At 2 goals adrift this was a formality, and the formality lasted right up until it did not. Dinamo Brest found something the first half had given no notice of, and Gomel could not hold what they had.
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at HNK Rijeka is saying, and nobody at Dinamo Brest is enjoying the guessing.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Marked 9.47 — 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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. Krasnodar have kept their man, and Dinamo Brest go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
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, 6.81, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
“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 dugout26 Jul 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Ihar Balanovich to a room that had heard them before.
Successful dribbles: 32. 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ilya Branovets will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Dinamo Brest the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Moscow have kept their man, and Dinamo Brest go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Marked 8.10 — 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Ilya Verenich falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Ihar Balanovich on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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. Slavia Sofia have kept their man, and Dinamo Brest go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Igor Malaschitskiy and Dinamo Brest agree another 3 years.
Dinamo Brest have made the call to Stade Malien. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Successful dribbles: 41. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
A brace, and Yegor Kortsov takes the afternoon — 8.95
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Yegor Kortsov provided it, and the 8.95 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Brest can pretend not to have heard.
Dinamo Brest and BATE have settled on $350.0K. 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.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Denis Levitskiy scored, was marked 7.84, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The fee is $210.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Vitebsk drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The fee is $210.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Lokomotiv Gomel drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The fee is $140.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Naftan drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Nikita Stepanov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Two goals and a mark of 8.96 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Everything agreed with Lokomotiv Gomel, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Dinamo Brest have gone to BATE 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.
The fee is $240.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Vitebsk drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Dmitry Stotskiy 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.
In brief
SquadDenis Grechikho falls out with a teammate over standards
Successful dribbles: 34. 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.
Dinamo Brest and Vitebsk have settled on $240.0K. 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Dinamo Brest is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Ilya Branovets has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
The offer went to Lokomotiv Gomel 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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Osipovichi have kept their man, and Dinamo Brest go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest 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 Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A mark of 7.68, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout14 Jun 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.” Ihar Balanovich, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alexey Lavrik has his answer from Dinamo Brest; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
In brief
The dugoutMaxim Kovel has become a man the manager trusts
Belshina go through and Dinamo Brest go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Nikita Stepanov 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 Denis Grechikho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maxim Belov, and the manager let it.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Nobody left the Dinamo Brest dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Ihar Balanovich left the room before anybody could ask which.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Max Dziov is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Successful dribbles: 38. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
A 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 7.96 for the rest of it.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout31 May 2027
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.” Ihar Balanovich kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dinamo Brest have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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.
Slutsk next, and one man in the Dinamo Brest dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Denis Levitskiy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A side in position 14 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Brest can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Denis Grechikho 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 dugout17 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Ihar Balanovich left the room before anybody could ask which.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 40. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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.
Dmitry Stotskiy 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ihar Balanovich after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
Squad10 May 2027
The division's best last weekend was a Dinamo Brest man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Medin Gashi was the best thing in any of them.
Position 2 and 15 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A brace, and Medin Gashi takes the afternoon — 9.23
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Medin Gashi provided it, and the 9.23 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Successful dribbles: 28. 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.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
He is 21, 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 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: Medin Gashi. 2‑1 against Smorgon, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Successful dribbles: 40. 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.
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Denis Grechikho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Medin Gashi scored in the 89th minute, Gomel had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Dinamo Brest took the lot.
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Medin Gashi 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Medin Gashi. 1‑0 against Gomel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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 here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
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.” Ihar Balanovich chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Something was said to Vladislav Lyakh and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Dinamo Brest has been clear about where Yegor Kortsov stands, which is more than many ever get.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Medin Gashi did not need any: 8.00, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Nikita Stepanov 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 Denis Grechikho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Dinamo Brest will try not to make too much of it.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ihar Balanovich after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
9 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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 never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Igor Malaschitskiy commits to Dinamo Brest for another 3 years.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Ihar Balanovich to a room that had heard them before.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
In brief
The dugoutYegor Kortsov has become a man the manager trusts
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Medin Gashi 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.
8 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.
“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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
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.
Dinamo Brest ran out of time with Molodechno. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Uladzislau Yablonski has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yan Hryshyn has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
“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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Deadline passes with 1 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Dinamo Brest 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dinamo Brest have done the hard part with Molodechno, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest 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.
“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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
Dinamo Brest have gone to Dnepr Mogilev 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.
Dinamo Brest have gone to Molodechno 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.
Nikita Stepanov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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. Olympiacos have kept their man, and Dinamo Brest go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikita Stepanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Dinamo Brest will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Alexandr Pavlovets was one of the reasons people came, and $610.0K does not replace that by itself.
“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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Alexandr Pavlovets has left for BATE in a $610.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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. Dinamo Minsk have kept their man, and Dinamo Brest go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Dinamo Brest have made the call to Zenit. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Andrey Rylach trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Nikita Burak
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dinamo Brest can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dinamo Brest have done the hard part with Rostov, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Dinamo Brest has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
The offer from BATE for Alexandr Pavlovets 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.
“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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
The phone has started ringing about Egor Khralenkov again, and this time the name on the line is BATE. Dinamo Brest are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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.
Dinamo Brest asked and Cherno More said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Denis Grechikho 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 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The 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 Yegor Kortsov is on 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 Dinamo Brest, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kirill Danilin signs something — a contract at Dinamo Brest 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dinamo Brest have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Nikita Stepanov 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 Kirill Danilin 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 Vladislav Lozhkin is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maxim Belov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Brest or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nikita Stepanov 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 easiest signature of my career.” Mikhail Bondarenko and Dinamo Brest agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Medin Gashi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
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 Igor Malaschitskiy 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.
“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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest 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.
6 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikita Stepanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Alexandr Fisyuk has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
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 Maxim Kovel is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Roman Gritskevich and Dinamo Brest agree another 4 years.
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 Yegor Kortsov is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kirill Danilin signs something — a contract at Dinamo Brest 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 Vladislav Lozhkin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Žan-Luk Leban was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Roman Yuzepchuk trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Vladislav Lyakh has written the date down.
The shirt still fits. Vadim Kurlovich is back at Dinamo Brest, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Dinamo Brest are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Dinamo Brest will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
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 Maxim Belov has written the date down.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Alexandr Pavlovets 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ilya Branovets and Dinamo Brest agree another 1 years.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ilya Yurkevich has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Ilya Branovets arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Dinamo Brest. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dinamo Brest 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 Žan-Luk Leban was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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 Kirill Danilin signs something — a contract at Dinamo Brest 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 Dinamo Brest. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Danilin 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikita Stepanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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.
Nikita Stepanov 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 Kirill Danilin 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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 Maxim Kovel is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Dinamo Brest. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Dinamo Brest, another week without a signature from Zakhar Gitselev.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Dinamo Brest game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Ostrovets runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Roman Yuzepchuk trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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 will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Dmitry Guz' has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maxim Belov signs something — a contract at Dinamo Brest or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Raman Martynovich has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Dinamo Brest told Žan-Luk Leban something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad19 Oct 2026
14 new faces, and Dinamo Brest are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dinamo Brest 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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexey Lavrik and Dinamo Brest agree another 3 years.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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 Dinamo Brest, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Maxim Belov has written the date down.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Yegor Kortsov and Dinamo Brest agree another 3 years.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Nobody at Dinamo Brest 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.
Nikita Stepanov 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 Sep 2026
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Igor Monich has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Dinamo Brest have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
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.
Nikita Stepanov 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.
Volna Pinsk will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Azam Radzhabov has pre-agreed a move to Dinamo Brest, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Dinamo Brest asked and Shakhtar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Raman Chalavach has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Dinamo Brest 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 Roman Gritskevich is on it.
1 for Ivan Zenkov, marked 7.88, 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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 19 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Dinamo Brest 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Dinamo Brest they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Everything agreed with HNK Gorica, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Yegor Kortsov has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
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.
Naftan will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Alexandr Alexandrovich has pre-agreed a move to Dinamo Brest, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Dinamo Brest had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Real Bamako, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Dinamo Brest did not have in the autumn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Dinamo Brest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Ilya Branovets has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Dinamo Brest have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Denis Grechikho 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 being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
In brief
Player ratingsYegor Kortsov was on a different afternoon 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 Dinamo Brest, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Lida will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Igor Tymonyuk has pre-agreed a move to Dinamo Brest, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The hardest thing about being 18 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Roman Gritskevich did not need any: 7.88, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Nikita Stepanov 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 Kirill Danilin was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Volna Pinsk will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Maxim Grechikha has pre-agreed a move to Dinamo Brest, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: HNK Gorica keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Dinamo Brest have gone to BATE 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 Dinamo Brest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Vadim Kurlovich has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Dinamo Brest have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maxim Belov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 36. 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.
Nikita Stepanov 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Kirill Polkhovskiy has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Dinamo Brest have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Yan Arlouski is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Valery Pavlov has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Raman Hryshyn has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Pavel Shikavka has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The offer from Baltika for Yegor Kortsov 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Roman Yuzepchuk and Dinamo Brest agree another 3 years.
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 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.72 — 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.
Add another name to the list: Ostrovets have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ilya Yurkevich. The answer from Dinamo Brest has not changed — yet.
Marked 8.45 — 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.