From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
133 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A defender's afternoon for Kirill Suslov
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego Pascutini
“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.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A mark of 7.76, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
16 appearances away from home and 9 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Ilja Zhigulev knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chernomorets, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
Kirill Suslov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Marked 9.18 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match2 Jan 2027
Three points for Chernomorets, 2‑1 the final word against Volga in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Diego Pascutini asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad4 Jan 2027
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Chernomorets have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 421% of everything Chernomorets earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 8.87 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Enrique Blanco knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Enrique Blanco trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad28 Dec 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 11. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Dec 2026
13 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Kirill Suslov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Igor Konovalov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 7.45 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Chernomorets had the best player on the pitch.
Match19 Dec 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. KAMAZ came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Eldiyar Zarypbekov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 12 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match12 Dec 2026
12 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Chernomorets may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilja Zhigulev, and the manager let it.
Match12 Dec 2026
0‑1 to Ufa, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Dec 2026
33 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
The goals keep arriving from Dmitry Yakovlev’s exile
9 goals in 16 games at Sibir — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Chernomorets updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Dec 2026
11 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.
Match7 Dec 2026
Every point is an argument now for Chernomorets
Position 17 and 14 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chernomorets can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Kirill Suslov 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 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enrique Blanco, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Grigory Zhilkin and Chernomorets agree another 4 years.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match5 Dec 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Chaika came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Nov 2026
10 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 512% of everything Chernomorets earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Pascutini, and the manager let it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
A mark of 7.50, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Match28 Nov 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Rotor came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Zaurbek Pliev asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
5.50 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 51 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 39 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match21 Nov 2026
9 matches without a win for Chernomorets
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Chernomorets are no longer polite ones.
Match18 Nov 2026
Pari Nizhniy Novgorod ended it 0‑0. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Georgy Natabashvili: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Squad23 Nov 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Kirill Suslov 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Nov 2026
7 matches without a win for Chernomorets
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Chernomorets are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilja Zhigulev, and the manager let it.
Match14 Nov 2026
Arsenal Tula left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Marked 8.13 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad16 Nov 2026
63 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Loan watch16 Nov 2026
The goals keep arriving from Dmitry Yakovlev’s exile
9 goals in 16 games at Sibir — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Chernomorets updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Mikhail Shtepa knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mikhail Shtepa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Nov 2026
Position 17, 12 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market9 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chernomorets can pretend not to have heard.
Match7 Nov 2026
6 matches without a win for Chernomorets
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Chernomorets are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Kirill Suslov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Enrique Blanco
“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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Marked 7.60 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Chernomorets had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match31 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Chernomorets's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chernomorets has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 512% of everything Chernomorets earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kirill Morozov, and the manager let it.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A mark of 7.37, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Carlos Luque knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chernomorets, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Match31 Oct 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Neftekhimik came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Oct 2026
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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Kirill Suslov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Diego Pascutini, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.20 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Maxim Matyusha, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Luque, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
91 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A mark of 7.82, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Oct 2026
Position 18, 8 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market12 Oct 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Federico Freire 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 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Khubulov, and the manager let it.
Match10 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Yenisey, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match30 Sep 2026
A 2‑1 win over Amkar, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 857% of everything Chernomorets earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match3 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Oct 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Georgy Natabashvili knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Kirill Suslov 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Alexandr Khubulov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Chernomorets.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Enrique Blanco knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Enrique Blanco trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market28 Sep 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Zikrula Magomedov may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 30, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Carlos Luque gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 122 days on the sidelines for Maxim Khalilov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for Kirill Suslov
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Kirill Suslov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A performance of 9.20 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mikhail Shtepa, and the manager let it.
Match12 Sep 2026
Shinnik made Chernomorets work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Carlos Luque knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Carlos Luque trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad14 Sep 2026
At 28 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Chernomorets have a decision that made itself.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chernomorets can pretend not to have heard.
Match5 Sep 2026
6 matches without a win for Chernomorets
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Chernomorets are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Sep 2026
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 835% of everything Chernomorets earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ilja Zhigulev, and the manager let it.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Mikhail Shtepa. Chernomorets will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Aug 2026
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Federico Freire was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Freire, and the manager let it.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Chernomorets lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chernomorets can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Chernomorets's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chernomorets has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Carlos Luque
“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.
Market24 Aug 2026
Chernomorets have made Mikhail Shtepa available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market24 Aug 2026
At 35, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Chernomorets would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Aug 2026
Federico Freire 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.70 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad17 Aug 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Georgy Natabashvili knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market17 Aug 2026
Experience through the door at Chernomorets
Federico Freire arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Market17 Aug 2026
Chernomorets have let the market know Kirill Morozov can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Zaur Tarba runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 35. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Kirill Suslov 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Match8 Aug 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Market10 Aug 2026
Experience through the door at Chernomorets
Carlos Luque arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A season on the outside for Carlos Luque
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Chernomorets has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market10 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Zaur Tarba's contract
36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Carlos Luque has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Carlos Luque keeps the shirt for now, at Chernomorets's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kirill Suslov and Chernomorets agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chernomorets this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Aug 2026
Rotor left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.