“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Paul Kraus trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
At 18 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
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.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
Marked 8.05 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Paul Kraus 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.
Henrik Kvelvane 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Henrik Kvelvane 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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Chelyabinsk 2 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 24 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Position 11, 2 points, and a crowd that arrives braced. Seasons are lost in exactly this atmosphere and everybody who has lived through one knows the sound of it.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Paul Kraus 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.
Andrea Marra 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.
84 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.
23 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Paul Kraus has come out of that comparison in the side, and Chelyabinsk 2 have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Christopher Drakos trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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. Paul Kraus has moved up it.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Gabor Szalai
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 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 Paul Kraus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
Somebody else is better right now than Makar Belikov
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Francesco Amiranda trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Paul Kraus, 17, is the weekend’s best young player
Measured against every other kid in the division and first among them. The senior award is where Chelyabinsk 2 would like this to lead.
Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 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.
83 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
82 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 21 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Beaten 0‑7 by Khimik, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match10 Nov 2029
Nobody could stop scoring
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chelyabinsk 2 and Khimik in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Christian Hofmann.
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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 20 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Paul Kraus will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Two goals and a mark of 8.31 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paul Kraus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Paul Kraus is the division's best young player this month
At 17 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Chelyabinsk 2 will try very hard not to make too much of it.
1‑5 against Krylya Sovetov 2, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
6 goals in one match, Paul Kraus on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Chelyabinsk 2 and Krylya Sovetov 2.
Francesco Amiranda 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 Paul Kraus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Chelyabinsk 2 dressing room in a hurry
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Makar Belikov
SquadPaul Kraus, 17, is the weekend’s best young player
79 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.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Volna kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Chelyabinsk 2 will be asked about the last half hour all 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 Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
A brace, and Paul Kraus takes the afternoon — 8.39
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Paul Kraus provided it, and the 8.39 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
He is 17 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.
Andrea Marra 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 17 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
0‑9 to Amkar, 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Chelyabinsk 2 and Amkar, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“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.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Paul Kraus 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.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Chelyabinsk 2 know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Chelyabinsk 2 dressing room in a hurry
77 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.
“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.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Paul Kraus 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.
Position 11, 0 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.
76 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.
15 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
0‑3 to Uralets-TS, 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Chelyabinsk 2 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Francesco Amiranda 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
A mark of 7.62 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.
7 goals in one match, Christopher Drakos on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Chelyabinsk 2 and KDV Tomsk.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov 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.
He is 21 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paul Kraus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
13 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
“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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Paul Kraus 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.
Andrea Marra 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.
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.
In brief
SquadA Chelyabinsk 2 teenager takes the young player award
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jasurbek Mahmudjonov signs something — a contract at Chelyabinsk 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Chelyabinsk 2 spent the window trying to move Henrik Kvelvane on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Chelyabinsk 2 have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
73 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.
12 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Position 11 and 0 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paul Kraus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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.
Squad3 Sep 2029
5 new faces, and Chelyabinsk 2 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.
72 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 11 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
0‑3 to Khimik, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
The terraces27 Aug 2029
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 3 of the 15 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paul Kraus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 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.
71 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.
10 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chelyabinsk 2 and Dinamo Barnaul in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov 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 Henrik Kvelvane was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom20 Aug 2029
Nobody left the Chelyabinsk 2 dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 9 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Henrik Kvelvane 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.
69 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 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 Paul Kraus was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can tell you which week it ends in.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
0‑4 to Rubin 2, 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.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Alexandr Chemasov 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Henrik Kvelvane has, at Chelyabinsk 2, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Boardroom23 Jul 2029
Nobody left the Chelyabinsk 2 dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
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.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stanislav Melnikov 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.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gabor Szalai trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The oldest phenomenon in the sport: a new voice in the dressing room and suddenly everybody is available for everything. Stanislav Melnikov is training as though the last team sheet never existed, because as far as he is concerned it does not.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Chelyabinsk 2 would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
SquadQuestions about Vlad Larionov on the training pitch
154Edition
The Chelyabinsk 2 Courier
9 Jul 2029
From our football correspondentUneasy
Squad9 Jul 2029
Nathan Cross has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Paul Kraus is 17, and Chelyabinsk 2 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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexandr Chemasov signs something — a contract at Chelyabinsk 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 12 and 3 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Alexandr Chemasov 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chelyabinsk 2 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Alexandr Chemasov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I have 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 Chelyabinsk 2 know it.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vladimir Kryukov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“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 Chelyabinsk 2 know it.
“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 Chelyabinsk 2 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Position 12 and 3 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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 not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Chelyabinsk 2 told Jasurbek Mahmudjonov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Chelyabinsk 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tikhon Moiseev 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.
Vladimir Kryukov 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 language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Alexandr Chemasov 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Chemasov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 12 and 3 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Chemasov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Chelyabinsk 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Nathan Cross 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.
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tikhon Moiseev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tikhon Moiseev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Alexandr Chemasov 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 Tikhon Moiseev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Alexandr Chemasov 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 Tikhon Moiseev 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 Jasurbek Mahmudjonov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Alexandr Chemasov has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
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 Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Masoud Torabi 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.
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. Alexei Biryukov has moved up it.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Jasurbek Mahmudjonov.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
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.
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Chelyabinsk 2 squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tikhon Moiseev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Tikhon Moiseev has his answer from Chelyabinsk 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Chelyabinsk 2 know it.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Chelyabinsk 2 know it.
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 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.
Alexandr Chemasov 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 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Chemasov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Alexandr Chemasov 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 Tikhon Moiseev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
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 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 Chelyabinsk 2 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Something was said to Tikhon Moiseev and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
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.
Gabor Szalai has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tikhon Moiseev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Alexandr Novosad.
“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 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Jasurbek Mahmudjonov will call it something else in private.
“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.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
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.
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.
Masoud Torabi 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tikhon Moiseev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Position 12 and 3 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 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.
“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 Chelyabinsk 2 know it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Masoud Torabi has his answer from Chelyabinsk 2; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Timur Shevtsov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 3 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 12 actions, 6.59, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
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 Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Ortyashov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
At 16 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
63 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Novosad, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Konstantin Berezhnoy to a room that had heard them before.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Ortyashov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
A Chelyabinsk 2 teenager takes the young player award
Viktor Sidorov is 16, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
0‑4 to Nosta, 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Timur Shevtsov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom13 Nov 2028
Nobody left the Chelyabinsk 2 dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑4 Konstantin Berezhnoy left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Alexei Biryukov
A point taken on 95 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Nathan Cross 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Ortyashov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Chelyabinsk 2 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Riva Adha is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 15 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov 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.
0‑2 to Dinamo Barnaul, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Konstantin Berezhnoy left the room before anybody could ask which.
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Ortyashov 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.
14 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
0‑4 against Krylya Sovetov 2, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
13 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
The hardest thing about being 17 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Makar Belikov did not need any: 8.21, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 17 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.
Minute 92, against Akron 2, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
57 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.
12 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
0‑5 to Amkar, 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.
8 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can tell you which week it ends in.
“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; Chelyabinsk 2 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 11 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Boris Parsegov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chelyabinsk 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Maxim Ortyashov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Konstantin Berezhnoy after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
55 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.
Position 12 and 1 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can tell you which week it ends in.
Half the programme played, position 12, 1 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Konstantin Berezhnoy after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Ortyashov 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 9 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
53 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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov 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 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Boris Parsegov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chelyabinsk 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov 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.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Ortyashov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Riva Adha
51 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 11 combined actions and a mark of 6.53, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
SquadWords at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Alexandr Chemasov had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Dinamo Barnaul were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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 mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Chelyabinsk 2 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chelyabinsk 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Boris Parsegov is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Ortyashov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Chelyabinsk 2 know it.
47 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can tell you which week it ends in.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“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; Chelyabinsk 2 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
0‑2 to Akron 2, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout31 Jul 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Konstantin Berezhnoy to a room that had heard them before.
Boris Parsegov 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.
46 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can tell you which week it ends in.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Chelyabinsk 2 and Amkar, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 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 Maxim Ortyashov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
45 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.
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Ilja Yurin 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can tell you which week it ends in.
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 not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Chelyabinsk 2 told Nikita Zyryanov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
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.” Konstantin Berezhnoy chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutIlja Yurin asks for a word with the manager
The words a physio says slowly. 27 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilja Yurin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chelyabinsk 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Ilja Yurin 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jasurbek Mahmudjonov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
34 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Jasurbek Mahmudjonov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Ortyashov 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 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. Maxim Ortyashov has moved up it.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Masoud Torabi was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The words a physio says slowly. 41 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 Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arseny Salenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 48 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arseny Salenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Alexandr Chemasov 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gabor Szalai trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Chelyabinsk 2 could ask drops and the wages Nikita Zyryanov can ask rise.
The words a physio says slowly. 55 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chelyabinsk 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Vladimir Kryukov 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thiab Mohamed signs something — a contract at Chelyabinsk 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 62 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.
Ilja Yurin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseny Salenko 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; Chelyabinsk 2 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Andrius Girdvainis was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jasurbek Mahmudjonov signs something — a contract at Chelyabinsk 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
69 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Chelyabinsk 2 know it.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseny Salenko 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.
76 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
83 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilja Yurin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chelyabinsk 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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; Chelyabinsk 2 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arseny Salenko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thiab Mohamed signs something — a contract at Chelyabinsk 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arseny Salenko 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Chelyabinsk 2 could ask drops and the wages Ilja Yurin can ask rise.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Riva Adha was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jasurbek Mahmudjonov signs something — a contract at Chelyabinsk 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Chelyabinsk 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Chelyabinsk 2 than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Chelyabinsk 2 would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Alexandr Chemasov 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.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Chelyabinsk 2 could ask drops and the wages Nikita Zyryanov can ask rise.
The words a physio says slowly. 111 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilja Yurin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chelyabinsk 2 the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ilja Yurin 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.
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Boris Parsegov has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Chelyabinsk 2.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Viktor Sidorov 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.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Chelyabinsk 2 could ask drops and the wages Denis Borzenkov can ask rise.
The words a physio says slowly. 118 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A season average of 6.55 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Chelyabinsk 2 know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Ilja Yurin 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Chelyabinsk 2 has been clear about where Nikita Zyryanov stands, which is more than many ever get.
125 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chelyabinsk 2 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chelyabinsk 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Ilja Yurin falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gabor Szalai and Chelyabinsk 2 agree another 3 years.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Gabor Szalai was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The words a physio says slowly. 132 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maxim Kiselev 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chelyabinsk 2 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chelyabinsk 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Yurin 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Alexandr Novosad may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thiab Mohamed signs something — a contract at Chelyabinsk 2 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chelyabinsk 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
38 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Yurin 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chelyabinsk 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Benjamin Brekalo is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chelyabinsk 2 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Ilja Yurin 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.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Chelyabinsk 2 have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Chelyabinsk 2 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chelyabinsk 2 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Yurin 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.
Alexandr Chemasov 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexandr Novosad trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chelyabinsk 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Chelyabinsk 2, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boris Parsegov 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Nobody at Chelyabinsk 2 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chelyabinsk 2, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chelyabinsk 2 will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chelyabinsk 2 can pretend not to have heard.
Boris Parsegov 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 Feb 2028
Words at Chelyabinsk 2 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilja Yurin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Chelyabinsk 2 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.