*Sport Express* recounts how the Voronezh side accomplished the mission of returning to the country’s top football division in just one season.
**First place was non-negotiable**
Fakel
First League 2025/2026
Matchday 33, May 8, 2026, 18:00
Fakel 0
SKA-Khabarovsk 0
The spring turned into a nerve-wracking ordeal for Fakel. Back in winter, nobody doubted that Oleg Vasilenko’s squad would stroll to first place in the world’s best league.
Going into the winter break, the Voronezh team held a comfortable lead. Their advantage over Ural was seven points, over Rodina twelve, and over Spartak Kostroma fourteen.
Fakel strengthened selectively in the winter. The league leaders signed 24-year-old striker Axel Gnapi for 300,000 euros. The French-born Ivorian’s previous club was Lapi. Vasilenko saw him as a strike partner for Albanian forward Pusi, who had netted 13 times in the autumn.
Meanwhile, Fakel loaned out 30-year-old Georgy Gongadze to Chelyabinsk. Voronezh also considered parting ways with another forward, Maxim Turishchev. The 24-year-old ultimately stayed put and became one of the team’s best players in the spring.
The club also purchased 28-year-old right-back Darko Todorovic from Akhmat for 300,000 euros.
Fakel confidently opened the second half of the season, beating Vasily Berezutsky’s Ural at home. Despite a modest 1-0 scoreline, Vasilenko’s men dominated, played from a position of strength, and could have won by a larger margin. The goal came from the attacking duo of Gnapi and Pusi. At that point, it seemed nothing could stop the “flame-throwing” side from finishing top of the table.
But then came a home draw against bottom-side Chernomorets (0-0), followed by a deserved 0-1 loss to Rotor in Volgograd, where the visitors created almost nothing going forward. Before the break, Fakel simply weren’t prepared for the host’s pressing.
Vasilenko was dismayed:
“We played disgustingly and paid for it. You can’t come out for a match like that! If you want to achieve something in life, you must keep your standards. Starting tomorrow, we’ll learn from this,” he said in a flash interview.
“What did you tell your players when you gathered them in the center circle after the final whistle?”
“I told them we’ve become an ordinary team. Tomorrow, we must start from scratch.”
A week later, Fakel drew 0-0 at home against KAMAZ. Vasilenko didn’t treat it as a tragedy, though. Against Chelny, his team couldn’t be accused of underestimating the opponent or being complacent. Fakel looked solid, attacked in varied ways, and created chances, but didn’t score—largely due to the opponent’s goalkeeper’s excellent display.
But what to do with the stark numbers: just one goal in four rounds?
Fakel improved their statistics in Nizhnekamsk, beating local side Neftekhimik 2-0. Turishchev scored a classy goal late on, earning a starting spot against Tula Arsenal—and he made the most of it.
In the first half against the “Gunners,” Fakel reminded everyone of their autumn 2025 form. They crushed Arsenal in the opening 30 minutes, with Turishchev bagging a brace. In both cases, he skillfully beat defenders inside the box and shot accurately under Tsulaia’s post to make it 2-1.
“A good game in terms of quality and content. We saw a cohesive team. The lads did great, they handled it,” Vasilenko noted at the press conference—his 100th match in charge of Voronezh. “Our next match is against Rodina. It’s important to me that Fakel finishes first.”
**”We hit rock bottom”**
Just then, it seemed everything would go back to normal. But in the direct clash with Rodina, Vasilenko’s team was beaten. Three passing errors allowed Moscow to punish them instantly with lightning counterattacks under Juan Diego’s guidance.