How Andrei Mendel waited six years in the second division — and became Baltika's captain

Opening

21 May 2022, Kaliningrad Stadium, about 4,100 spectators. The final, 38th round of the First League: Fakel lead Baltika 1:0 after Roman Akbashev's 50th-minute goal, while someone on the Voronezh bench is following the text commentary of Volgar v Orenburg.

"I came off near the end — I'd been playing injured for a month, on injections. In the last round I really couldn't anymore. I asked for a phone to see the score. We're second — and my head is a total mess," he said later. He is 27, and this is his first promotion to the Premier League. Behind him: six years in the second division.