Marked for Viktar Klimovich
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market9 Aug 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.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout9 Aug 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Pavel Pampukha 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 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gleb Guletskiy and Molodechno agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo-BelAZ have kept their man, and Molodechno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Molodechno training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yassine Bara 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Uladzislau Shikavka after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces12 Jul 2027
Supporters organise against the Molodechno 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
The offer from Smorgon for Danila Tretyak 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 targets12 Jul 2027
The deal with Dinamo Minsk died in the treatment room. Nobody will say what was found and everybody in the game will find out by Friday.
Market12 Jul 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.
The dugout12 Jul 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.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
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Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
$110.0K on the table at Arsenal Dzerzhinsk. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Pavel Pampukha 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Molodechno
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stanislav Atrashkevich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Nov 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 Molodechno, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 Molodechno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
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 dugout16 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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Viktar Klimovich 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.
Squad16 Nov 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
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Torpedo-BelAZ may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market16 Nov 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Steven Alfred 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.
Loan watch16 Nov 2026
“I watch every Torpedo-BelAZ game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Molodechno runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad16 Nov 2026
International break empties Torpedo-BelAZ
4 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
When it matters, Artem Bykov plays
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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Torpedo-BelAZ lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes Ilya Rutskiy a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Torpedo-BelAZ. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Molodechno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Pavel Pampukha 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Viktar Yablonski 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pavel Pampukha, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Krasimir Kapov 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.
Squad9 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 Molodechno will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Artem Bykov 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Vadim Pobudey 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 dugout19 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.
Loan watch19 Oct 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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Artem Bykov has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kirill Premudrov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Sergey Ignatovich plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Molodechno's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Molodechno has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Molodechno close the window on a squad of their own making
23 in and 0 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.
Market14 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Molodechno asked and Torpedo-BelAZ 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
A row about effort at Molodechno
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yassine Bara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Sep 2026
1‑2 to Slutsk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yan Volodko 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Artem Chalavach is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Aug 2026
There were 12 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
Ilya Koval 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 Molodechno can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 Aug 2026
The wait goes on for Molodechno
6 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
3 matches without a goal for Molodechno
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Transfer targets31 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Pavel Pampukha and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 12 actions, 6.64, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The dugout31 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match26 Aug 2026
Neman are out and Torpedo-BelAZ go through, 2‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Market31 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. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Age has not caught Artem Bykov yet — 7.80
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.80 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
Boardroom31 Aug 2026
Slutsk will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Vladislav Chebotar has pre-agreed a move to Torpedo-BelAZ, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Neman 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
Vadim Pobudey 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 dugout31 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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market10 Aug 2026
Volna Pinsk come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Torpedo-BelAZ did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Sergey Melnik gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Sergey Melnik has just signed for Torpedo-BelAZ, and for once the answer mattered.
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.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Slavia Mozyr will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Artem Krent has pre-agreed a move to Torpedo-BelAZ, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Isloch made Torpedo-BelAZ work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Vadzim Rios is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hleb Nekhaichik 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.