1 for Stefan Gavrilov, marked 7.50, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Iliya Yurukov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stipe Vulikić 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 6, 23 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.
Levski go through and Botev Vratsa go home, 1‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Stefan Gavrilov scored, was marked 7.54, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
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.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Preslav Borukov. 2‑1 against Arda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Pietro Miranda has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“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.
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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sylvester Jasper 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.
“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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Arda next, and one man in the Botev Vratsa dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
7.78, 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.
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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Stipe Vulikić 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 team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Yasen Despodov after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“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.
Stipe Vulikić 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 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 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Spartak 1918 in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Stipe Vulikić 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sylvester Jasper was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8.48. 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.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Martin Petkov decided nobody was going anywhere. Lokomotiv Plovdiv had no time left to answer.
Two goals and a mark of 8.62 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Up for the corner, and Martin Achkov delivers — 7.82
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Martin Achkov scored, was marked 7.82, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stipe Vulikić 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.
Stefan Gavrilov 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
“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.
“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.
Iliya Yurukov 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Martin Achkov and Botev Vratsa agree another 4 years.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sylvester Jasper is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“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.
1 for Milen Stoev, marked 7.45, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
The deal that would have taken Vasil Dimitrov to Spartak Pleven has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Botev Vratsa with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Cherno More left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Sep 2027
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.
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.
A goalkeeper’s error has no defender behind it to tidy it away. He knew before the ball crossed the line, the crowd knew a second later, and there is nothing anybody can say tonight.
“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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Botev Vratsa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 15 signed and 9 gone
That is the business done at Botev Vratsa until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stipe Vulikić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Botev Vratsa asked and Sigma Olomouc said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
8 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Stefan Gavrilov provided it, and the 8.04 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Antoan Stoyanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Botev Vratsa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
1 for Milen Stoev, marked 7.84, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Botev Vratsa had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at 1º Dezembro, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
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.
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 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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Georgi Karakashev scored, was marked 7.79, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sylvester Jasper 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. Eupen have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is 23 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.
“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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Stipe Vulikić 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.
3 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ludogorets have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Botev Vratsa have made the call to Oliveirense. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“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.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cagliari have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off 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.
“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 Preslav Borukov.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Yasen Despodov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Antoan Stoyanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Botev Vratsa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at 1º Dezembro is saying, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is enjoying the guessing.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sylvester Jasper 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.
Stefan Gavrilov 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.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Lokomotiv Sofia, and it could have been more.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
A brace, and Martin Petkov takes the afternoon — 9.08
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Martin Petkov provided it, and the 9.08 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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.
7.54, 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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Stipe Vulikić 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 easiest signature of my career.” Afonso Freitas and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad26 Jul 2027
11 new faces, and Botev Vratsa are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Łukasz Bomba is in the works
There were 88 minutes on the clock and Septemvri had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Botev Vratsa did not stop to explain themselves.
Stipe Vulikić 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sylvester Jasper was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Preslav Borukov. 2‑1 against Septemvri, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Lyubomir Aleksandrov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Stipe Vulikić 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sylvester Jasper 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tamimou Ouorou and Botev Vratsa agree another 4 years.
Botev Vratsa asked and Debrecen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Botev Vratsa will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Botev Vratsa has been clear about where Antoan Stoyanov stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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.
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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Stipe Vulikić 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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rosen Marinov and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years.
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
In brief
The dugoutDaniel Genov asks for a word with the manager
The deal with Levski 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 Martin Petkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
Nobody at Botev Vratsa will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Botev Vratsa people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Botev Plovdiv for Preslav Borukov 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.
The deal with Standard Liege 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.
Pirin Blagoevgrad paid $85.0K and Botev Vratsa took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ludogorets have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
In brief
The dugoutIvan Goranov knocks on the manager's door
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 José Gallegos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Botev Vratsa asked and Montana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Botev Vratsa will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Standard Liege have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Antoan Stoyanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Botev Vratsa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Botev Vratsa have done the hard part with Beroe, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“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.
Squad7 Jun 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.
Botev Vratsa asked and Chernomorets Burgas said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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 Martin Smolenski is on it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Aleksandar Buchkov has his answer from Botev Vratsa; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
BoardroomOpen for business: Botev Vratsa enter the window
44Edition
The Botev Vratsa Post
31 May 2027
From our football correspondentUneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roberto Fernández 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.
23 games, 6 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Botev Vratsa now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
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.
4 appearances and 0 goals is not a season away, it is a year lost. He is back at Botev Vratsa no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their fault.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Gallegos trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hevertton 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kassim Hadji trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Daniel Genov has written the date down.
Hevertton 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberto Fernández 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 Sainey Sanyang is on it.
6 goals in 23 games at Septemvri — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Botev Vratsa updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
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 Roberto Fernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giorgos Stoupis and Botev Vratsa agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 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.
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.
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and Botev Vratsa have gone and got theirs early.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
A new face in his position, and Daniel Genov suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Botev Vratsa have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hevertton 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.
Afonso Freitas 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
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.
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 conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Vladislav Naydenov has written the date down.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Botev Vratsa the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberto Fernández 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.
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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and José Gallegos has written the date down.
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Botev Vratsa would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Antoan Stoyanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Botev Vratsa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Hevertton 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 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.
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 Antoan Stoyanov is on it.
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.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberto Fernández 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.
“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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Radoslav Tsonev signs something — a contract at Botev Vratsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Hevertton 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberto Fernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kassim Hadji trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
14 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 remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Botev Vratsa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Hevertton 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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 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.
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.
Afonso Freitas 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 at Botev Vratsa will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roberto Fernández 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.
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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Botev Vratsa has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Radoslav Tsonev signs something — a contract at Botev Vratsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Hevertton 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 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Sainey Sanyang has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Botev Vratsa has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roberto Fernández is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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.
Pietro Miranda 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 shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Botev Vratsa will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
19 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 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Pietro Miranda has, at Botev Vratsa, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roberto Fernández 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.
Botev Vratsa asked and Standard Liege said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Pietro Miranda is 20, and Botev Vratsa have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Milen Stoev 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hevertton 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fratria have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Botev Vratsa know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
It needed Radoslav Tsonev to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against CSKA Sofia, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Yasen Despodov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Botev Vratsa dressing room was either.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Daniel Genov
24 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Botev Vratsa have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Botev Vratsa close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 1 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.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Roberto Fernández 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. Chernomorets Burgas have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 31 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Malmo FF have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Fratria will make the call about Antoan Stoyanov this week. Botev Vratsa have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The dugout25 Jan 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 2‑3 Yasen Despodov left the room before anybody could ask which.
Botev Vratsa have made the call to Dinamo Moscow. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
38 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.96 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad18 Jan 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mitchy Ntelo. 2‑0 against Slavia Sofia, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The words a physio says slowly. 46 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Botev Vratsa have lost him in all but the paperwork.
At 37, 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mitchy Ntelo. 3‑2 against Cherno More, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad11 Jan 2027
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 54 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Vasil Kaymakanov is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad28 Dec 2026
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.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Sainey Sanyang has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“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 brace, and Mitchy Ntelo takes the afternoon — 9.16
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mitchy Ntelo provided it, and the 9.16 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
David Idowu 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Petkov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Yasen Despodov could afford to be generous.
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.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Petkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It needed Martin Petkov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against CSKA 1948, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Yasen Despodov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Botev Vratsa dressing room was either.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Martin Achkov
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Spartak 1918 in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Botev Vratsa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Dec 2026
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.
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.
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 Sainey Sanyang is on it.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Petkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Montana tried to reorganise, Botev Vratsa did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Position 10, 17 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Yasen Despodov, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Martin Petkov 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.
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.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Yasen Despodov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Botev Vratsa dressing room was either.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Botev Vratsa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Nov 2026
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.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Martin Petkov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Botev Vratsa needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
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 were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Yasen Despodov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Preslav Borukov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
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 respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.50 for the rest of it.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Botev Vratsa and Ludogorets, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
A 3‑2 win over Botev Plovdiv, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Martin Petkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 goal that put Botev Plovdiv ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Botev Vratsa equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Squad26 Oct 2026
7 new faces, and Botev Vratsa are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Yasen Despodov on a 3‑2 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
1‑4 to CSKA Sofia, 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Iliya Yurukov commits to Botev Vratsa for another 4 years.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Botev Vratsa training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Martin Petkov 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Yasen Despodov after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 5 saves does not settle it either way.
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 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Preslav Borukov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Marin Orlinov’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Botev Vratsa needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Preslav Borukov signs something — a contract at Botev Vratsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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 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.
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 Sainey Sanyang is on it.
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
It needed Martin Petkov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Lokomotiv Sofia, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Yasen Despodov was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Botev Vratsa dressing room was either.
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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Antoan Stoyanov has his answer from Botev Vratsa; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“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.
“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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Botev Vratsa will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Nobody at Botev Vratsa is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Afonso Freitas has just signed for Botev Vratsa, and for once the answer mattered.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sporting CP have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
16 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Botev Vratsa know which stage they are at.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Preslav Borukov's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Botev Vratsa can pretend not to have heard.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 16 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Porto keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad7 Sep 2026
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 Lech said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The 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.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
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 board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. Beroe will replay every second of the added time for a week.
“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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Vasil Dimitrov has, at Botev Vratsa, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
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.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Antoan Stoyanov obliged against Hebar. 3‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Botev Vratsa.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A brace, and Mitchy Ntelo takes the afternoon — 8.69
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mitchy Ntelo provided it, and the 8.69 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Antoan Stoyanov, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.91
A mark of 7.91 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: PAOK keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Panathinaikos have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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 offer from Spartak 1918 for Lyubomir Vasilev 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Sofia have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Botev Vratsa have made the call to Brasil de Pelotas. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
“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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Nürnberg is saying, and nobody at Botev Vratsa is enjoying the guessing.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Atanas Petrov 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Simeon Krastev 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Boris Zafirov has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Deyan Marcelinho 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The offer from Hebar for Martin Petkov 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Radoslav Tsonev and Botev Vratsa agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“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.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Südtirol have kept their man, and Botev Vratsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Botev Vratsa, another week without a signature from Daniel Genov.
Still no offer on the table, and Martin Petkov’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
Transfer targetsA loan move for Piet Scobel is in the works