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. Vladislav Nalivayko will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Torpedo-BelAZ the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer from Volna Pinsk for Nikita Matusevich 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.
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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Steven Alfred stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
Ikorodu City 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.
Puskas Akademia 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 deal with Slask 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.
Steven Alfred 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 phone has started ringing about Vadim Kiselev again, and this time the name on the line is Gomel. Torpedo-BelAZ are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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.
Steven Alfred 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 Artem Bykov 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.
38 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
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 Maxim Gaevoy is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maxim Budko signs something — a contract at Torpedo-BelAZ or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Steven Alfred
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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
21 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.
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 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.
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.
Vadim Pobudey and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yevhen Chahovets 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.
Position 6 on 38 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
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.
Steven Alfred 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 Artem Bykov 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.
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 standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Steven Alfred 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Grigoriy Martyanov is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 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.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Vadim Kiselev has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
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.
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.
Vadim Pobudey and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Grenik Petrosyan is on it.
Position 6 on 38 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
In brief
The dugoutMaxim Budko 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.
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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Alexandr Lomovitskiy has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Timofey Yurasov commits to Torpedo-BelAZ for another 4 years.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yevhen Chahovets 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.
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 Kirill Premudrov has written the date down.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Alexandr Lomovitskiy is on 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.
Steven Alfred 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
Artem Bykov 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.
Position 6 on 38 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
3 goals in 8 games at Vitebsk — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Torpedo-BelAZ updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Sergey Ignatovich’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know 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.
Steven Alfred and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Maxim Gaevoy is on it.
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.
Steven Alfred 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 Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Grigoriy Martyanov is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Matvey Mikhayrin and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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 words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.” Sergey Ignatovich and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 2 years.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Artem Bykov has his answer from Torpedo-BelAZ; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yevhen Chahovets 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.
In brief
MatchContinental football is in reach for Torpedo-BelAZ
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
0‑5 to Dnepr Mogilev, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Torpedo-BelAZ deserved better, and so did he.
39 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Orsha waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
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: Steven Alfred. 2‑1 against Neman, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yevhen Chahovets 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 dugout13 Sep 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Yauhen Noyok, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
46 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The offer from Naftan for Timofey Yurasov 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Torpedo-BelAZ have done the hard part with PAOK, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ can tell you which week it ends in.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Aris Thessaloniki have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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.
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.
Everything agreed with Puskas Akademia, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
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.
Steven Alfred and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Artem Bykov 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 words a physio says slowly. 63 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and HNK Vukovar 1991 said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
“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.
The words a physio says slowly. 71 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The deal with FCSB 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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 Medeama 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.
Three points for Torpedo-BelAZ, 1‑0 the final word against Naftan in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Steven Alfred was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.17. 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vladislav Shubovich and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 3 years.
The words a physio says slowly. 78 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Steven Alfred decided nobody was going anywhere. Isloch had no time left to answer.
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.
The deal with Panathinaikos 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.
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.” Steven Alfred and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 4 years.
Ilya Rutskiy 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 words a physio says slowly. 85 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“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.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Slavia Sofia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Marked 8.19 — 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.
93 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Torpedo-BelAZ have done the hard part with Bendel Insurance, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Torpedo-BelAZ this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Prague have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
101 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Ilya Rutskiy 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 never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Danila Zhulpa commits to Torpedo-BelAZ for another 4 years.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
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.
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: FCSB keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Ilya Rutskiy 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. MFK Ruzomberok have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Add another name to the list: Osipovichi have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nikita Matusevich. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Premudrov 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Steven Alfred at his very best
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Torpedo-BelAZ have done the hard part with FCSB, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slavia Sofia have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Maksim Balanovich is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Yahor Bykau has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Aliaksandr Dragun has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.97 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
Slavia Mozyr pay $56.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Panathinaikos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Torpedo-BelAZ asked and Panathinaikos 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Vadim Kiselev 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Nikita Korzun stands, which is more than many ever get.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
It finished 1‑0, and it was Vadim Kiselev’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Torpedo-BelAZ.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Premudrov 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.
Position 4, 25 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
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.
Ilya Rutskiy and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
8.49. 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kirill Premudrov, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Yauhen Noyok, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
In brief
The dugoutVladislav Krolik is still being punished for one mistake
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Grenik Petrosyan obliged against Slutsk. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Torpedo-BelAZ.
107 minutes played. Grenik Petrosyan found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Slutsk went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Grenik Petrosyan provided it, and the 8.55 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Three points for Torpedo-BelAZ, 1‑0 the final word against Neman in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Premudrov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout31 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Yauhen Noyok, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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.
Ilya Rutskiy 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Yauhen Noyok 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.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 88th, and Dinamo Minsk spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
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 Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8.74. 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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ilya Rutskiy and Torpedo-BelAZ agree another 4 years.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
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.
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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout10 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Yauhen Noyok chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
Looking aheadA test against the best for Torpedo-BelAZ
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Torpedo-BelAZ told Alexandr Lomovitskiy something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Ilya Rutskiy has moved up it.
Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 9 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nikita Matusevich 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 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.
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 Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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 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.
“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.
“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.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Torpedo-BelAZ scored in the 102th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
A mark of 8.53 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 17-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Premudrov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Yauhen Noyok after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
8.04. 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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
The dugoutHalf-satisfied: Yauhen Noyok on the draw
The words a physio says slowly. 30 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Gomel will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Torpedo-BelAZ were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 8.74 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
“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.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Yoan Bornosuzov 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 words a physio says slowly. 37 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov 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.
Gomel 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.
In brief
The dugoutSteven Alfred knocks on the manager's door
45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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.
52 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Premudrov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
59 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Uni-X Labs waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
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 Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Mikhail Ladutsko has come up in conversations Torpedo-BelAZ were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.
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 Alexandr Frantsuzov has written the date down.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Artem Bykov
67 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from NK Krka 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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 Olympiacos 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: Uni-X Labs have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nikita Matusevich. The answer from Torpedo-BelAZ has not changed — yet.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Maxim Gaevoy is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
BoardroomOpen for business: Torpedo-BelAZ enter the window
74 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Torpedo-BelAZ has been clear about where Mohamed Bamba stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
82 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Artem Bykov 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.
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.
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 words a physio says slowly. 89 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Uladzimir Skavysh has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ruslan Kavalyou has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The name of Timofey Yurasov has come up in conversations Torpedo-BelAZ were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nikita Matusevich 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.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Vadim Kiselev 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 Maxim Gaevoy is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Vladislav Shubovich.
The words a physio says slowly. 104 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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.
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 Yevhen Chahovets has written the date down.
3 goals in 5 games at Uni-X Labs — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Torpedo-BelAZ updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
111 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Artem Bykov 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 Grenik Petrosyan is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
118 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ihar Chalavach has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Premudrov is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Alexandr Lomovitskiy is on it.
In brief
The dugoutDanila Zhulpa knocks on the manager's door
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Ilya Rutskiy
125 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Artem Bykov 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 Maxim Gaevoy is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Torpedo-BelAZ, and both men came out saying it was fine.
132 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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.
“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 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.
142 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torpedo-BelAZ lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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.
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.
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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kirill Premudrov 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 what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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.
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.
4 call-ups is a compliment to the squad and a headache for the man running it. He will get them back in a fortnight, tired, in various states of repair.
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.
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 Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kirill Arlouski has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
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.
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.
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.
Individual work, away from the group, aimed at one specific thing the coaches think is holding him back. It rarely makes the news and it is how most improvement actually happens.
“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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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.
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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Torpedo-BelAZ told Fran Budimir something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
Artem Bykov 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.
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.
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 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Aliaksandr Hleb is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Uladzimir Kavalyou is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
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 training ground goes quiet for a fortnight. 4 men have gone off to be somebody else’s players, and the manager is left with the ones nobody has called.
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.
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Artem Bykov 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.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
19 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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Maxim Budko has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Grigoriy Martyanov is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kirill Premudrov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Terms 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.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Minsk were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Artem Bykov 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.
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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.30 — 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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
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.” Yauhen Noyok, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kirill Premudrov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Arsenal Dzerzhinsk? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Torpedo-BelAZ will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Torpedo-BelAZ has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
Torpedo-BelAZ close the window on a squad of their own making
21 in and 0 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.
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Podbrezova is saying, and nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ is enjoying the guessing.
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: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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 bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Torpedo-BelAZ will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yevhen Chahovets, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
19 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Dmitriy Nizhnik 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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cherno More have kept their man, and Torpedo-BelAZ go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Torpedo-BelAZ will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Grenik Petrosyan obliged against Smorgon. 4‑2 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Torpedo-BelAZ.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Grenik Petrosyan provided it, and the 8.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Torpedo-BelAZ and Smorgon in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Andrey Rum 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Torpedo-BelAZ training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Artem Bykov 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 bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Torpedo-BelAZ will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 1 on the scoresheet, 8.21 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
The deal with Zadar 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.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Arseniy Asonov 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Artem Bykov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Torpedo-BelAZ will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Vladislav Shubovich is living that version at Torpedo-BelAZ, and it tends to show in the first month.
$99.0K on the table at Slavia Mozyr. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Slavia Mozyr will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Artem Krent 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.
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.
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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Pavel Savitski has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Yahor Balanovich has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Raman Yablonski has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Steven Alfred will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Torpedo-BelAZ escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sergey Ignatovich commits to Torpedo-BelAZ for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Artem Bykov 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.
Still no offer on the table, and Sergey Ignatovich’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
In brief
Squad17 new faces, and Torpedo-BelAZ are still learning each other