunyov
27 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Spartaks
Roberts Zjuzins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch28 Sep 2026
“I did not go to Arsenal Dzerzhinsk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Spartaks and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Eduards Vanins has become a man the manager trusts
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.
Market28 Sep 2026
The shop window has Tomas Sernas in it
Spartaks have let the market know Tomas Sernas can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vitalijs Rugins trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 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 Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Sep 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Igors Vanins may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
“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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Spartaks close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 5 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
Spartaks asked and Legia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Spartaks
Kristaps Gabovs 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
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.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Nikita Dubra 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 Nikita Dubra is on it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Olegs Oss has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Spartaks will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
$250.0K. No player has ever cost Spartaks more, and expectation arrives with him.
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 Spartaks, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
No thanks: Jovan Zogović rejects the move
Spartaks had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Suduva, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
The town asked, and Spartaks paid $250.0K
Iļja Korotkovs was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $250.0K. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Spartaks asked and Benfica 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Igors Vanins, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Kristaps Gabovs 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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan move for Divine Teah is in the works
Spartaks have made the call to Slavia Prague. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
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
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Spartaks
1‑2 against Liepaja, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A one-man rearguard from Arturs Cauna
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
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 given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Spartaks had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Zalgiris, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad24 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 Spartaks this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market24 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: Daugavpils have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kristaps Gabovs. The answer from Spartaks has not changed — yet.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Spartaks asked and Monza 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Roberts Zjuzins
“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.
In brief
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Gatis Tarasovs
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Squad
Olegs Bulvitis falls out with a teammate over standards
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match12 Aug 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Raivis Bulvitis obliged against Jelgava. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Spartaks.
Market17 Aug 2026
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.
Market17 Aug 2026
Spartaks say no — this time
The offer from Metta/LU for Igors Vanins was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Suduva, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Roberts 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.
Market17 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Spartaks have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Transfer targets17 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.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Eduards Vanins 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The paperwork begins on Olegs Oss
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Spartaks have done the hard part with Jelgava, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Eduards Vanins commits to Spartaks for another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Spartaks
Roberts Zjuzins and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Catania have kept their man, and Spartaks go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout10 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Spartaks training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gatis Stolcers 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Aleksandrs Zjuzins for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Spartaks will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Skonto 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A muscle injury and 15 days out for Pavels Savalnieks
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Spartaks will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pavels Savalnieks commits to Spartaks for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Spartaks
Roberts 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Igors Tarasovs again, and this time the name on the line is Ventspils. Spartaks are listening politely and promising nothing.
Transfer targets3 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Olegs Bulvitis 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 targets3 Aug 2026
Spartaks have made the call to Skonto. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Eduards Vanins 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.