Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings11 Jun 2029
Up for the corner, and Pedro Acácio delivers — 7.55
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Pedro Acácio scored, was marked 7.55, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Pedro Acácio. 1‑0 against Neman, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev 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.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Nalivayko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The 88th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Vadim Kiselev decided nobody was going anywhere. Dinamo Brest had no time left to answer.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Torpedo-BelAZ know it.
Three points for Torpedo-BelAZ, 1‑0 the final word against Dinamo Brest in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Successful dribbles: 16. 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Vadim Kiselev
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marat Kalinchenko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
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.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Ilja Petrov stands, which is more than many ever get.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Vitaliy Hryshyn could afford to be generous.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
“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.
Squad7 May 2029
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev 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 dugout7 May 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Vitaliy Hryshyn left the room before anybody could ask which.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
In brief
The dugoutVadim Kiselev knocks on the manager's door
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Nalivayko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ivan Pyatkin and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Mohamed Bamba and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Minsk in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Pritsker will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Vladislav Melko and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Makar Maslennikov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Arsenal Dzerzhinsk in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Vladislav Ignatjev has written the date down.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
Up for the corner, and Pedro Acácio delivers — 7.77
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Pedro Acácio scored, was marked 7.77, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Vadim Kiselev 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.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Maxim Budko obliged against Ostrovets. 3‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Torpedo-BelAZ.
Two goals and a mark of 8.44 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.48, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Ivan Pyatkin was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Danila Zhulpa is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
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.
Two goals and a mark of 7.96 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Torpedo-BelAZ know it.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Danila Zhulpa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Vitaliy Hryshyn could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutVadim Kiselev asks for a word with the manager
7.78, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Danila Zhulpa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
11 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexandr Lomovitskiy. 2‑0 against Isloch, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 7.07 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
8.42. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rodion Medvedev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maksim Sivakov and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Vitaliy Hryshyn on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Slonim waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Molodechno moved on, Vadim Kiselev reports back to Torpedo-BelAZ, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Vitaliy Hryshyn recited it perfectly.
“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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Pritsker will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom26 Feb 2029
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Torpedo-BelAZ until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Zenit said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Add another name to the list: Slonim have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Vladislav Nalivayko. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Torpedo-BelAZ have made the call to Spartak Moscow. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Volna Pinsk will make the call about Timofey Yurasov this week. Torpedo-BelAZ have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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 Sergey Ignatovich is on it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Gomel have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A conversation is coming this week. Torpedo-BelAZ will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Vadim Kiselev 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.
Makar Maslennikov 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.
A loan enquiry to Nizhniy Novgorod: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
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 board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Maksim Palitsevich has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Neman keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The deal with Nizhniy Novgorod is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Kirill Parmonov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The offer from Dinamo Brest for Vadim Kiselev 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Volna Pinsk waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Dinamo Brest said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Torpedo-BelAZ have made the call to Nizhniy Novgorod. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Grenik Petrosyan signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Torpedo-BelAZ the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Danila Zhulpa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Alexandr Lomovitskiy is on it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Marat Kalinchenko has written the date down.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Torpedo-BelAZ can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Danila Zhulpa 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.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Sergey Ignatovich is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Torpedo-BelAZ will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Torpedo-BelAZ had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timofey Yurasov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Sergey Ignatovich was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eduard Korzun was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Roman Zheleznyi has his answer from Torpedo-BelAZ; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ajdin Kadrić 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.
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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Torpedo-BelAZ. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Pritsker will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Danila Zhulpa 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.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Zhulpa 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.
“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.
Boardroom11 Dec 2028
85% of the income goes out in wages at Torpedo-BelAZ
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.
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 Sergey Ignatovich is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Ignatjev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sergey Ignatovich and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
23 games, 4 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Torpedo-BelAZ now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Pedro Acácio stands, which is more than many ever get.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Mohamed Bamba is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
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 Vadim Kiselev is on it.
In brief
The dugoutDanila Zhulpa knocks on the manager's door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Vladislav Melko 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Danila Zhulpa 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.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Timofey Yurasov stands, which is more than many ever get.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Danila Zhulpa has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Grenik Petrosyan signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vladislav Nalivayko trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Danila Zhulpa 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.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ivan Pyatkin and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
4 goals in 23 games at Lida — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Torpedo-BelAZ updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Egor Mychelkin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danila Zhulpa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not go to Arsenal Dzerzhinsk to sit and watch. I want to come back to Torpedo-BelAZ and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 8 matches say the rest.
Ajdin Kadrić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Torpedo-BelAZ, another week without a signature from Danila Zhulpa.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Danila Zhulpa falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Pritsker will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ivan Pyatkin was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Nalivayko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Danila Zhulpa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vadim Kiselev signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Torpedo-BelAZ have no good answer.
1 for Ilja Petrov, marked 7.28, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Vladislav Melko 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.
Slutsk left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Vadim Kiselev 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ivan Pyatkin and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Maksim Palitsevich after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Pritsker will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Ilja Petrov stands, which is more than many ever get.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Maksim Palitsevich after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dantel Hodges and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Naftan moved on, Vadim Kiselev reports back to Torpedo-BelAZ, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Marat Kalinchenko has, at Torpedo-BelAZ, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 8 arrived, 12 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Nalivayko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The deal that would have taken Makar Maslennikov to Gomel has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Torpedo-BelAZ with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Lokomotiv Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Kirill Parmonov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Gomel waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Ostrovets for Matvey Pritsker 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Baltika have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Minsk have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Danila Zhulpa 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Slonim waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Torpedo-BelAZ have gone to Dinamo Minsk with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The deal with Lokomotiv Moscow is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Ivan Pyatkin 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.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Ludogorets said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Level with 88 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Torpedo-BelAZ had all but put away. Minsk will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ajdin Kadrić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Niva waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The offer from Gomel for Vadim Kiselev was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Some 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.11 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Krolik will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ilja Petrov
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Dinamo Minsk have accepted the money. What Torpedo-BelAZ do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladislav Melko and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The phone has started ringing about Pedro Acácio again, and this time the name on the line is Slonim. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Zenit said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Neman waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Arda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Torpedo-BelAZ had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Zenit, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Vladislav Melko 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.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Krolik will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Panathinaikos have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Torpedo-BelAZ and Dinamo Minsk have settled on $660.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Moscow have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Makar Maslennikov again, and this time the name on the line is Gomel. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Torpedo-BelAZ will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The offer from Uni-X Labs for Vladislav Nalivayko 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.
The name of Vadim Kiselev has come up in conversations Torpedo-BelAZ were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Vadim Pobudey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 6.80 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vadim Kiselev was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Torpedo-BelAZ are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ajdin Kadrić 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.
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.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Maksim Palitsevich to a room that had heard them before.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vladislav Krolik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
In brief
The dugoutNikita Korzun asks for a word with the manager
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Kirill Parmonov 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Danila Zhulpa 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.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Neman tried to reorganise, Torpedo-BelAZ did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Alexey Zaleskiy scored, was marked 7.79, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Kirill Parmonov 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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 10 actions, 7.40, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
8.06. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad29 May 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev 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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Maksim Palitsevich could afford to be generous.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Torpedo-BelAZ told Ilja Petrov something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ajdin Kadrić
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Vladislav Melko was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad22 May 2028
Ajdin Kadrić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Torpedo-BelAZ told Maxim Gaevoy something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
Vitebsk next, and one man in the Torpedo-BelAZ dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
7.82, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Vladislav Melko 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.
Marked 8.17 — 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.
“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.
Squad15 May 2028
Vadim Kiselev 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 dugout15 May 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Maksim Palitsevich kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Maksim Palitsevich after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Baranovichi will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Stanislav Stefanovich has pre-agreed a move to Torpedo-BelAZ, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Torpedo-BelAZ know it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pedro Acácio will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Danila Zhulpa in the middle of it, and Arsenal Dzerzhinsk unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
Ajdin Kadrić 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev 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 dugout24 Apr 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Maksim Palitsevich, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Torpedo-BelAZ are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vadim Kiselev is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Vladislav Krolik stands, which is more than many ever get.
A clause somebody insisted on years ago, in a negotiation nobody remembers, has just paid Torpedo-BelAZ $95.0K. Steven Alfred left a long time ago; the paperwork stayed.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Vladislav Krolik scored, was marked 7.69, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timofey Yurasov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
SquadWords at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Alexandr Lomovitskiy is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
A mark of 7.89, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Pedro Acácio 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Slavia Mozyr in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Torpedo-BelAZ will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
Marked 8.05 — 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ajdin Kadrić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Maksim Palitsevich on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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 Lomovitskiy is on it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.86 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matvey Pritsker will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Alexey Zaleskiy is on it.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Torpedo-BelAZ will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alexandr Lomovitskiy and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ajdin Kadrić is a Torpedo-BelAZ player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Nikita Korzun 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.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Torpedo-BelAZ
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
The phone has started ringing about Egor Mychelkin again, and this time the name on the line is Volna Pinsk. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Gornik Zabrze said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pedro Acácio will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
Torpedo-BelAZ close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 5 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Partizan is saying, and nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Vladislav Nalivayko is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Lokomotiv Moscow have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vyacheslav Yakimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
9 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Volos NPS said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Torpedo-BelAZ know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Acácio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Niva waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Egor Mychelkin again, and this time the name on the line is Volna Pinsk. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA Moscow have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Torpedo-BelAZ have made the call to Zenit. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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 Grenik Petrosyan is on it.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Vladislav Krolik may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Vadim Pobudey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Torpedo-BelAZ have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lokomotiv Moscow have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Slutsk will make the call about Timofey Yurasov this week. Torpedo-BelAZ have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
In brief
The dugoutVadim Pobudey has become a man the manager trusts
BoardroomOpen for business: Torpedo-BelAZ enter the window
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
Squad24 Jan 2028
10 new faces, and Torpedo-BelAZ are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vladislav Krolik will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Torpedo-BelAZ know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Torpedo-BelAZ will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
In brief
The dugoutMohamed Bamba knocks on the manager's door
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Nikita Korzun
SquadNikita Korzun is the talk of the training ground
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ivan Pyatkin 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 Jan 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matvey Pritsker and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Grenik Petrosyan is on it.
In brief
The dugoutEgor Mychelkin asks for a word with the manager
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
23 games, 10 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Torpedo-BelAZ now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pedro Acácio is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Matvey Pritsker is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
8 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.
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 language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vladislav Melko and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Vadim Pobudey 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Vyacheslav Yakimov was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Torpedo-BelAZ know it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mohamed Bamba and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 4 years.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Maxim Gaevoy is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
10 goals in 23 games at Lida — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Torpedo-BelAZ updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
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 Vadim Pobudey is on it.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Torpedo-BelAZ have no good answer.
In brief
BoardroomThe Torpedo-BelAZ production line keeps running
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vyacheslav Yakimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
9 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Grigoriy Martyanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Torpedo-BelAZ are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ivan Pyatkin and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Torpedo-BelAZ, and 0 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
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 Grenik Petrosyan is on it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Bamba will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
7 shut-outs in 24 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Timofey Yurasov has been having a lot of them.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Vyacheslav Yakimov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexandr Frantsuzov 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Torpedo-BelAZ are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
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 Alexey Zaleskiy is on it.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Torpedo-BelAZ told Vadim Kiselev something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Torpedo-BelAZ will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑3 Maksim Palitsevich left the room before anybody could ask which.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Sergey Ignatovich 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vyacheslav Yakimov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
7 shut-outs in 24 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Timofey Yurasov has been having a lot of them.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Alexey Zaleskiy’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Torpedo-BelAZ needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
7.88, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sergey Ignatovich and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 2 years.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Nazar Kurak has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Torpedo-BelAZ have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Elnur Khalygov has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Torpedo-BelAZ have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Maksim Palitsevich after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Torpedo-BelAZ will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Danila Zhulpa
The dugoutAlexey Zaleskiy has become a man the manager trusts
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Torpedo-BelAZ, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Vyacheslav Yakimov 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.
At 19 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.
Uni-X Labs will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Egor Snapkov has pre-agreed a move to Torpedo-BelAZ, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexandr Frantsuzov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Boardroom13 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 7 signed and 10 gone
That is the business done at Torpedo-BelAZ until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Torpedo-BelAZ had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at CSKA Moscow, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Karviná said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Osipovichi will make the call about Pedro Acácio this week. Torpedo-BelAZ have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Bamba will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Torpedo-BelAZ and a proper look at me.” He remains Slutsk’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
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 phone has started ringing about Egor Mychelkin again, and this time the name on the line is Ostrovets. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Lokomotiv Gomel waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
A brace, and Maxim Budko takes the afternoon — 8.10
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Maxim Budko provided it, and the 8.10 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Dinamo Moscow is saying, and nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is enjoying the guessing.
Vyacheslav Yakimov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Moscow have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vyacheslav Yakimov provided it, and the 8.00 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Dinamo Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Alexandr Frantsuzov 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
1 for Vyacheslav Yakimov, marked 7.86, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Torpedo-BelAZ had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Panathinaikos, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vyacheslav Yakimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Lokomotiv Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The phone has started ringing about Egor Mychelkin again, and this time the name on the line is Slonim. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Ivan Pyatkin and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vyacheslav Yakimov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and CSKA Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Add another name to the list: Osipovichi have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mikhail Ladutsko. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
Marked 6.93 on 10 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Torpedo-BelAZ have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Torpedo-BelAZ can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Egor Mychelkin will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Torpedo-BelAZ have done the hard part with CSKA Moscow, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Vyacheslav Yakimov and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rostov have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 11 actions, 6.92, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Niva waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Torpedo-BelAZ they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The deal with Baltika is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Vadim Pobudey was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Krylya Sovetov said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Slavia Mozyr will replay every second of the added time for a week.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Torpedo-BelAZ people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Torpedo-BelAZ have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.78 for the rest of it.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.84 for the rest of it.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Krasnodar is saying, and nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.