Daniel Genov

Attacking Midfielder (R) - Botev Vratsa
28 Aug 2027
Saturday
Process

Marked for Daniel Genov

51 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Ivan Goranov damages knee ligaments — 111 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 111 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.

Match

No end in sight to Botev Vratsa's wait for a win

10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Botev Vratsa has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

A falling-out at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Botev Vratsa

1 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.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa rebuffed over Giorgos Katris

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Panathinaikos have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

A bad afternoon for Botev Vratsa against Septemvri

0‑2 to Septemvri, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Market

One of our own: Kristian Petrov joins the Botev Vratsa first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Kristian Petrov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

The dugout

No hiding place for José Gallegos

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Gallegos, and the manager let it.

Squad

Ricardo Martins stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ricardo Martins and Botev Vratsa agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

Back issues
50 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

12 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Ivan Goranov

118 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Botev Vratsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Transfer targets

$1.8M settles it between the clubs for Ivan Zhelizko

Ludogorets have accepted the money. What Botev Vratsa do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.

Market

Kristiyan Yovov is a Botev Vratsa player again

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.

Squad

Daniel Genov in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A move Kristiyan Yovov would have made for nothing

There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Kristiyan Yovov is living that version at Botev Vratsa, and it tends to show in the first month.

Squad

Tamimou Ouorou signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tamimou Ouorou and Botev Vratsa agree another 4 years.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa rebuffed over Alexis Kalogeropoulos

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olympiacos have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa try to borrow Giorgos Katris

Panathinaikos have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

The dugout

No hiding place for João Santos

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Santos, and the manager let it.

In brief

47 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ivan Goranov damages knee ligaments — 142 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 142 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.

Market

Iliya Yurukov 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 Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

The step up is real for Antoan Stoyanov

At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.

Squad

Botev Vratsa count the cost of losing Mitchy Ntelo

28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Transfer targets

Marcos Acuña is a medical away from Botev Vratsa

The deal with Estudiantes de Merida is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Ivan Timoshenko

Botev Vratsa asked and Rodina said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A row about effort at Botev Vratsa

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Stoychev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Matvey Burlakov is in the works

Botev Vratsa have made the call to Rodina. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Market

Spartak 1918 expected to open talks for Lyuboslav Stoyanov

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Botev Vratsa will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

44 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Lyuboslav Stoyanov out for 28 days

28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Vratsa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Botev Vratsa sink to position 14

20 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

The terraces

The mood at Botev Vratsa has turned into something else

Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.

Market

Martin Achkov 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 Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Words exchanged at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Squad

Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Stoychev 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.

In brief

43 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Lyuboslav Stoyanov out for 35 days

35 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Vratsa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Iliya Yurukov asks to leave Botev Vratsa

“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.

Squad

Mitchy Ntelo out for 56 days

The medical room confirms 56 days on the sidelines for Mitchy Ntelo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

A falling-out at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

João Santos 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 dugout

Antoan Stoyanov 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 Antoan Stoyanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

The dugout

Daniel Genov has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Daniel Genov has written the date down.

Market

The Antoan Stoyanov talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Botev Vratsa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

The manager comes out for Iliya Yurukov

Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Iliya Yurukov has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.

In brief

39 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Iliya Yurukov 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 Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. João Santos 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Lazar Boyanov

“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 dugout

Ivan Goranov 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.

The dugout

The manager makes João Santos a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Botev Vratsa. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

38 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Ivan Goranov says Botev Vratsa 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.

Squad

João Santos 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 dugout

João Santos 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.

Market

The José Gallegos question follows Botev Vratsa around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with José Gallegos’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

Daniel Genov has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Daniel Genov has written the date down.

Market

Martin Achkov placed on the list

Botev Vratsa have made Martin Achkov available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

The dugout

The manager plants his flag on Iliya Yurukov

“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Iliya Yurukov’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.

Squad

Đorđe Jovičić is not doing himself any favours

A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.

Squad

Word from the training ground: João Vale

The sharpest man in every session this week, by all accounts. Lines like this run the week before somebody’s run in the side begins.

In brief

37 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

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Market

Lyuboslav Stoyanov is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Botev Vratsa is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Market

Botev Vratsa promote Petar Georgiev from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Petar Georgiev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Squad

A row about effort at Botev Vratsa

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Stoychev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Vladislav Naydenov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladislav Naydenov commits to Botev Vratsa for another 3 years.

The dugout

When it matters, Marin Orlinov 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.

The dugout

Mathys Jean Marie 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 Botev Vratsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Martin Petkov question follows Botev Vratsa around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Martin Petkov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

36 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Botev Vratsa are in real trouble now

Position 14, 20 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Martin Achkov 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 Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.

The dugout

Otelo Silva keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Botev Vratsa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Squad

Lazar Boyanov signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lazar Boyanov and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years.

Squad

João Santos 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.

Market

Botev Vratsa and Mathys Jean Marie are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Đorđe Jovičić

“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 dugout

Mathys Jean Marie 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 Botev Vratsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

34 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Yasen Bodurov damages knee ligaments — 22 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Botev Vratsa

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Stoychev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Daniel Genov 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 Botev Vratsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

No place for Lyuboslav Stoyanov in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Lyuboslav Stoyanov has his answer from Botev Vratsa; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Market

The José Gallegos question follows Botev Vratsa around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with José Gallegos’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

João Santos has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and João Santos has written the date down.

In brief

33 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Yasen Bodurov damages knee ligaments — 29 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.

The dugout

Antoan Stoyanov says Botev Vratsa 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.

The dugout

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Market

Lyuboslav Stoyanov has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Botev Vratsa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Boardroom

Lyuboslav Stoyanov has agreed to leave Botev Vratsa for nothing

He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.

Squad

A row about effort at Botev Vratsa

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Stoychev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Words exchanged at Botev Vratsa

João Vale 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 dugout

Marin Orlinov gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marin Orlinov is on it.

The dugout

Daniel Genov 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 Daniel Genov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

32 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Yasen Bodurov out for 37 days

37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Vratsa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Match

Botev Vratsa are in real trouble now

Position 14, 20 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Market

Martin Achkov 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 Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Daniel Genov stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Daniel Genov and Botev Vratsa agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Squad

João Santos 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.

In brief

31 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Iliya Yurukov asks to leave Botev Vratsa

“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.

Squad

Daniel Genov in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A muscle injury sidelines Ivan Goranov for 16 days

Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Botev Vratsa will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.

Squad

Iliya Yurukov 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 dugout

Lazar Boyanov 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 dugout

Ivan Goranov 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.

In brief

30 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A falling-out at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Iliya Yurukov 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 dugout

No hiding place for João Santos

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Santos, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Ivan Goranov 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 Ivan Goranov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

The José Gallegos question follows Botev Vratsa around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with José Gallegos’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

Mathys Jean Marie takes up the language

The least glamorous thing a foreign signing ever does and the one that decides most of them. A player who can hear the shout behind him is a different footballer from one who cannot.

In brief

29 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

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Market

Lyuboslav Stoyanov has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Botev Vratsa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Viktor Mihaylov

Botev Vratsa asked and CSKA Sofia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

João Santos 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 dugout

Marin Orlinov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Botev Vratsa 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.

Market

Still no ink between Botev Vratsa and Mathys Jean Marie

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Botev Vratsa, another week without a signature from Mathys Jean Marie.

The dugout

No hiding place for Hugo Pinto

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hugo Pinto, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Mathys Jean Marie 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 Mathys Jean Marie trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

25 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Botev Vratsa's wait for a win

6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Botev Vratsa has to find a result from somewhere.

The dugout

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Match

5 matches without a goal for Botev Vratsa

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

Squad

Words exchanged at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa rebuffed over Omar Rekik

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ludogorets have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Botev Vratsa come up short against CSKA Sofia

CSKA Sofia left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Hugo Pinto 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 dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Nikolay Mladenov left the room before anybody could ask which.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa ask about Ivan Barić

A loan enquiry to NK Osijek: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

In brief

23 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Iliya Yurukov 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 Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

The season belongs to Martin Petkov

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Botev Vratsa have had the benefit of it.

Match

The wait goes on for Botev Vratsa

4 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.

Squad

Daniel Genov in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Hugo Pinto signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hugo Pinto commits to Botev Vratsa for another 4 years.

Match

Botev Vratsa cannot find the net

3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.

Transfer targets

Montana tell Botev Vratsa: Vasil Simeonov is not for sale

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.

Match

Botev Vratsa come up short against Lokomotiv Sofia

Lokomotiv Sofia left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

In brief

22 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Marin Orlinov stands alone

9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Squad

A falling-out at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Botev Vratsa come up short against Slavia Sofia

Slavia Sofia left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Nikolay Mladenov answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Ivan Goranov

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Đorđe Jovičić

“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.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Daniel Genov

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Lokomotiv Sofia in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

The dugout

Mathys Jean Marie 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 Botev Vratsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

18 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 38. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Mitchy Ntelo leads the rout of Spartak 1918

3‑0, and Mitchy Ntelo took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Botev Vratsa tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Match

Botev Vratsa cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Squad

Mitchy Ntelo is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.32 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

A falling-out at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Iliya Yurukov 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Mitchy Ntelo at his very best

Marked 8.50. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Botev Vratsa.

Match

Botev Vratsa settle it inside twenty minutes

2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Spartak 1918 spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.

Player ratings

Martin Petkov was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.38. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

In brief

16 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Martin Achkov puts it in writing

“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 Botev Vratsa, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

Botev Vratsa end the wait against Lokomotiv Plovdiv

It had gone 11 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Kassim Hadji

Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Match

Botev Vratsa find a way past Lokomotiv Plovdiv

Lokomotiv Plovdiv made Botev Vratsa work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Home is on Hugo Pinto's mind

“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Botev Vratsa are dealing with a man who wants a different country.

Squad

Mitchy Ntelo is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.21 with 12 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Martin Petkov

Marked 8.37 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.

Player ratings

Mitchy Ntelo in the eights

A performance of 8.33 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

  • Match No time for Lokomotiv Plovdiv to settle
  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Hugo Pinto
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
15 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for Botev Vratsa

11 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.

Market

Iliya Yurukov puts it in writing

“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 Botev Vratsa, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Daniel Genov in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Botev Vratsa promote Simeon Minev from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Simeon Minev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Krasimir Tonev steps up from the Botev Vratsa academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Krasimir Tonev 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 dugout

Marin Orlinov 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.

Squad

Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Stoychev 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.

Match

Botev Vratsa at the halfway mark

Half the programme played, position 15, 8 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.

In brief

14 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

10 matches without a win for Botev Vratsa

The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Botev Vratsa are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Botev Vratsa

Marin Orlinov 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.

Match

Botev Vratsa come up short against Septemvri

Septemvri left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

A row about effort at Botev Vratsa

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Stoychev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Nikolay Mladenov answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

5 new faces, and Botev Vratsa are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

The dugout

No hiding place for Antoan Stoyanov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antoan Stoyanov, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Mathys Jean Marie runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

Botev Vratsa keep their word to Lazar Boyanov

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.

In brief

12 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Marin Orlinov keeps Botev Vratsa in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 15 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

The wait goes on for Botev Vratsa

8 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.

Player ratings

A brace, and Mitchy Ntelo takes the afternoon — 9.03

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mitchy Ntelo provided it, and the 9.03 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

The dugout

Sevi Idriz: 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.” Botev Vratsa have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

Mitchy Ntelo among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Mitchy Ntelo on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Botev Vratsa and Ludogorets.

Match

Ludogorets take the points off Botev Vratsa

Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Match

Botev Vratsa 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.

Squad

Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Stoychev 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 dugout

Sainey Sanyang 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.

In brief

11 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Iliya Yurukov puts it in writing

“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 Botev Vratsa, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

The wait goes on for Botev Vratsa

7 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.

Squad

Daniel Genov in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Vratsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A muscle injury sidelines Kassim Hadji for 14 days

Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Botev Vratsa will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.

Squad

Kassim Hadji stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Kassim Hadji and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Match

A bad afternoon for Botev Vratsa against Botev Plovdiv

1‑3 to Botev Plovdiv, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Market

Botev Vratsa promote Dimitar Galchev from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Dimitar Galchev has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Squad

Martin Stoychev 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 dugout

Nikolay Mladenov: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

10 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Marin Orlinov stands alone

13 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Match

The wait goes on for Botev Vratsa

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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Botev Vratsa against CSKA Sofia

1‑2 to CSKA Sofia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Botev Vratsa

7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Nikolay Mladenov: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Martin Smolenski

“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.

Market

Talks stall between Botev Vratsa and Mathys Jean Marie

“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.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Ivan Goranov

The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.

Squad

Botev Vratsa have started building around Kassim Hadji

He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.

In brief

9 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

11 saves: Marin Orlinov was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Match

5 matches without a win for Botev Vratsa

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Botev Vratsa are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Words exchanged at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Match

Martin Petkov among the goals in a wild afternoon

6 goals in one match, Martin Petkov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Botev Vratsa and Levski.

Match

Botev Vratsa come up short against Levski

Levski left with the points after a 2‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Nikolay Mladenov answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

The dugout

Antoan Stoyanov 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 dugout

Marin Orlinov has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Botev Vratsa 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 dugout

The form table has caught Ivan Goranov

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

In brief

8 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Marin Orlinov keeps Botev Vratsa in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Transfer targets

Marko Lekić turns down Botev Vratsa

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Partizan keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Match

4 matches without a win for Botev Vratsa

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Botev Vratsa are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Iliya Yurukov 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Botev Vratsa against Lokomotiv Sofia

0‑1 to Lokomotiv Sofia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

Nikolay Mladenov: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Squad

Hugo Pinto signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hugo Pinto commits to Botev Vratsa for another 3 years.

In brief

5 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Transfer targets

Freddy Noguera will not be coming to Botev Vratsa

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Cerro Porteno is saying, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is enjoying the guessing.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa rebuffed over Atanas Iliev

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA 1948 have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Botev Vratsa come up short against Beroe

Beroe left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

No hiding place for Daniel Genov

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Genov, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

One of those days for Mitchy Ntelo

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Nikolay Mladenov left the room before anybody could ask which.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa try to borrow Gabriel Vázquez

Quilmes have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa try to borrow Marko Lekić

Partizan have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

In brief

4 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Marin Orlinov is the hero from the spot

A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Marin Orlinov: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.

Match

Botev Vratsa out of the cup

CSKA Sofia ended it 1‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Market

Lyuboslav Stoyanov 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 Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Antoan Stoyanov was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 24. 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Transfer targets

Panathinaikos tell Botev Vratsa: Étienne Camara is not for sale

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.

Match

Botev Vratsa see off Dobrudzha

Three points for Botev Vratsa, 2‑0 the final word against Dobrudzha in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

The kick that got away from Mitchy Ntelo

Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa try to borrow Freddy Noguera

Cerro Porteno have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

In brief

2 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Botev Vratsa say no — this time

The offer from CSKA 1948 for Martin Achkov 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov 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.

Match

Botev Vratsa come up short against CSKA 1948

CSKA 1948 left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa rebuffed over Marto Boychev

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA 1948 have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

One of our own: Svetoslav Bozhikov joins the Botev Vratsa first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Svetoslav Bozhikov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Botev Vratsa promote Svetoslav Bojinov from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Svetoslav Bojinov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Botev Vratsa promote Stoycho Atanasov from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Stoycho Atanasov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Squad

Martin Achkov signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Martin Achkov commits to Botev Vratsa for another 4 years.

In brief

1 Edition

The Botev Vratsa Post

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Kassim Hadji runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Radoslav Tsonev stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Radoslav Tsonev and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A falling-out at Botev Vratsa

Daniel Genov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Market

Still no ink between Botev Vratsa and Daniel Genov

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Botev Vratsa, another week without a signature from Daniel Genov.

Market

49 months and counting on Martin Petkov

Still no offer on the table, and Martin Petkov’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa ask about Agustín Bianciotti

A loan enquiry to Metropolitanos: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Transfer targets

Botev Vratsa ask about Marto Boychev

A loan enquiry to CSKA 1948: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Nikolay Mladenov on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

Player ratings

Mitchy Ntelo leaves them behind him

Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.

In brief