Marked for Dragomir Galchev
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Sep 2028
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dunav Ruse lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad25 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dunav Ruse this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Sep 2028
A row about effort at Dunav Ruse
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nikola Borisov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denislav Minchev, and the manager let it.
Match23 Sep 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
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.
Looking ahead25 Sep 2028
Belasitsa next, and one man in the Dunav Ruse dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market25 Sep 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ivaylo Naydenov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Sep 2028
9‑0, and Juliusz Rafalski took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Dunav Ruse tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.61, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad4 Sep 2028
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
No sign of nerves from Juliusz Rafalski at 20 — 8.25
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Juliusz Rafalski did not need any: 8.25, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Up for the corner, and Francisco Ferreira delivers — 7.81
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Francisco Ferreira scored, was marked 7.81, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Window shuts: 6 in, 17 out at Dunav Ruse
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 6 arrived, 17 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Ibrahim Keïta 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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
A row about effort at Dunav Ruse
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivaylo Naydenov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 May 2028
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout15 May 2028
Nandinho keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dunav Ruse may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market15 May 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.
Squad15 May 2028
Ibrahim Keïta 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.
Squad15 May 2028
A row about effort at Dunav Ruse
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Ferreira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom15 May 2028
Wages swallow 92% of the Dunav Ruse 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.
The dugout15 May 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 Dunav Ruse, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad15 May 2028
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Dunav Ruse would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market15 May 2028
4 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Dunav Ruse could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Apr 2028
112 days out for Ivaylo Naydenov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dunav Ruse will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Miroslav Marinov 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Dunav Ruse training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francisco Ferreira 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.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Wages swallow 105% of the Dunav Ruse 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.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Denislav Minchev 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.
Market17 Apr 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dunav Ruse know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Dragomir Galchev has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Dunav Ruse 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“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 Dunav Ruse will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Market17 Apr 2028
The clock does Nandinho’s negotiating for him
6 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Dunav Ruse could ask drops and the wages Nandinho can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Apr 2028
A fracture rules Ivaylo Naydenov out for 127 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dunav Ruse will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad3 Apr 2028
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Dunav Ruse lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Svetoslav Delev has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Dunav Ruse can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market3 Apr 2028
Nuno Macedo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Dunav Ruse they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market3 Apr 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dunav Ruse can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Marked 7.66 at 16, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Ibrahim Keïta and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Dunav Ruse
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Ferreira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces3 Apr 2028
At 16 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom28 Jun 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Dunav Ruse
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Sofia have kept their man, and Dunav Ruse go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Miroslav Marinov 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 Jun 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Kostadin Velchev is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Francisco Ferreira 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 dugout28 Jun 2027
Petar Petrov gets it from the manager
“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 dugout28 Jun 2027
Denislav Minchev 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
The Nuno Macedo talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dunav Ruse know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 May 2027
Ibrahim Keïta and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Dunav Ruse training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francisco Ferreira 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 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.
Boardroom24 May 2027
Wages swallow 95% of the Dunav Ruse 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.
The dugout24 May 2027
Nandinho knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nandinho trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market24 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ibrahim Keïta signs something — a contract at Dunav Ruse or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Apr 2027
Miroslav Marinov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Dunav Ruse
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Ferreira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
114% of the income goes out in wages at Dunav Ruse
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 dugout26 Apr 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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dimitar Todorov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market26 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ibrahim Keïta signs something — a contract at Dunav Ruse or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
Nikola Borisov damages knee ligaments — 20 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 20 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Miroslav Marinov is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Deroy Duarte 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Miroslav Marinov 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 dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mario Petkov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
110% of the income goes out in wages at Dunav Ruse
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 dugout29 Mar 2027
A promise honoured at Dunav Ruse
Something was said to André Liberal and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Ibrahim Keïta knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dunav Ruse, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead29 Mar 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sportist Svoge in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Dunav Ruse
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Dunav Ruse are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mario Petkov and Dunav Ruse agree another 3 years.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad7 Dec 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 Dunav Ruse this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Borislav Marinov 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 dugout7 Dec 2026
Mario Petkov gets it from the manager
“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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Late, late show earns Dunav Ruse a point
Minute 87, against Hebar, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Market7 Dec 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Dunav Ruse, another week without a signature from Francisco Ferreira.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 87% of the Dunav Ruse 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.