Marked for Khetag Kochiev
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Nikita Malyarov: 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.” Chelyabinsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match5 Dec 2026
Yenisey left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A one-man rearguard from Ilja Tuseev
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match14 Nov 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Chelyabinsk did not have in the autumn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Yan Gudkov
“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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market16 Nov 2026
Chelyabinsk have made Khetag Kochiev available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market16 Nov 2026
7 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Chelyabinsk money.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Bulat Gatin 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 Chelyabinsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom16 Nov 2026
The Chelyabinsk dressing room answers
Whatever was said behind that door, it worked: the pressing is back, the arguing has stopped, and the manager’s job is being defended in the only language that counts.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Oct 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match24 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Chelyabinsk's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chelyabinsk has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Andrés Panesso
“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.
Match24 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with SKA Khabarovsk leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Khetag Kochiev 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 Khetag Kochiev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad26 Oct 2026
At 20 years old, Yelizar Glukhov became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Chelyabinsk's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chelyabinsk has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Samoilov, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Khetag Kochiev 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 Khetag Kochiev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Ilja Tuseev 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
“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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Fakel came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Wilfried Eza 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 Wilfried Eza trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Chelyabinsk
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Chelyabinsk are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
1075% of the income goes out in wages at Chelyabinsk
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“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.
Market7 Sep 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Chelyabinsk will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Chelyabinsk will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Neftekhimik will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer from Rubin for Khetag Kochiev 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Chelyabinsk, another week without a signature from Timur Zhamaletdinov.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Khetag Kochiev 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 Chelyabinsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandr Zhirov and Chelyabinsk agree another 2 years.
Match1 Aug 2026
Rodina made Chelyabinsk work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Khetag Kochiev 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.