From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gandzasar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalifala Doumbia 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.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Gandzasar are still strangers to each other
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.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Mariano Ahouangbo is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Bertrand Mani gets picked when it counts
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 Bertrand Mani is on it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
No place for Diogo Gomes in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Gandzasar are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Market18 Jan 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
João Nóbrega has been promised minutes
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 João Nóbrega has written the date down.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
Zinedin Smajlović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paschal Durugbor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market11 Jan 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hakob Adamyan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
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 dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager makes João Nóbrega a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Gandzasar. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Jan 2027
João Nóbrega 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 Jan 2027
Kauê Kraus arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Kauê Kraus has, at Gandzasar, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paschal Durugbor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“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.
Market4 Jan 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The formation has left Kauê Kraus behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Gandzasar will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market4 Jan 2027
The João Nóbrega talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Gandzasar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
When it matters, Hagai Katoh plays
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
Zinedin Smajlović 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Kalifala Doumbia 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
Kalifala Doumbia has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Gandzasar 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gandzasar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paschal Durugbor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Mariano Ahouangbo is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
Zinedin Smajlović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalifala Doumbia 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Hovhannes Spertsyan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
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 Akorede Usman Ajibona is on it.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager makes João Nóbrega a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Gandzasar. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
Zinedin Smajlović 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kalifala Doumbia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Vahagn Hayrapetyan, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Brendi Malaj commits to Gandzasar for another 3 years.
Market7 Dec 2026
The João Nóbrega talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Gandzasar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
When it matters, Hagai Katoh plays
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
João Nóbrega 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paschal Durugbor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Nóbrega, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
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 dugout30 Nov 2026
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 Vahagn Hayrapetyan has written the date down.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Gandzasar would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
João Nóbrega and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalifala Doumbia 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.
Market23 Nov 2026
A stepping stone, not a home, for Brendi Malaj
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Gandzasar were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Market23 Nov 2026
He is 20, and nobody at Gandzasar signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alessandro Rossi and Gandzasar agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
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.
Market23 Nov 2026
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Alessandro Rossi is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
João Nóbrega in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gandzasar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalifala Doumbia 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Nobody at Gandzasar 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
Zinedin Smajlović 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Paschal Durugbor 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Taha Balcı
“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.
Market9 Nov 2026
The João Nóbrega talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Gandzasar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
When it matters, Hagai Katoh plays
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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes João Nóbrega a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Gandzasar. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Gandzasar may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Zinedin Smajlović 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taha Balcı was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jamal Dibirgadjiev, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Kalifala Doumbia has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Gandzasar 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gandzasar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Taha Balcı 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Bertrand Mani has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Gandzasar 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gandzasar, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
Zinedin Smajlović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Paschal Durugbor 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Nóbrega, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Nobody at Gandzasar 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
João Nóbrega was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Balcı 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Grigor Mkhitaryan has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad12 Oct 2026
15 new faces, and Gandzasar 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The João Nóbrega talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Gandzasar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
João Nóbrega 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Guto signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Guto and Gandzasar agree another 2 years.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kalifala Doumbia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages swallow 96% of the Gandzasar income
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The formation has left Guto behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Gandzasar will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
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 Kalifala Doumbia is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
Taron Voskanyan 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
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paschal Durugbor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“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 dugout28 Sep 2026
Mariano Ahouangbo is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes Taha Balcı a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Gandzasar. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
24 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Zinedin Smajlović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Paschal Durugbor 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
Zinedin Smajlović 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 Sep 2026
Taha Balcı 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Hovhannes Barseghyan 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Gandzasar
14 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jamal Dibirgadjiev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Zinedin Smajlović arrived with a record at a bigger club than this one, and the room has treated him accordingly. The young ones watch him train; the senior ones watch to see whether it lasts.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Gandzasar close the window on a squad of their own making
21 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Zinedin Smajlović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paschal Durugbor 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.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Gandzasar asked and BKMA 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 dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Taha Balcı, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
João Nóbrega slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. João Nóbrega is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
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.
Market7 Sep 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Zinedin Smajlović has moved up it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
João Nóbrega and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taha Balcı 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
Mariano Ahouangbo is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Gandzasar
2‑5 against Pyunik, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
Gandzasar are taken apart by Pyunik — and the town wants answers
It finished 2-5. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 7 of the 26 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
No sign of nerves from Kalifala Doumbia at 21 — 7.82
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kalifala Doumbia did not need any: 7.82, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Market24 Aug 2026
The shirt still fits. Davit Barseghyan is back at Gandzasar, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad24 Aug 2026
João Nóbrega in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gandzasar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Aug 2026
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Gandzasar and Pyunik in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Gandzasar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kalifala Doumbia 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.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Gandzasar asked and Benfica said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match12 Aug 2026
Gandzasar through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over BKMA, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.65, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Gandzasar had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Cavese, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad17 Aug 2026
João Nóbrega 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Gandzasar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paschal Durugbor was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Juventus have kept their man, and Gandzasar go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Akorede Usman Ajibona 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.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Gandzasar have done the hard part with Cavese, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad10 Aug 2026
João Nóbrega and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Van have kept their man, and Gandzasar go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mariano Ahouangbo commits to Gandzasar for another 4 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Taha Balcı 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Armen Mkhitaryan is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Arman Grigoryan 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Artak Ghazaryan 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Henrikh Bayramyan 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Vahagn Hayrapetyan has just signed for Gandzasar, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” João Nóbrega and Gandzasar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market3 Aug 2026
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Gandzasar
João Nóbrega 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Kalifala Doumbia 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.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Gandzasar asked and Pyunik said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.