A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Vratsa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Vladislav Naydenov 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.
Botev Vratsa have made the call to Levski. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
This is not rotation. Ivan Goranov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Gallegos 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.
Eder Januário 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.
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 Vladislav Naydenov is on it.
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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Radoslav Tsonev and Botev Vratsa agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 May 2029
José Gallegos 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.
“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 Marin Orlinov.
Artem Serebryakov 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.
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 Rúben Ribeiro is on it.
The words a physio says slowly. 27 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botev Vratsa know it.
Squad30 Apr 2029
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.
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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Botev Vratsa told Rúben Ribeiro something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
36 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.
44 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.
Squad16 Apr 2029
José Gallegos 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botev Vratsa know it.
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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until José Gallegos signs something — a contract at Botev Vratsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Rúben Ribeiro.
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.
52 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Eder Januário 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.
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.
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.
59 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
67 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and José Gallegos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Marin Orlinov signs something — a contract at Botev Vratsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 words a physio says slowly. 74 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.
Vladislav Naydenov 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.
“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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksandar Buchkov 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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until José Gallegos signs something — a contract at Botev Vratsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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.
A few words of the language, a friend at the next peg, and a training ground that has stopped feeling foreign. Nothing measurable, and everything visible on Saturdays.
83 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.
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 Rúben Ribeiro is on it.
“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.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Botev Vratsa have no good answer.
90 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Vratsa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Milen Stoev and Botev Vratsa agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Mar 2029
José Gallegos 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.
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 Vladislav Naydenov is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Naydenov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
97 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.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 31 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Vratsa will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botev Vratsa know it.
Vladislav Naydenov 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.
104 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Vratsa will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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.
Botev Vratsa asked and Ludogorets said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Vladislav Naydenov 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Botev Vratsa can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
111 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.
5 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Botev Vratsa and Ludogorets, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Botev Vratsa asked and Botev Plovdiv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
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.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Botev Vratsa close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 3 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Tukhan Akhilgov is living that version at Botev Vratsa, and it tends to show in the first month.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Montana have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ivan Goranov damages knee ligaments — 126 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 126 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Botev Vratsa have done the hard part with Lokomotiv Gorna Oryahovitsa, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Vladislav Naydenov 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.
“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 dugout29 Jan 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Valeri Tsvetanov to a room that had heard them before.
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.
48 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.
The deal with Pirin Blagoevgrad 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
Antoan Stoyanov 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 Jan 2029
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksandar Buchkov 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Botev Vratsa pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Botev Vratsa have done the hard part with Lokomotiv Sofia, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
This is not rotation. Ivan Goranov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 Jan 2029
José Gallegos 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.
Botev Vratsa asked and Ludogorets said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Eder Januário 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Valeri Tsvetanov on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Gallegos 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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ivan Goranov has his answer from Botev Vratsa; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Something was said to Radoslav Tsonev and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
This is not rotation. Ivan Goranov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Gallegos 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botev Vratsa know it.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Artem Serebryakov 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.
“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 Ivan Goranov.
This is not rotation. Radoslav Tsonev has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is pretending otherwise.
Squad20 Nov 2028
José Gallegos 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.
Eder Januário 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.
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.
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.
“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.
Next up on the road: Lokomotiv Sofia, position 8. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
In brief
BoardroomThe Botev Vratsa production line keeps running
7.72, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
At 36, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
“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 dugout13 Nov 2028
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 2‑3 Valeri Tsvetanov left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and João Daniel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 João Daniel is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Milen Stoev signs something — a contract at Botev Vratsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Gallegos 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.
Position 8, 20 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Valeri Tsvetanov could afford to be generous.
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.
0‑4 to CSKA 1948, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Vladislav Naydenov 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.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Radoslav Tsonev is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Valeri Tsvetanov after 0‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.05 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. José Gallegos 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.
Rúben Ribeiro 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.
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
Squad18 Sep 2028
The division's best last weekend was a Botev Vratsa man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that José Gallegos was the best thing in any of them.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑0 against Dobrudzha, and it could have been more.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
A brace, and José Gallegos takes the afternoon — 8.22
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. José Gallegos provided it, and the 8.22 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Botev Vratsa had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at CSKA 1948, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
7.58, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Botev Vratsa have gone to Levski with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and José Gallegos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
45 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botev Vratsa know it.
Squad3 Jul 2028
José Gallegos 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Simeon Veshev 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Botev Vratsa told Kassim Hadji something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Dániel Béleczki has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“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.
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.
“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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Levski is saying, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is enjoying the guessing.
The clubs have shaken hands with Montana; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Preslav Borukov 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
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.
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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botev Vratsa know it.
The dugout31 Jan 2028
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 Valeri Tsvetanov left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
Botev Vratsa have made the call to Botev Plovdiv. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
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.
“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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Mauro Molina 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
João Daniel 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 dugout20 Dec 2027
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 0‑1 Valeri Tsvetanov left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mauro Molina was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
At 23 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dániel Béleczki and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mauro Molina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Valeri Tsvetanov after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Vratsa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
José Gallegos 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Aleksandar Buchkov and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Vratsa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Botev Vratsa can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Preslav Borukov 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.
Something was said to Preslav Borukov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 89 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Botev Vratsa close the window on a squad of their own making
12 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dobromir Pavlov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Botev Vratsa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Botev Vratsa know it.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Marin Orlinov is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Vratsa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
1‑4 against CSKA Sofia, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The deal with Ufa 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Iliya Yurukov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.