Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Martin Sorakov obliged against Cherno More. 4‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is CSKA Sofia.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Martin Sorakov provided it, and the 8.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and James Eto'o was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
David Idowu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 17-year-old it feels ownership of. Valeri Dyakov 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout19 Nov 2029
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Angel Mihaylov to a room that had heard them before.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
The dugout12 Nov 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Angel Mihaylov was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the CSKA Sofia dressing room was either.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at CSKA Sofia heard it as anything else.
Mohamed Brahimi 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
The dugout5 Nov 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Angel Mihaylov was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the CSKA Sofia dressing room was either.
In brief
Player ratingsA defender's afternoon for Maks Ebong
The 85th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Mohamed Brahimi decided nobody was going anywhere. Lokomotiv Sofia had no time left to answer.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Squad29 Oct 2029
James Eto'o falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mohamed Brahimi. 1‑0 against Lokomotiv Sofia, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Half the programme played, position 5, 24 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
In brief
Boardroom94% of the income goes out in wages at CSKA Sofia
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Angel Mihaylov after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer 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.
Every touch weighed, every quote parsed, every mistake replayed. Some players grow into that; some are quietly finished by it; nobody knows which until afterwards.
In brief
The dugoutÁngelo Martino has become a man the manager trusts
There were 88 minutes on the clock and Cherno More had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and CSKA Sofia did not stop to explain themselves.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Cherno More made CSKA Sofia work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
Mohamed Brahimi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.46. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
With 4 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and James Eto'o was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jean-Philippe Gbamin has come out of that comparison in the side, and CSKA Sofia have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout8 Oct 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Angel Mihaylov kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CSKA Sofia can pretend not to have heard.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at CSKA Sofia hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ilian Iliev. 2‑0 against Dobrudzha, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
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 Angel Mihaylov left the room before anybody could ask which.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.96 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at CSKA Sofia hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Sep 2029
James Eto'o falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The deal that would have taken Dimitar Evtimov to Spartak 1918 has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to CSKA Sofia with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
The training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 4 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at CSKA Sofia has been clear about where Kevin Dodaj stands, which is more than many ever get.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. CSKA Sofia will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Two goals and a mark of 8.23 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
CSKA Sofia close the window on a squad of their own making
10 in and 6 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
CSKA Sofia ran out of time with Ludogorets. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dimitar Evtimov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CSKA Sofia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 James Eto'o was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around CSKA Sofia people have started saying his name in the past tense.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Matthias Phaëton provided it, and the 9.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at CSKA Sofia, and it is not being withdrawn.
CSKA Sofia had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Ludogorets, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about CSKA Sofia and Botev Vratsa in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
In brief
SquadWords at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 21 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and CSKA 1948 waiting with a shirt. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CSKA Sofia can pretend not to have heard.
6 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Kevin Dodaj has come up in conversations CSKA Sofia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CSKA Sofia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Arda waiting with a shirt. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
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.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
CSKA Sofia offered $210.0K; CSKA 1948 said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad6 Aug 2029
James Eto'o 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 92. Botev Plovdiv had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at CSKA Sofia has been clear about where Georgi Chorbadzhiyski stands, which is more than many ever get.
35 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CSKA Sofia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Montana waiting with a shirt. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at CSKA Sofia can tell you which week it ends in.
42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CSKA Sofia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs have shaken hands with Ludogorets; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 11 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Maks Ebong 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CSKA Sofia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
CSKA Sofia and Lokomotiv Plovdiv have settled on $440.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“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 CSKA Sofia, and it is not being withdrawn.
The board have signed the man in the dugout to a longer contract, which says more than any statement of support. Stability is easy to promise and costly to keep.
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.
CSKA 1948 wanted more than $140.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Boardroom16 Jul 2029
5 academy players handed senior numbers at CSKA Sofia
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad16 Jul 2029
James Eto'o falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 58 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 CSKA Sofia can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
At 29 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The words a physio says slowly. 65 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at CSKA Sofia hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Maks Ebong 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.
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.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
73 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CSKA Sofia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lautaro Morlas is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and James Eto'o was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
David Idowu 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 is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
80 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CSKA Sofia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Septemvri have accepted the money. What CSKA Sofia do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. David Idowu is living that version at CSKA Sofia, and it tends to show in the first month.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Botev Vratsa have kept their man, and CSKA Sofia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
CSKA Sofia have gone to Septemvri with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
CSKA Sofia have gone to Ludogorets with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Mohamed Brahimi 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Lucas Luan has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means CSKA Sofia have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
With 4 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 James Eto'o 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.” Ilian Antonov has his answer from CSKA Sofia; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
CSKA 1948 will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Florian Krebs has pre-agreed a move to CSKA Sofia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation CSKA Sofia are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Dinis Almeida is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fedor Lapoukhov signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Georgi Chorbadzhiyski trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
James Eto'o 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.
Squad14 May 2029
Maks Ebong 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Stefano Sensi is on it.
Ángelo Martino has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
In brief
MarketThe clock does Stefano Sensi’s negotiating for him
Maks Ebong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 May 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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 is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until James Eto'o signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 4, 59 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during 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 CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Dinis Almeida is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fedor Lapoukhov signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
In brief
The dugoutDeyan Lozev knocks on the manager’s door
James Eto'o 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 Maks Ebong was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Maks Ebong and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Antoine Conte trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at CSKA Sofia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee CSKA Sofia could ask drops and the wages Stefano Sensi can ask rise.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Mohamed Brahimi 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until James Eto'o signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
59 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 Khetag Kochiev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. CSKA Sofia will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
5 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee CSKA Sofia could ask drops and the wages Stefano Sensi can ask rise.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
James Eto'o and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maks Ebong is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ángelo Martino is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until James Eto'o signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 4, 59 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Dinis Almeida is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
James Eto'o 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Maks Ebong falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Maks Ebong and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at CSKA Sofia has been clear about where Georgi Tartov stands, which is more than many ever get.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ángelo Martino is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until James Eto'o signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
59 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at CSKA Sofia that is a harder question to answer.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 59 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
The unbeaten run reaches 11. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at CSKA Sofia until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matthias Phaëton and CSKA Sofia agree another 4 years.
Mohamed Brahimi 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CSKA Sofia can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Penarol keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
James Eto'o 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Maks Ebong 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.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
In brief
Player ratingsKiton Ekoli beats them one at a time
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CSKA Sofia can pretend not to have heard.
1 for James Eto'o, marked 7.68, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
CSKA Sofia had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Baltika, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Maks Ebong 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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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 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. 9 actions, 7.32, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
In brief
Player ratingsThe afternoon belonged to Ilian Iliev
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.85 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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 CSKA Sofia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
CSKA Sofia asked and Baltika said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 27 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Ludogorets for Ioannis Pittas was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Kevin Dodaj had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CSKA Sofia 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 CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Maks Ebong 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Matthias Phaëton at his very best
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 34 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at CSKA Sofia hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
James Eto'o 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 unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Spartak 1918; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CSKA Sofia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Jean-Philippe Gbamin scored, was marked 7.72, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 49 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
1 for Ángelo Martino, marked 7.95, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
1 for Maks Ebong, marked 7.89, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
James Eto'o and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Maks Ebong 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.
A 2‑1 win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 58 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.23, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Angel Mihaylov, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
Marked 9.29 — 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.
Dealt with internally, which is the phrase a club uses when it would rather nobody asked twice. He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 76 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
James Eto'o 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 Maks Ebong was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CSKA Sofia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CSKA Sofia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Botev Plovdiv made CSKA Sofia work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
Mohamed Brahimi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.11. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Angel Mihaylov kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Ludogorets.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CSKA Sofia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maks Ebong 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout6 Nov 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Angel Mihaylov was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the CSKA Sofia dressing room was either.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CSKA Sofia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The 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 0‑1 Angel Mihaylov left the room before anybody could ask which.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.97 for the rest of it.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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 1‑0 win over Lokomotiv Sofia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Half the programme played, position 4, 28 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Maks Ebong falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jean-Philippe Gbamin and CSKA Sofia agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Maks Ebong 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Antoine Conte has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at CSKA Sofia.
The dugout9 Oct 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.” Angel Mihaylov chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at CSKA Sofia hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jean-Philippe Gbamin and CSKA Sofia agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Three points for CSKA Sofia, 2‑0 the final word against Botev Vratsa in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Ángelo Martino was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.07. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
7 matches without defeat, and then Dobrudzha. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Maks Ebong 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.
Level with 89 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon CSKA Sofia had all but put away. Dobrudzha will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
In brief
Squad5 new faces, and CSKA Sofia are still learning each other
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Stefano Sensi
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Angel Mihaylov could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutLumbardh Dellova is still being punished for one mistake
SquadThe division's best last weekend was a CSKA Sofia man
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Matthias Phaëton had CSKA Sofia level again within 4 minutes, and CSKA 1948 never got to play with a lead at all.
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.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 18 arrived, 15 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Baltika is saying, and nobody at CSKA Sofia is enjoying the guessing.
James Eto'o 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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Maks Ebong 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.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Marked 8.25 — 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Khetag Kochiev
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CSKA Sofia can pretend not to have heard.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CSKA Sofia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: James Eto'o. 2‑0 against Montana, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.04 — 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.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Angel Mihaylov on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CSKA Sofia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.92 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
1 for James Eto'o, marked 7.72, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Petko Panayotov is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about CSKA Sofia and Arda in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Maks Ebong 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
CSKA Sofia offered $57.0K; Ludogorets said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around CSKA Sofia people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Mohamed Brahimi 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Bohemians 1905 had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zalgiris have kept their man, and CSKA Sofia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
CSKA Sofia have gone to Ludogorets with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
CSKA Sofia offered $500.0K; Levski said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Mohamed Brahimi 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 name of Petko Panayotov has come up in conversations CSKA Sofia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Petko Panayotov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CSKA Sofia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
CSKA Sofia moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Angel Mihaylov, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Baltika keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
CSKA Sofia have gone to Levski with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The deal with Baltika is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Hugo Faria 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Petko Panayotov is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at CSKA Sofia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cătălin Itu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CSKA Sofia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dynamo Kyiv have kept their man, and CSKA Sofia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maks Ebong 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.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Teodor Ivanov is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dobrudzha waiting with a shirt. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Position 3, 66 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until James Eto'o signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The offer from Dobrudzha for Petko Panayotov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Baltika have kept their man, and CSKA Sofia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CSKA Sofia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Diogo Madaleno has, at CSKA Sofia, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CSKA Sofia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
$2.4M on the table at Slavia Sofia. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The offer went to Slavia Sofia this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cătălin Itu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CSKA Sofia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deal with Botev Plovdiv is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
CSKA Sofia asked and CSKA 1948 said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Lokomotiv Sofia will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Bozhidar Katsarov has pre-agreed a move to CSKA Sofia, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Georgi Chorbadzhiyski and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. CSKA Sofia will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maks Ebong signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at CSKA Sofia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CSKA Sofia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
James Eto'o 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.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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 CSKA Sofia would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Dimitar Evtimov is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at CSKA Sofia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Andrey Yordanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. CSKA Sofia will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Petko Panayotov is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ioannis Pittas signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Something was said to Zdravko Serafimov and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at CSKA Sofia, another week without a signature from Andrey Yordanov.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
A season average of 7.04 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. CSKA Sofia know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yulian Iliev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CSKA Sofia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Georgi Tartov has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means CSKA Sofia have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Stefano Sensi is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefano Sensi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at CSKA Sofia the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cătălin Itu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CSKA Sofia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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 is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ioannis Pittas signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Jean-Philippe Gbamin plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Position 3, 66 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
A season average of 7.04 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. CSKA Sofia know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Oliver Kamdem is on it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Joël Zwarts has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maks Ebong signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
James Eto'o 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 Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CSKA Sofia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Petko Panayotov is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ioannis Pittas signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and CSKA Sofia have no good answer.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Petko Panayotov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mohamed Brahimi 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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 is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maks Ebong signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Petko Panayotov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Petko Panayotov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CSKA Sofia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
Kaloyan Kostov 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 is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at CSKA Sofia. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CSKA Sofia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Ivan Zhelizko 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. CSKA Sofia know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CSKA Sofia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia 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 CSKA Sofia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jean-Philippe Gbamin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
A CSKA Sofia teenager takes the young player award
Antonio Arena is 19, 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.
Nobody at CSKA Sofia will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ioannis Pittas signs something — a contract at CSKA Sofia or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Joël Zwarts trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. CSKA Sofia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Antonio Arena did not need any: 7.99, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The offer from Dobrudzha for Petko Panayotov was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Deadline passes with 3 signed and 5 gone
That is the business done at CSKA Sofia until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CSKA Sofia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Cristian Carrara did not need any: 7.69, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CSKA Sofia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Cătălin Itu has his answer from CSKA Sofia; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Two goals and a mark of 8.66 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
14 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Mohamed Brahimi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cherno More have kept their man, and CSKA Sofia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. CSKA Sofia have lost him in all but the paperwork.
7.95, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CSKA Sofia can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Ludogorets, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CSKA Sofia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Alejandro Piedrahita was one of the reasons people came, and $7.8M does not replace that by itself.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.02, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
The phone has started ringing about Alejandro Piedrahita again, and this time the name on the line is Ludogorets. CSKA Sofia are listening politely and promising nothing.
“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 CSKA Sofia, 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.
At 18 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. CSKA Sofia will try not to make too much of it.
The first defeat in 4 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Spartak 1918; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Marked 6.96 on 9 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the CSKA Sofia dressing room in a hurry
Antonio Arena, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.93
A mark of 7.93 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“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; CSKA Sofia are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CSKA Sofia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at CSKA Sofia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jean-Philippe Gbamin 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Antonio Arena 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefano Sensi, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Angel Mihaylov, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.