The Sochi Sentinel
Squad7 Aug 2028
A one-man rearguard from Timur Magomedov
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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Kirill Zaika: 10 seasons and counting
430 appearances across 10 seasons in one shirt. Careers like that are not built on purpose any more, and Sochi know exactly what they have.
Market7 Aug 2028
Sochi sell Ruslan Bart for $2.6M
Ruslan Bart has left for Dinamo Moscow in a $2.6M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
The paperwork begins on Damián Kotrba
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Sochi have done the hard part with Sokol, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Match5 Aug 2028
No end in sight to Sochi's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Sochi has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad7 Aug 2028
A falling-out at Sochi
Sergey Pryakhin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match5 Aug 2028
Zenit take the points off Sochi
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Transfer targets7 Aug 2028
Door shut on Olakunle Olusegun
Sochi asked and Rostov said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
No hiding place for Timur Magomedov
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timur Magomedov, and the manager let it.
In brief
- Squad A muscle injury sidelines Dmitriy Ushakov for 14 days
- Player ratings One of those days for Alexandr Soldatenkov
- Player ratings Yegor Nazarenko was unplayable