From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match25 Sep 2027
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Krylya Sovetov are no longer polite ones.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Krylya Sovetov may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad27 Sep 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.89, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad27 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Amar Rahmanović, and the manager let it.
Loan watch27 Sep 2027
“I did not go to Krasnodar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Krylya Sovetov and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Match25 Sep 2027
It needed Gonzalo Requena to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Rostov, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Sep 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match18 Sep 2027
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Marked 8.77 — 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match18 Sep 2027
It needed Ivan Oleinikov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Zenit, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad20 Sep 2027
4 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
The terraces20 Sep 2027
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Market20 Sep 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fernando Costanza signs something — a contract at Krylya Sovetov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad13 Sep 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Sep 2027
Gonzalo Requena scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Orenburg, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Costanza, and the manager let it.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.39 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Marked 8.37 — 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 41 days on the sidelines for Antonio Portales, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Daniil Motorin and Krylya Sovetov agree another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Sep 2027
The fee is $9.5M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. CSKA Moscow drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Kokarev, and the manager let it.
Match4 Sep 2027
0‑1 to Sochi, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Krylya Sovetov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“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.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad30 Aug 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 28. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad30 Aug 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Aug 2027
42 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Aug 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad23 Aug 2027
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Kirill Pechenin: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Krylya Sovetov have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Marked 9.68 — 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.
Match21 Aug 2027
It finished 3‑2, and it was Gonzalo Requena’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Krylya Sovetov.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.62 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market23 Aug 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fernando Costanza signs something — a contract at Krylya Sovetov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Aug 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
The medical room confirms 72 days on the sidelines for Antonio Portales, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match14 Aug 2027
0‑1 to Arsenal Tula, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch16 Aug 2027
22 appearances away from home and 10 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Market16 Aug 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Krylya Sovetov know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A mark of 5.37 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Marked 5.73, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Market9 Aug 2027
Sochi paid $130.0K and Krylya Sovetov took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market9 Aug 2027
Rostov pay $80.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match7 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Thomas Galdames. 2‑1 against Spartak Kostroma, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad9 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Nikita Kokarev
“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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alexey Sutormin commits to Krylya Sovetov for another 2 years.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market2 Aug 2027
The fee is $510.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Shinnik drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nikita Kokarev and Krylya Sovetov agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Aug 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
A performance of 9.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match31 Jul 2027
A 2‑1 win over Baltika, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Marked 8.14 — 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
The award goes to Vladimir Ignatenko, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Loan watch2 Aug 2027
“I watch every Krylya Sovetov game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Krasnodar runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Jul 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market26 Jul 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Krylya Sovetov can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Jul 2027
81 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match24 Jul 2027
Ivan Oleinikov scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Krasnodar, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
A performance of 8.89 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Thomas Galdames
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
A performance of 8.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market19 Jul 2027
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.
Market19 Jul 2027
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.
Market19 Jul 2027
As if he never left: Vadim Kabanov returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Vadim Kabanov is a Krylya Sovetov player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market19 Jul 2027
The shirt still fits. Sergey Gagarin is back at Krylya Sovetov, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Match17 Jul 2027
Three points for Krylya Sovetov, 3‑2 the final word against Akhmat in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad19 Jul 2027
102 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.79, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.44, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jimmy Marín and Krylya Sovetov agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Fernando Costanza 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 Jul 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Krylya Sovetov may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market5 Jul 2027
The chase for Kirill Schetinin ended with $1.2M changing hands and Akhmat Grozny out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad5 Jul 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniil Motorin, and the manager let it.
Loan watch5 Jul 2027
17 appearances away from home and 7 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Sergey Babkin knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Sergey Babkin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Jun 2027
Fernando Costanza 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 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 113 days on the sidelines for Mihajlo Banjac, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexey Sutormin, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“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.
Market28 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thomas Galdames signs something — a contract at Krylya Sovetov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market28 Jun 2027
Spartak Moscow had somebody in the stand with a notebook, and he was not there for the pies. Watching is free; the next step is not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad21 Jun 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 133 days on the sidelines for Antonio Portales, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch21 Jun 2027
31 appearances away from home and 14 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alexey Belikov commits to Krylya Sovetov for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Petr Salasin is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Krylya Sovetov has been clear about where Petr Salasin stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sergey Pesjakov, and the manager let it.
Loan watch14 Jun 2027
14 appearances away from home and 6 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
The terraces14 Jun 2027
The stands have heard the Nikita Kokarev talk too
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Krylya Sovetov would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
Market14 Jun 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Alexey Sutormin may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad7 Jun 2027
The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Ilzat Akhmetov, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Jun 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Krylya Sovetov may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad31 May 2027
The medical room confirms 144 days on the sidelines for Mihajlo Banjac, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad31 May 2027
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 May 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch24 May 2027
31 appearances away from home and 14 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Loan watch24 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Krylya Sovetov, and 1 appearances in 37 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad24 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch24 May 2027
11 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad24 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Krylya Sovetov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 May 2027
Fernando Costanza 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 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch17 May 2027
“I did not go to Chaika to sit and watch. I want to come back to Krylya Sovetov and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
Alexey Sutormin: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Krylya Sovetov have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladimir Ignatenko and Krylya Sovetov agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 May 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 May 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Squad3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kirill Pechenin, and the manager let it.
Squad3 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Krylya Sovetov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thomas Galdames signs something — a contract at Krylya Sovetov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Loan watch3 May 2027
8 appearances at Dnepr Mogilev and the goals keep coming. Krylya Sovetov are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Loan watch3 May 2027
23 appearances at Neftekhimik and the goals keep coming. Krylya Sovetov are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Apr 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
The goals keep arriving from Vladislav Shitov’s exile
14 goals in 31 games at Torpedo Moscow — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Krylya Sovetov updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Krylya Sovetov, and 1 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Apr 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch19 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Krylya Sovetov, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Gonzalo Requena asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Apr 2027
Fernando Costanza 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 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Krylya Sovetov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market12 Apr 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Sergey Babkin’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Apr 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Antonio Portales and Krylya Sovetov agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Antonio Portales asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
5 appearances at Dnepr Mogilev and the goals keep coming. Krylya Sovetov are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Loan watch29 Mar 2027
31 appearances away from home and 14 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Sergey Babkin
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Mar 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Krylya Sovetov, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexey Sutormin, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Mar 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Krylya Sovetov would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Market15 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Sergey Babkin’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Axel Juárez and Krylya Sovetov agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Krylya Sovetov, and 0 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
The goals keep arriving from Vladislav Shitov’s exile
14 goals in 31 games at Torpedo Moscow — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Krylya Sovetov updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gonzalo Requena, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
The goals keep arriving from Vladislav Shitov’s exile
13 goals in 30 games at Torpedo Moscow — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Krylya Sovetov updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
Wages eat 90% of everything Krylya Sovetov earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexey Sutormin, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Krylya Sovetov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 Feb 2027
Krylya Sovetov have let the market know Alexey Sutormin can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Amar Rahmanović, and the manager let it.
Market15 Feb 2027
A conversation is coming this week. Krylya Sovetov will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 39. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market8 Feb 2027
Chaika come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Krylya Sovetov did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad8 Feb 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sergey Babkin commits to Krylya Sovetov for another 4 years.
Market8 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Krylya Sovetov have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Loan watch8 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Dinamo Moscow to sit and watch. I want to come back to Krylya Sovetov and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 21 matches say the rest.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Jimmy Marín
3 goals and a season average of 7.33 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
A mark of 7.49, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Feb 2027
Chinedu Geoffrey has left for Al Ain in a $3.8M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market1 Feb 2027
Dinamo Moscow paid $2.0M and Krylya Sovetov took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Fernando Costanza 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
Business is business: Dominik Oroz goes
Lokomotiv Moscow paid $580.0K and Krylya Sovetov took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad1 Feb 2027
10 goals and a season average of 7.36. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market1 Feb 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Krylya Sovetov have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Match30 Jan 2027
CSKA Moscow left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
27 appearances at Torpedo Moscow and the goals keep coming. Krylya Sovetov are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Jan 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market25 Jan 2027
Sergey Bozhin hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Krylya Sovetov can pretend not to have heard.
Market25 Jan 2027
Only the photograph left for Dominik Oroz
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dominik Oroz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Krylya Sovetov the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad25 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 Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Jan 2027
1‑2 to Spartak Moscow, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Costanza, and the manager let it.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 122% of everything Krylya Sovetov earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 38, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antonio Portales, and the manager let it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Antonio Portales has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Krylya Sovetov that is a harder question to answer.
Squad18 Jan 2027
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer from Fenerbahce for Nikita Kokarev 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nikita Kokarev and Krylya Sovetov agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Jan 2027
2‑4 to Zenit, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
“I did not go to Dinamo Moscow to sit and watch. I want to come back to Krylya Sovetov and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.81 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
The goals keep arriving from Vladislav Shitov’s exile
11 goals in 24 games at Torpedo Moscow — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Krylya Sovetov updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Defensive actions: 37, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match2 Jan 2027
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Fernando Costanza 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
Defences have started doubling up on Ivan Oleinikov
10 goals and a season average of 7.42 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match2 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ivan Oleinikov. 1‑0 against Dinamo Makhachkala, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Loan watch4 Jan 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Krylya Sovetov, and 0 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Dec 2026
Three points for Krylya Sovetov, 5‑3 the final word against Akhmat in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
219% of the income goes out in wages at Krylya Sovetov
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 8.84 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
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.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 8.46 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Axel Juárez
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Dec 2026
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 9.84 — 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Ivan Oleinikov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Krylya Sovetov.
Squad21 Dec 2026
9 goals and a season average of 7.36. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chinedu Geoffrey, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad14 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Dec 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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch14 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Krylya Sovetov, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match5 Dec 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Jimmy Marín’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Krylya Sovetov.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 8.62 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch7 Dec 2026
“I watch every Krylya Sovetov game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Chernomorets runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Defences have started doubling up on Jimmy Marín
2 goals and a season average of 7.23 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Nov 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ivan Oleinikov. 2‑1 against Rubin, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
262% of the income goes out in wages at Krylya Sovetov
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.45 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad30 Nov 2026
7 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad30 Nov 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Nikita Kokarev knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Nov 2026
Sokol go through and Krylya Sovetov 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match21 Nov 2026
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Fernando Costanza 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.
Squad23 Nov 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.
Match21 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom23 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Krylya Sovetov 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Nov 2026
“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 Krylya Sovetov, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Nikita Chernov
“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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
6 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Loan watch16 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Dinamo Moscow to sit and watch. I want to come back to Krylya Sovetov and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Dominik Oroz
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.84 on the card, and the Krylya Sovetov support went home talking about one name.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I did not go to Chernomorets to sit and watch. I want to come back to Krylya Sovetov and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 35. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
262% of the income goes out in wages at Krylya Sovetov
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
Match31 Oct 2026
A 2‑0 win over Akron, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 8.54 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.30 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad2 Nov 2026
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antonio Portales, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Oct 2026
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Fernando Costanza 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.
Match24 Oct 2026
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 8.52 — 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Axel Juárez gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Oct 2026
Philipp Bodrov: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Krylya Sovetov have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match17 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Krylya Sovetov's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Krylya Sovetov has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 9.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Kirill Pechenin
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Oct 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match10 Oct 2026
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Krylya Sovetov are no longer polite ones.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Fernando Costanza 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.
Match10 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Kokarev, and the manager let it.
Loan watch12 Oct 2026
“I watch every Krylya Sovetov game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Chernomorets runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
3 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match30 Sep 2026
A 0‑0 win over Zenit Penza, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad5 Oct 2026
The match ball belongs to Vadim Rakov, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad5 Oct 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
442% of the income goes out in wages at Krylya Sovetov
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
Match3 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Rostov, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Sep 2026
Dinamo Makhachkala will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Krylya Sovetov were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad21 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.20, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market21 Sep 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Krylya Sovetov have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 8.55 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.47, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 8.23 — 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antonio Portales, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Axel Juárez knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Krylya Sovetov, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Sep 2026
43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match12 Sep 2026
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Krylya Sovetov are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Fernando Costanza 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
Akhmat left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikita Kokarev, and the manager let it.
Market14 Sep 2026
Add another name to the list: Yenisey have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kirill Stolbov. The answer from Krylya Sovetov has not changed — yet.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Krylya Sovetov lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Sep 2026
The chase for Evgeny Bolotov ended with $490.0K changing hands and Orenburg out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad7 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 323% of everything Krylya Sovetov earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 7.85 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Krylya Sovetov had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Sergey Bozhin. Krylya Sovetov will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Match5 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Sochi? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market31 Aug 2026
The chase for Daniil Motorin ended with $480.0K changing hands and Rubin out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Fernando Costanza 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petr Salasin, and the manager let it.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kirill Pechenin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match22 Aug 2026
Lokomotiv Moscow left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market24 Aug 2026
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Krylya Sovetov will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Petr Salasin asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market24 Aug 2026
Experience through the door at Krylya Sovetov
Axel Juárez 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Every debut is a small story about the future: Wojciech Szymczak, 18 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market17 Aug 2026
The bid was some way short and Krylya Sovetov did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Aug 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match15 Aug 2026
A 3‑2 win over Rubin, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 9.42 — 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.58 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Marked 8.44 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
CSKA Moscow come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Krylya Sovetov did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Krylya Sovetov have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Fernando Costanza was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Chinedu Geoffrey, and the manager let it.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match8 Aug 2026
0‑1 to Baltika, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Market10 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ivan Oleinikov and Krylya Sovetov agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Krylya Sovetov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match1 Aug 2026
A 2‑1 win over Krasnodar, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market3 Aug 2026
Add another name to the list: Volga have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kirill Stolbov. The answer from Krylya Sovetov has not changed — yet.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Ivan Oleinikov's contract
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.