Marked for Martín Cano
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 May 2032
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 72 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market3 May 2032
“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 The request is on a desk at Osipovichi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 May 2032
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladislav Shubovich commits to Osipovichi for another 2 years.
Squad3 May 2032
Arseniy Prokopenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom3 May 2032
$164.3K from the owner keeps Osipovichi afloat
The gap in the accounts was filled from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be grateful and to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings arrive together.
Squad3 May 2032
A row about effort at Osipovichi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Shubovich was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match1 May 2032
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout3 May 2032
“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.
Player ratings3 May 2032
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Apr 2032
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match31 Mar 2032
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Pavel Savitski obliged against Neman. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Osipovichi.
Squad5 Apr 2032
There were 9 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.
Player ratings5 Apr 2032
No sign of nerves from Pavel Savitski at 17 — 7.82
The hardest thing about being 17 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Pavel Savitski did not need any: 7.82, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market5 Apr 2032
“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 Osipovichi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings5 Apr 2032
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.81 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout5 Apr 2032
“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.
Squad5 Apr 2032
Arseniy Prokopenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom5 Apr 2032
$147.3K of the owner's money at Osipovichi
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Mar 2032
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Osipovichi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings8 Mar 2032
Pavel Savitski could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 8.24
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 8.24, 1 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
The dugout8 Mar 2032
Arseny Kalugin: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Osipovichi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market8 Mar 2032
“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.
Boardroom8 Mar 2032
The Osipovichi board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Vladislav Yatskevich 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.
Boardroom8 Mar 2032
9 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Boardroom8 Mar 2032
$141.5K of the owner's money at Osipovichi
The shortfall was covered from upstairs again. Supporters are entitled to be relieved and entitled to ask what happens the month it is not, and both feelings usually arrive together.
Transfer targets8 Mar 2032
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Mozyr have kept their man, and Osipovichi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Feb 2032
18 days out for Andrey Romanov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Osipovichi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market9 Feb 2032
Martín Cano 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 Osipovichi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Feb 2032
Vladislav Yatskevich 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 Feb 2032
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Osipovichi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad9 Feb 2032
A row about effort at Osipovichi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Dybin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom9 Feb 2032
Wages eat 90% of everything Osipovichi earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout9 Feb 2032
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maxim Zhabitskiy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout9 Feb 2032
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market9 Feb 2032
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Vladislav Shubovich’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom19 Jan 2032
Pressure builds in the Osipovichi boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad19 Jan 2032
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 39 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad19 Jan 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Osipovichi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom19 Jan 2032
No signings allowed at Osipovichi
The manager may talk to whoever he likes and may pay nobody. A squad survives a window like this by borrowing, by promoting, and by hoping the injuries land somewhere else.
The dugout19 Jan 2032
Vlad Filip 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.
Market19 Jan 2032
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Osipovichi, another week without a signature from Maxim Zhabitskiy.
Squad19 Jan 2032
A row about effort at Osipovichi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Dybin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market19 Jan 2032
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kleidi Xhani’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market19 Jan 2032
Osipovichi have let the market know Petr Kazantsev can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Dec 2031
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market29 Dec 2031
Martín Cano 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 Osipovichi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Dec 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Osipovichi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Dec 2031
Words at Osipovichi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Dybin 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 dugout29 Dec 2031
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout29 Dec 2031
Darko Djuricic 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Dec 2031
88 days out for Andrey Romanov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Osipovichi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market1 Dec 2031
“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 Osipovichi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Dec 2031
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Osipovichi will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Vladislav Yatskevich and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Market1 Dec 2031
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Market1 Dec 2031
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market1 Dec 2031
At 33, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
The dugout1 Dec 2031
Vlad Filip 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Oct 2031
“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 Osipovichi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom27 Oct 2031
The scrutiny sharpens at Osipovichi
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Osipovichi is running low.
Squad27 Oct 2031
Arseniy Prokopenko and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Oct 2031
Words at Osipovichi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladislav Shubovich 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.
Boardroom27 Oct 2031
The embargo bars a fee being paid for a player, whatever the manager thinks the squad needs. Every rumour printed about this club between now and its lifting is a rumour about a deal that cannot happen.
Market27 Oct 2031
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Sep 2031
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Vladislav Yatskevich 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.
Squad15 Sep 2031
A row about effort at Osipovichi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arseniy Prokopenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom15 Sep 2031
The borrowing at Osipovichi reaches $7.0M
Past the limit the bank set, which is the line between a club being financed and a club being in trouble. $7.0M is now the number every conversation about this club will start with.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
A promise honoured at Osipovichi
Something was said to Arseniy Prokopenko and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Arseniy Prokopenko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad15 Sep 2031
The formation has left Mikita Laptev behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Osipovichi will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout15 Sep 2031
The manager makes an example of Martín Cano
“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 Sep 2031
A season on the outside for Kleidi Xhani
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Osipovichi has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces21 Apr 2031
Supporters organise against the Osipovichi 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.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
This is not rotation. Stefan Iancu has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Osipovichi is pretending otherwise.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
“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.
Match19 Apr 2031
4 matches without a win for Osipovichi
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Osipovichi are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Apr 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Osipovichi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Apr 2031
Osipovichi are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Match19 Apr 2031
Denis Beskorovainy scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Niva, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad21 Apr 2031
A row about effort at Osipovichi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Dybin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom21 Apr 2031
The Osipovichi debt reaches $6.7M
Football clubs borrow; that is not the story. Borrowing more than the facility allows is, because from here it is the owner's money or somebody else's decision, and neither of those belongs to the board.