Marked for Cavid Abdullayev
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Sep 2027
No end in sight to Inter's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Inter has to find a result from somewhere.
Match4 Sep 2027
Chastening afternoon for Inter
A 0‑3 beating by Zira was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
The dugout6 Sep 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.
Squad6 Sep 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 19 signed and 12 gone
That is the business done at Inter 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Araz Ismayilov is a better footballer than he was
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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Inter
Jérémie Gnali 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Inter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dimitrij Jafarov 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 dugout6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aydın Bayramov, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces23 Aug 2027
Supporters organise against the Inter board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Vüqar Mustafayev
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Inter lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Inter may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match21 Aug 2027
No end in sight to Inter's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Inter has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces23 Aug 2027
Mahir Dadashov has gone, the accounts have $600.0K 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.
Match21 Aug 2027
The goals have deserted Inter
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Inter can tell you which week it ends in.
Market23 Aug 2027
Gabala paid $600.0K and Inter took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Inter
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tamkin Abdullayev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Jul 2027
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Inter lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Al-Fateh is saying, and nobody at Inter is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
$610.0K was the most the club would pay and Qarabag were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Eddy Nazarov has improved at 30, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Inter asked and Spartak Subotica said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market5 Jul 2027
The phone has started ringing about Dimitrij Garayev again, and this time the name on the line is Sumgayit. Inter are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Inter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dimitrij Jafarov 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Inter
Cavid Abdullayev 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 May 2027
Anthony Chukwueze damages knee ligaments — 17 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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 terraces31 May 2027
Supporters organise against the Inter board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Market31 May 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words exchanged at Inter
Mahir Dadashov 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.
Market31 May 2027
The loan was meant to give him football. 0 games and 0 goals later he is back at Inter no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their doing.
The dugout31 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Cavid Abdullayev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 May 2027
Anthony Chukwueze damages knee ligaments — 24 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Boardroom24 May 2027
Pressure builds in the Inter boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad24 May 2027
Tempers go at Inter
Jérémie Gnali was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Dimitrij Jafarov 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.
Squad24 May 2027
30 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout24 May 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2027
16 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market12 Apr 2027
Emin Ramazanov has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Inter they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Inter
Mahir Dadashov 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 Apr 2027
Words at Inter training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dimitrij Jafarov 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.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“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 Inter, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Cavid Abdullayev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Qara Dadashov has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The terraces5 Apr 2027
Anger at Inter spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market5 Apr 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 Inter, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Inter
Jérémie Gnali and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Inter
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dimitrij Jafarov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Inter are still strangers to each other
6 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 dugout5 Apr 2027
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Dimitrij Jafarov was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Inter will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
Inter trim $1.1M from the budget
The money the manager was told he had is now money the manager used to have. $1.1M, gone from the table without a statement, and a dressing room that understands what it means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Inter
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dimitrij Jafarov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Inter
João Morelli 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.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
“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 Inter, and 1 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Rashad Medvedev
“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 dugout22 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Cavid Abdullayev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market22 Feb 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kamran Medvedev signs something — a contract at Inter or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Inter may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom15 Feb 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Emin Ramazanov has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Market15 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Emin Ramazanov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Emin Ramazanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Inter the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Feb 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 Inter this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets15 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.
The dugout15 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.
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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A season on the outside for Youssef Amyn
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Inter has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Inter will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Inter
Nikos Grammatikakis 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Dimitrij Jafarov 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.
Loan watch28 Dec 2026
“I did not go to Sumgayit to sit and watch. I want to come back to Inter and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Inter
Nikos Grammatikakis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Dimitrij Jafarov 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.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Rashad Medvedev
“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 dugout21 Dec 2026
Cavid Abdullayev 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Inter. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Youssef Amyn keeps his manager's vote
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Youssef Amyn plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Nov 2026
Chastening afternoon for Inter
A 0‑3 beating by Zira was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match7 Nov 2026
4 matches without a win for Inter
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Inter are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Inter
Nikos Grammatikakis 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Dimitrij Jafarov 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“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.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Inter dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Qara Dadashov after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Inter
Nikos Grammatikakis 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 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.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Sumgayit to sit and watch. I want to come back to Inter and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Squad2 Nov 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 Inter will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout2 Nov 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Inter share the spoils with Khazar
A 1‑1 draw with Khazar leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Araz Ismayilov, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Evgeni Nikitin 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Half-satisfied: Qara Dadashov on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.