The Rostov Sentinel
Market17 Jul 2028
Ilja Zhbanov asks to leave Rostov
“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.
Match15 Jul 2028
Rostov strike at the death to beat Baltika
There were 87 minutes on the clock and Baltika had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Rostov did not stop to explain themselves.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
Alexandr Tarasov says Rostov went back on their word
“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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Rostov
Ilja Zhbanov 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.
Boardroom17 Jul 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Rostov
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Victor Melekhin 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Alexandr Tarasov stays put
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alexandr Tarasov and Rostov agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Rostov rebuffed over German Onugkha
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nizhniy Novgorod have kept their man, and Rostov go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match15 Jul 2028
Konstantin Kuchaev the difference as Rostov beat Baltika
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Konstantin Kuchaev. 2‑1 against Baltika, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
- The terraces One of their own: Ilja Zhbanov
- Market Rostov promote Vladislav Glebov from within
- Market Evgeny Dmitriev steps up from the Rostov academy