Marked for Sander Dmitrijev
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market20 Sep 2027
Only the photograph left for Kaupo Kruusmäe
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kaupo Kruusmäe will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Tulevik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Tulevik may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market20 Sep 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 Tulevik can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Sep 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 Tulevik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad20 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 51 days on the sidelines for Johannes Metsmaa, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hendrik Antonov commits to Tulevik for another 3 years.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Tulevik
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raimond Mets was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Henry Tikut, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 May 2027
The wait goes on for Tulevik
12 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.
Match10 May 2027
Tulevik sink to position 10
1 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad10 May 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.
Player ratings10 May 2027
No sign of nerves from Karol Puri at 14 — 7.94
The hardest thing about being 14 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Karol Puri did not need any: 7.94, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match8 May 2027
Karol Puri scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Parnu, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Market10 May 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Joonas Dmitrijev has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Erik Kruglov, and the manager let it.
Looking ahead10 May 2027
Two sides from the bottom of the table, three points, and an afternoon that will be described afterwards as a relegation decider by whoever loses it.
Squad10 May 2027
Alexandr Pivovarchik 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Tulevik's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tulevik has to find a result from somewhere.
Match27 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad29 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 Tulevik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout29 Mar 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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Martin Sorga to a room that had heard them before.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ken Vassiljev commits to Tulevik for another 3 years.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Pivovarchik, and the manager let it.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Tulevik
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raimond Mets was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Sander Dmitrijev is the weekend's best young player
At 17 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Mar 2027
Beaten 1‑6 by Levadia, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market22 Mar 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Tulevik's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Tulevik has to find a result from somewhere.
Match20 Mar 2027
Sander Dmitrijev among the goals in a wild afternoon
7 goals in one match, Sander Dmitrijev on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Tulevik and Levadia.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Tulevik
Alexandr Pivovarchik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timofey Bogdanchik, and the manager let it.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Nobody left the Tulevik 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 dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑6 Martin Sorga left the room before anybody could ask which.