Opinion · 12 min read
Talalaev. The year many labels fell off
Some things about this season will have to be admitted.
Topic
Talalaev
Everything about Baltika's head coach: interviews, selection calls, 'Talalaev-ball' and the big-club rumours.
Where to start
New to the topic?
Start with these — they carry the essentials. Then read the rest in order.
Analysis · 8 min read
Talalaev-ball: they play, but not always the ball. Baltika's season reviewed
Why does this style bring results?
Opinion · 5 min read
Talalaev is ready for a big club. Are the big clubs ready for him?
Baltika has changed the conversation about Talalaev.
The whole story in order
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1
March 2026
Nobody wins beautifully here: what awaits Baltika in Kaspiysk
Baltika do not need beautiful football in Kaspiysk. They need a grown-up match: patience without the ball, control of transitions and set pieces instead of gambles.
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2
Borisko is no longer just a convenient goalkeeper for Talalaev. He makes Baltika's system better himself
There is a lot of systemic football in Talalaev's Baltika, but Borisko has long been one of the reasons the machine works so well.
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3
April 2026
Without Talalaev it got quieter. Not worse
A suspension hits the team's nerve but does not break its mechanics: the back three, aggression without the ball, half-set-pieces and a very clear route to goal.
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4
A draw that leaves more questions for Baltika than joy
Baltika first got exactly the scenario Talalaev's staff usually wants, then destroyed it itself.
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5
Talalaev is ready for a big club. Are the big clubs ready for him?
Baltika has changed the conversation about Talalaev. The question is no longer whether he can handle a big club, but whether big clubs are ready for a coach who demands obedience to a system.
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6
May 2026
Celestini is gone. Now CSKA needs Talalaev
CSKA parted with Celestini not for lack of an idea but because the idea stopped holding the team together. The replacement should be very specific.
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7
Talalaev. The year many labels fell off
Some things about this season will have to be admitted.
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8
From Panama to Kaliningrad: why Baltika is buying Anderson
What kind of deal this is: cheap insurance, a depth player or a potentially very good transfer for Talalaev.
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9
June 2026
Talalaev-ball: they play, but not always the ball. Baltika's season reviewed
Why does this style bring results?
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10
Why Baltika goes to Isparta: not a beach but altitude, isolation and Talalaev's calculation
When a club goes to Turkey, imagination offers a beach and a lazy pre-season. Isparta is not about holidays.
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11
Baltika does not need a striker. It needs Buloychik
Talalaev's team is top five in the RPL for set-piece xG but mid-table for actual goals. Bringing back the set-piece coach is an attempt to close that gap without a new forward.
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12
August 2026
33% possession and two goals: how Baltika won a match it barely had the ball in
Krylia made 568 passes and finished with 0.08 xGOT. The 0:2 in Samara: Civic's early goal, Talalaev's deep block, Anderson's 16 defensive actions and Gil's decisive substitution.
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13
September 2026
Murid spent a year understanding Talalaev. I spent a night understanding Murid
A bench next to Real Madrid, a torn-up contract and a long road to Kaliningrad.
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14
Mikhail Ryadno at Baltika: why the defender needed the move
The youngest player in Super Cup history, Rodina's player of the season and one of the best lots on the winter market — and still twenty or thirty minutes in the RPL. What Talalaev wants from Ryadno, and why his full matches so far come in the Cup.
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15
Ivan Belikov: how Talalaev found him in Tver for Baltika
Talalaev spotted Tver's 195-centimetre midfielder in a friendly and began giving him instructions mid-game. Four days of trial later Belikov was in the RPL. RuStat shows what the coach saw — 27 duels per 90 minutes against 14.7 for the average holding midfielder — and why his height is misleading.
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16
October 2026
Possession for Samara, chances for Baltika: behind the 2–0 cup win
Golenkov kisses the turf in his hometown, Kirsh scores his first Baltika goal and the visitors create ten goalscoring chances. A RuStat-based analysis of the 2–0 cup victory, with player ratings.
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17
Beveev drove forward, Latyshonok saved, forwards stayed silent: Baltika's 0-0 Rostov ratings
Player ratings after Baltika's 0-0 with Rostov, RuStat numbers, and the late Sunday kickoff.
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18
Are long throw-ins a waste of time? Not with Baltika's Beveev
A study of 163 throw-ins by Mingiyan Beveev, three goals and why second balls make Baltika's set plays work.
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19
Cordoba says Krasnodar dominated for 90 minutes. The numbers give them only 45
Krasnodar 1-1 Baltika: two different halves, a stoppage-time equalizer and player ratings.
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20
Baltika 2-3 Zenit: why the numbers could not save the match
Baltika took 14 shots to Zenit's six but lost 2-3 in the Russian Cup. A statistical match analysis and player ratings.