Marked for Victor Casseres
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sergeev 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 dugout10 Jan 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.
Boardroom10 Jan 2028
The Veles debt reaches $6.1M
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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“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 Veles know it.
Market10 Jan 2028
“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.
The dugout10 Jan 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Veles, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market10 Jan 2028
The Dmitry Sadov story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitry Sadov signs something — a contract at Veles or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Loan watch10 Jan 2028
23 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Veles, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Boardroom13 Dec 2027
The borrowing at Veles reaches $6.0M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $6.0M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Artur Koloskov, and the manager let it.
Market13 Dec 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Veles, another week without a signature from Ishkhan Geloyan.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Market13 Dec 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Dmitry Sadov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Match13 Dec 2027
Veles have something to play for
Position 5 on 27 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Market13 Dec 2027
The clock does Victor Casseres’s negotiating for him
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Veles could ask drops and the wages Victor Casseres can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Dec 2027
Veles finish in position 5
27 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Pressure builds in the Veles boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
The owner puts $128.8K into Veles
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.
Match4 Dec 2027
Three points for Veles, 2‑0 the final word against Volgar in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Ninety minutes of Victor Casseres at his very best
Marked 8.64. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Veles.
The dugout6 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.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
A performance of 8.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market6 Dec 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Veles, another week without a signature from Ilja Kuptsov.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Boardroom15 Nov 2027
The Veles debt reaches $5.8M
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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
“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; Veles are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market15 Nov 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.
Market15 Nov 2027
The name of Dmitry Sergeev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Veles say nothing, which says plenty.
Market15 Nov 2027
Nobody at Veles has picked up the phone to Nura Dan Megi
11 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Match15 Nov 2027
Continental football is in reach for Veles
23 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Loan watch15 Nov 2027
15 appearances away from home and 4 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A season on the outside for Nura Dan Megi
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Veles has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Oct 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Oct 2027
Words at Veles training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ionafan Sapozhnikov 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 dugout11 Oct 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.
Market11 Oct 2027
“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.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Market11 Oct 2027
The Dmitry Sadov story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitry Sadov signs something — a contract at Veles or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Match11 Oct 2027
Veles in the hunt for Europe
Position 4, 19 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Where he used to play does most of his talking for him at Veles. The room defers to it, the kids study it, and the only thing that can puncture it is a bad month.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Sep 2027
Nowhere to hide for Veles
0‑3 against Textilschik, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market13 Sep 2027
Yury Zavezen 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom13 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 18 gone
That is the business done at Veles 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets13 Sep 2027
Veles asked and Leningradets said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom13 Sep 2027
Doors closed at Veles
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Miroslav Maslov to a room that had heard them before.
Market13 Sep 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Veles counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Veles now.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Dmitry Sadov 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 Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Veles training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Galkin 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Wages swallow 206% of the Veles 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.
Loan watch6 Sep 2027
“I did not go to Arsenal Tula to sit and watch. I want to come back to Veles and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 6 matches say the rest.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilja Kuptsov, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead6 Sep 2027
The leaders are next for Veles
Textilschik top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Oleg Smirnov 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 Oleg Smirnov is on it.
Looking ahead6 Sep 2027
Textilschik next, and one man in the Veles dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Aug 2027
Pavel Kotov 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Market30 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Zakharzhevskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Veles the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings30 Aug 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Veles training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Galkin 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 dugout30 Aug 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.
Match28 Aug 2027
Honours even between Veles and Sibir
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market30 Aug 2027
Victor Casseres is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Veles has been clear about where Victor Casseres stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
Pressure builds in the Veles boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Javier Gonzalez out for 15 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Veles will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
Veles counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Veles now.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
The dugout29 Mar 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.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Yegor Sysoev 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 Yegor Sysoev is on it.
Market29 Mar 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zakhar Tarasenko signs something — a contract at Veles or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Vladislav Galkin 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.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
139% of the income goes out in wages at Veles
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 dugout22 Mar 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.
Market22 Mar 2027
The Dmitry Sadov story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitry Sadov signs something — a contract at Veles or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
Miroslav Maslov has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Veles can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market8 Feb 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Veles they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sergeev and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Veles asked and Lokomotiv Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Cliques at Veles
It is the quietest kind of dressing-room problem and the one that lasts longest, because nobody has done anything anyone can be disciplined for. 2 players sit outside all 3 groups entirely, which is the detail that tends to matter.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Dmitry Sadov loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Dmitry Sadov's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Bogdan Markov
“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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Zakhar Tarasenko’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Romero and Atletico Venezuela agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Juan Romero 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 dugout10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Daniel Casseres
“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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Atletico Venezuela training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Machis 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 Aug 2026
Juan Romero 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.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Sergio Rincon after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.