From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Minsk have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Everything agreed with Slavia Prague, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Daouda Natama 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 targets8 Feb 2027
Minsk asked and HNK Rijeka said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market8 Feb 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Yahor Malevich is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
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 Alexandr Ksenofontov is on it.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Prokhor Struk
“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 dugout8 Feb 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Minsk. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces1 Feb 2027
Anger at Minsk spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market1 Feb 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Orsha waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Minsk is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Minsk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Minsk asked and Torpedo-BelAZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Minsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daouda Natama 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
The name of Valentin Dikhtievskiy has come up in conversations Minsk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A muscle injury and 15 days out for Ilya Bondarenko
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Minsk will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Minsk have made the call to HNK Rijeka. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Anton Makas and Minsk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Ilya Dubinets
“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 dugout25 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Minsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Malashko 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Daouda Natama’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Jan 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Minsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daouda Natama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 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.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Daouda Natama 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 Daouda Natama is on it.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Ilya Dubinets 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 Minsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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
Daouda Natama 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Anton Makas 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
The terraces4 Jan 2027
Supporters organise against the Minsk board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Ivan Hleb
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Minsk will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ilya Bondarenko and Minsk agree another 4 years.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Emir Ernisov 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.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
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 Alexandr Gutor is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maksim Malevich and Minsk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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
Words at Minsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daouda Natama 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Maksim Malevich
“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 Dec 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.
Market28 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Daouda Natama’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pavel Tarletskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Minsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Minsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daouda Natama 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 dugout21 Dec 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
Egor Zubovich 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Questions about Alexey Muravjov on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Dec 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Artem Pavlov 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
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 dugout14 Dec 2026
Egor Zubovich 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 Minsk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Artem Malashko 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 dugout14 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The terraces7 Dec 2026
Supporters organise against the Minsk board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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
Daouda Natama 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Konstantin Malitskiy commits to Minsk for another 3 years.
The dugout7 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 Alexandr Gutor is on it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Artem Turich commits to Minsk for another 5 years.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Daouda Natama 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
Egor Zubovich 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 Egor Zubovich is on it.
The dugout30 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom23 Nov 2026
Minsk have won it
This is the season the town will measure the next twenty against. The trophy travels home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
Match18 Nov 2026
Minsk through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over BATE, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match18 Nov 2026
Daouda Natama wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Daouda Natama found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and BATE went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Minsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market23 Nov 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pavel Tarletskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Minsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
Minsk supporters have found a favourite in Daouda Natama
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Daouda Natama 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 ratings23 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ivan Hleb and Minsk agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Minsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daouda Natama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Nov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“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.
The dugout16 Nov 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 Ilya Sviridenko is on it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Emir Ernisov: 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.” Minsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market9 Nov 2026
Only the photograph left for Alexey Tumanov
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alexey Tumanov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Minsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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
Daouda Natama 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
One of our own: Ivan Hleb joins the Minsk first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ivan Hleb is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout9 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Minsk, another week without a signature from Arseniy Migdalenok.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Alexey Tumanov 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 Alexey Tumanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market9 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilya Bondarenko signs something — a contract at Minsk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Minsk
Konstantin Kuchinskiy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Egor Zubovich 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 Egor Zubovich is on it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Egor Zubovich 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 Egor Zubovich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market2 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Daouda Natama’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market2 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Egor Zubovich: 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.” Minsk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market26 Oct 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pavel Tarletskiy will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Minsk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Minsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daouda Natama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Daouda Natama 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 Daouda Natama is on it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Prokhor Struk, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Prokhor Sheremet, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Minsk told Daouda Natama something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
One of our own: Raman Laptev joins the Minsk first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Raman Laptev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ilya Sviridenko and Minsk agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout12 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 Alexandr Ksenofontov is on it.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valentin Dikhtievskiy, and the manager let it.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Minsk. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“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.
Market12 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ilya Bondarenko signs something — a contract at Minsk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Oct 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Daouda Natama 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 31 days on the sidelines for Ji-hun Park, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Minsk
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Egor Zubovich has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Minsk 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
Uneasy
Match23 Sep 2026
Minsk march on in the cup
Dinamo Brest are out and Minsk go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match23 Sep 2026
Daouda Natama wins it after the whistle should have gone
111 minutes played. Daouda Natama found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Dinamo Brest went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.86, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market28 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Minsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daouda Natama 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 dugout28 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.
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.
In brief
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
The dugout
Somebody else is better right now than Emir Ernisov
-
Player ratings
Emir Ernisov was unplayable
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match19 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Minsk
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Minsk are no longer polite ones.
Market21 Sep 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match19 Sep 2026
1‑2 to Dinamo Brest, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Viktar Malevich after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout21 Sep 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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Sep 2026
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 17 in, 0 out at Minsk
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 17 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Market14 Sep 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Minsk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Minsk had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Spartak Moscow, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Minsk
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Minsk are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Transfer targets14 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Torpedo-BelAZ have kept their man, and Minsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Minsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daouda Natama 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 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yauhen Malevich 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
Market7 Sep 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Minsk have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market7 Sep 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Minsk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market7 Sep 2026
Minsk say no — this time
The offer from Uni-X Labs for Prokhor Struk 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.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Minsk have done the hard part with Spartak Moscow, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Konstantin Malitskiy has agreed terms with Dinamo Brest for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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
A row about effort at Minsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daouda Natama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
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 terraces7 Sep 2026
Minsk supporters have found a favourite in Daouda Natama
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Daouda Natama 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Aug 2026
Cup progress for Minsk
A 1‑1 win over Neman, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Squad31 Aug 2026
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Alexandr Gutor: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Pavel Tarletskiy had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Market31 Aug 2026
Minsk say no — this time
The offer from Naftan for Alexey Tumanov 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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Torpedo-BelAZ, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad31 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olympiacos have kept their man, and Minsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market31 Aug 2026
The name of Prokhor Struk has come up in conversations Minsk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
Minsk through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Isloch, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match19 Aug 2026
Minsk win it in stoppage time
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 125th minute. Isloch will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Up for the corner, and Ilya Sviridenko delivers — 7.86
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Ilya Sviridenko scored, was marked 7.86, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Chornomorets keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Arseniy Migdalenok has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Minsk
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daouda Natama was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Crvena Zvezda have kept their man, and Minsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match12 Aug 2026
Minsk march on in the cup
Ostrovets are out and Minsk go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Emir Ernisov, 21, steals the show — 7.97
Marked 7.97 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Market17 Aug 2026
Minsk say no — this time
The offer from Slonim for Prokhor Struk 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dynamo Kyiv is saying, and nobody at Minsk is enjoying the guessing.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Daouda Natama 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 targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Zagreb have kept their man, and Minsk go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match15 Aug 2026
Minsk come up short against BATE
BATE left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Aug 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Minsk have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market10 Aug 2026
Minsk say no — this time
The offer from Slutsk for Abena Ottou Felix Christanval 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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Dynamo Kyiv, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad10 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 Minsk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Artem Chalavach 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. Sergei Laptev 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vladislav Shabunya commits to Minsk for another 3 years.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Squad
6 new faces, and Minsk are still learning each other
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The dugout
No hiding place for Alexey Tumanov
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market3 Aug 2026
Minsk say no — this time
The offer from Orsha for Pavel Tarletskiy 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A muscle injury and 17 days out for Alexandr Gutor
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Minsk will quote 17 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ilya Aleksievich commits to Minsk for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Minsk
Alexandr Gutor 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 Aug 2026
Words at Minsk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daouda Natama 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Konstantin Kuchinskiy’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Illia Olkhovyi is in the works
Minsk have made the call to Dynamo Kyiv. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Lokomotiv Moscow: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.