Marked for Viktor Rybakov
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market9 Nov 2026
Gennady Aliyev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Neftyanik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Rodrigo Bareiro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Neftyanik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Elías Pérez 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Gennady Aliyev
“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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ruslan Semyonov was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Neftyanik dressing room was either.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
No place in the plan for Elías Pérez
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Match7 Nov 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Rubin Yalta came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout9 Nov 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 Gleb Kalinichev is on it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match31 Oct 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Sevastopol, and it could have been more.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Luka Maslov takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Rodrigo Bareiro, 33, rolls back the years — 8.28
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.28 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
The Neftyanik board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Luka Maslov was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.75. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Valentin Gordeev 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 129% of the Neftyanik 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Neftyanik
Alimsultan Sultanaliev 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Luka Maslov
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Luka Maslov has come out of that comparison in the side, and Neftyanik have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 19 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market19 Oct 2026
Viktor Rybakov has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Neftyanik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Elías Pérez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Neftyanik
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Valentin Gordeev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yaroslav Yevseyev, and the manager let it.
Loan watch19 Oct 2026
“I watch every Neftyanik game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Znamya Truda runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Oct 2026
Only the photograph left for Gennady Aliyev
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gennady Aliyev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Neftyanik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Neftyanik
Elías Pérez 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Neftyanik
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Valentin Gordeev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad12 Oct 2026
28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market12 Oct 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Valery Tsyganov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Neftyanik.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Neftyanik will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout12 Oct 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.
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 Gleb Kalinichev is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match19 Sep 2026
There were 86 minutes on the clock and Rostov 2 had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Neftyanik did not stop to explain themselves.
Market21 Sep 2026
Only the photograph left for Viktor Rybakov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Viktor Rybakov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Neftyanik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Neftyanik
Rodrigo Bareiro 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 targets21 Sep 2026
Neftyanik asked and Orel said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Valentin Gordeev 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Maksim Belyakov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Neftyanik.
Squad21 Sep 2026
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Neftyanik know which stage they are at.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 7.91 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Neftyanik had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Sep 2026
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Textilschik waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Neftyanik is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market14 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Neftyanik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 4 in, 4 out at Neftyanik
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 4 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Alimsultan Sultanaliev 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 targets14 Sep 2026
Neftyanik asked and Alania said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Yaroslav Yevseyev 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Dinamo Makhachkala 2 left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ruslan Semyonov after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Looking ahead14 Sep 2026
A test against the best for Neftyanik
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Rostov 2.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market31 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 Neftyanik can pretend not to have heard.
Market31 Aug 2026
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Neftyanik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” KDV Tomsk had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market31 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Luka Maslov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Neftyanik asked and Murom said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Valentin Gordeev 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Three points for Neftyanik, 1‑0 the final word against Legion in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes of Luka Maslov at his very best
Marked 8.24. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Neftyanik.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match8 Aug 2026
PSK Pervorechenskoe will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Neftyanik were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 7.91 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market10 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Valentin Gordeev and Neftyanik agree another 3 years.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A goal and an assist for Viktor Rybakov — 7.97
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.97 beside his name.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Denis Zinchenko scored one and made one — 7.92
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.92, and 2 involvements.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Luka Maslov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Neftyanik have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Transfer targets10 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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
Words exchanged at Neftyanik
Luka Maslov 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Yaroslav Yevseyev 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Yuri Zotkin again, and this time the name on the line is Legion. Neftyanik are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting German Cheryshev's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Kirill Roschin is in the works
Neftyanik have made the call to Murom. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Dinamo Vladivostok: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ruslan Semyonov was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Neftyanik dressing room was either.