Marked for Dmitry Sergeev
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Feb 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Veles, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market14 Feb 2028
The Irkutsk deal is off
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Matvey Zakharzhevskiy reports back to Veles with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Market14 Feb 2028
Only the photograph left for Bogdan Markov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bogdan Markov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Veles the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Dmitry Sadov 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 Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Feb 2028
The phone has started ringing about Ivan Nikin again, and this time the name on the line is PSK Pervorechenskoe. Veles are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alan Khachirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matvey Zakharzhevskiy, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Dmitry Sergeev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout14 Feb 2028
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Feb 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Veles, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market7 Feb 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Veles people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Vologda have kept their man, and Veles go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Feb 2028
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
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.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Veles can only buy what they sell
Nobody has barred the club from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every incoming name comes with an outgoing one attached.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Veles, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alamat Dzestelov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout27 Dec 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Veles may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Dmitry Sadov 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 Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
144% of the income goes out in wages at Veles
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.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Alan Khachirov
“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 dugout27 Dec 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Dmitry Sergeev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Veles training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alamat Dzestelov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market20 Dec 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Veles is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alan Khachirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Shubin, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Dmitry Sergeev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
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 Alexandr Shubin is on it.
Market20 Dec 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Bogdan Markov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Veles.
Market20 Dec 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Veles know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
The manager comes out for Karim Giraev
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Karim Giraev has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Oct 2027
The wait goes on for Veles
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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Dmitry Sadov 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 Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Wages eat 157% of everything Veles earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alan Khachirov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match30 Oct 2027
It needed Karim Giraev to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against SKA Khabarovsk, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Dmitry Sergeev asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Oct 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match13 Oct 2027
Veles bow out of the cup
Sochi go through and Veles go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Match18 Oct 2027
Veles are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 20 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Dmitry Sadov beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market18 Oct 2027
“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 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
100 goals for this club, and somewhere in the stand there is a person who can still tell you where they were for most of them.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Alan Khachirov 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 dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Dmitry Sergeev
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match2 Oct 2027
4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.88 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.28 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad4 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
155% of the income goes out in wages at Veles
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.
The terraces4 Oct 2027
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match2 Oct 2027
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Leningradets tried to reorganise, Veles did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Squad4 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Semyon Yemelin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Oct 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Dmitry Sergeev 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Veles have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Victor Aamann arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Victor Aamann has, at Veles, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Match18 Sep 2027
Veles come up short against Mashuk
Mashuk left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Sergeev, and the manager let it.
Market20 Sep 2027
Add another name to the list: Chertanovo have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Bogdan Markov. The answer from Veles has not changed — yet.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Veles training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alan Khachirov 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.
Match20 Sep 2027
Halfway: Veles sit in position 4
13 points at the turn. The first half of a season is a promise; the second is a bill, and the town is about to find out which of the two this one was.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Anton Suslov after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Aug 2027
37 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market16 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ionafan Sapozhnikov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Veles the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
Veles counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Veles now.
Match14 Aug 2027
0‑1 to SKA Khabarovsk, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“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 dugout16 Aug 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Anton Suslov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Market16 Aug 2027
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Veles has been clear about where Muslim Bammatgereev stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Pirverdi Seyidov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Aug 2027
“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.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“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.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market2 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Andranik Karapetyan will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Veles the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan 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.
Match31 Jul 2027
Veles get the job done against Alania
A 2‑1 win over Alania, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Sergeev, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Korolkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Yury Zavezen was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.33 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market26 Jul 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Veles is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Match24 Jul 2027
Nobody wins at Veles
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Match24 Jul 2027
Three points for Veles, 3‑1 the final word against Leningradets in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market26 Jul 2027
The name of Bogdan Markov has come up in conversations Veles were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 3‑1, already talking about the next one.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“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.
In brief
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The dugout
Dmitry Sergeev knocks on the manager's door
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Squad
A row about effort at Veles
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Looking ahead
The leaders are next for Veles
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Spartak Tambov waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Veles is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Market21 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ionafan Sapozhnikov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Veles the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom21 Jun 2027
Veles counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Veles now.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Korolkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
“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 dugout21 Jun 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mikhail Rybalko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
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Match
Veles have something to play for
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Boardroom
Veles can sign again
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The dugout
The manager plants his flag on Dmitry Sadov
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
“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.
Market14 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Veles is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Dmitry Sadov 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 Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matvey Zakharzhevskiy, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Dmitry Sadov is still paying for one afternoon at Veles
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Veles, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pirverdi Seyidov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market14 Jun 2027
The Karim Giraev story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Karim Giraev signs something — a contract at Veles or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad14 Jun 2027
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Jun 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Veles they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Andranik Karapetyan has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Veles
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oleg Smirnov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Kuchugura, and the manager let it.
Market7 Jun 2027
A season away well spent by Oleg Smirnov
18 games, 6 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Veles now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Veles will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Market7 Jun 2027
Veles have let the market know Artur Koloskov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Dmitry Sergeev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Apr 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Veles they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Kirill Korolkov 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.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
Belts tighten at Veles
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Dmitry Sergeev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market26 Apr 2027
The Dmitry Sadov story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dmitry Sadov signs something — a contract at Veles or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Dmitry Sadov is still paying for one afternoon at Veles
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Veles, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Ivan Nikin
“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.
Market19 Apr 2027
The name of Karim Giraev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Veles say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad19 Apr 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Mar 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Veles is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
14 clean sheets from 27 appearances at Legion. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
Market8 Mar 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nazar Solovyov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market8 Mar 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Vasily Chaykovsky 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.
Market8 Mar 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Anatoly Alyoshin is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dmitry Sergeev, and the manager let it.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Narek Kostandyan and Veles agree another 3 years.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Shubin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Mar 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Veles people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market1 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ionafan Sapozhnikov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Veles the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Window shuts: 2 in, 6 out at Veles
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 6 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Dmitry Sadov 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 Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Narek Kostandyan commits to Veles for another 3 years.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Veles counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Veles now.
Squad1 Mar 2027
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Veles are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Dmitry Sergeev asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 167% of everything Veles earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“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.
Loan watch25 Jan 2027
21 appearances at Legion and the goals have stopped going in. Veles lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
The name of Karim Giraev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Veles say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Mikhail Rybalko 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Dmitry Sergeev plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Veles may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Loan watch18 Jan 2027
20 appearances at Legion and the goals have stopped going in. Veles lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Loan watch18 Jan 2027
16 appearances at Nosta and the goals keep coming. Veles are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market18 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Dmitry Sadov’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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 dugout11 Jan 2027
“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 dugout11 Jan 2027
Dmitry Sergeev 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 Veles, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market11 Jan 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Veles know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
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 dugout11 Jan 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Veles. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Dmitry Biryukov
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Veles lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market28 Dec 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 406% of everything Veles earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout28 Dec 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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Dmitry Sadov is still paying for one afternoon at Veles
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Loan watch28 Dec 2026
17 appearances at Legion and the goals have stopped going in. Veles lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Karim Giraev 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 Karim Giraev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market28 Dec 2026
The name of Karim Giraev keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Veles say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Nov 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Veles
Dmitry Sadov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 435% of everything Veles earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout30 Nov 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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Dmitry Sadov 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.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Alexandr Shubin will call it something else in private.
Match28 Nov 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Anton Suslov chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Veles lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Dmitry Sadov beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Veles
Dmitry Sadov 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Veles lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Match21 Nov 2026
Veles and Sibir take a point apiece
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Pavel Kotov is still paying for one afternoon at Veles
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Dmitry Sergeev 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.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
12 appearances at Legion and the goals have stopped going in. Veles lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
Looking ahead23 Nov 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Karim Giraev’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Veles needing him to play as if none of it matters.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market2 Nov 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Veles
Dmitry Sergeev 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 ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 435% of the Veles income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Match31 Oct 2026
A bad afternoon for Veles against Alania
0‑1 to Alania, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout2 Nov 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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 Anton Suslov left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Karim Giraev 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Karim Giraev moves up the pecking order
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Veles than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Veles may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
Three points for Veles, 2‑0 the final word against Mashuk in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad26 Oct 2026
200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.30 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Veles
9 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Anton Suslov on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout26 Oct 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.
Looking ahead26 Oct 2026
Alania next, and one man in the Veles dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match12 Sep 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Textilschik, and it could have been more.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.48, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
No sign of nerves from Dmitry Kuchugura at 21 — 7.74
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Dmitry Kuchugura did not need any: 7.74, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Veles close the window on a squad of their own making
14 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Veles this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Sep 2026
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Textilschik tried to reorganise, Veles did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 8.26 — 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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Dmitry Sergeev
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Veles have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market7 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 Veles can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Veles
Ishkhan Geloyan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Kirill Korolkov 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
He is 19, and nobody at Veles signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Veles counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Veles now.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ionafan Sapozhnikov, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Dmitry Kuchugura has moved up it.