Marked for Lucas Malacarne
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 101 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market28 Jun 2027
Jean puts it in writing
“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 The request is on a desk at ASO Chlef, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Kokou Avotor 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
The paperwork is done: Amine Galou joins from Paradou in a deal worth $41.0K. Now comes the harder part.
The terraces28 Jun 2027
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Amine Galou from Paradou for $41.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Boardroom28 Jun 2027
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Mostapha Badaoui has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means ASO Chlef have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces21 Jun 2027
Anger at ASO Chlef spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Belkacem Brahimi out for 109 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason ASO Chlef will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market21 Jun 2027
$210.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
The terraces21 Jun 2027
Supporters turn on the $210.0K sale of Luis Fernando Cruz
He is going to CS Constantine, the club has $210.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Maki Tall 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and ASO Chlef know it.
Boardroom21 Jun 2027
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
In brief
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Squad
Kokou Avotor falls out with a teammate over standards
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Market
The shop window has Jean in it
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 117 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match14 Jun 2027
ASO Chlef sink to position 15
19 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market14 Jun 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market14 Jun 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ASO Chlef they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market14 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market14 Jun 2027
Add another name to the list: Paradou have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Joelson. The answer from ASO Chlef has not changed — yet.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Kamel Belarbi: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ASO Chlef have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad31 May 2027
Maki Tall in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kokou Avotor 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 May 2027
ASO Chlef are in real trouble now
Position 15, 19 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market17 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ASO Chlef is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad17 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” ASO Chlef may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 May 2027
“I have supported clubs like this one. I know what a bad Saturday feels like here.” The new man starts with nothing behind him and everything in front of him.
Squad3 May 2027
Maki Tall in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kokou Avotor 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Apr 2027
ASO Chlef are in real trouble now
Position 15, 19 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market19 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ASO Chlef is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Lucas Malacarne has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The statement thanked him for his efforts and wished him well, in that order and in about that many words. The search begins immediately.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The ASO Chlef board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
Squad5 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A fresh start for Abdellah Debbari under the new man
Nothing resets a career like somebody arriving who did not pick the side last season. Abdellah Debbari has taken the hint, and ASO Chlef are getting a version of him the previous regime had stopped seeing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Mar 2027
The wait goes on for ASO Chlef
32 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces29 Mar 2027
The mood at ASO Chlef has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 17 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at ASO Chlef
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ASO Chlef is running low.
Market29 Mar 2027
Joelson hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kokou Avotor 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.
Match27 Mar 2027
1‑2 to Paradou, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Dalil Adel Hassen Khodja 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Mar 2027
31 matches without a win for ASO Chlef
The run now stands at 31, and the questions being asked around ASO Chlef are no longer polite ones.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 24 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 24 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.
Match22 Mar 2027
ASO Chlef sink to position 15
19 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market22 Mar 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Anis Elhadj Benchouya will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ASO Chlef the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Kokou Avotor 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Mar 2027
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
30 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 48. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 31 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 31 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.
Market15 Mar 2027
Mohamed Barka hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Market15 Mar 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ASO Chlef they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Maki Tall in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Mar 2027
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
29 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom8 Mar 2027
Aissa Benaceur has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ASO Chlef can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market8 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abdellah Debbari and ASO Chlef agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Maki Tall 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Kokou Avotor 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for ASO Chlef
28 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
14 matches without a goal for ASO Chlef
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 14 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The terraces1 Mar 2027
The mood at ASO Chlef has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 47 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 47 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.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
Pressure builds in the ASO Chlef boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market1 Mar 2027
Joelson hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Maki Tall in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Joelson wants to go home
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and ASO Chlef know it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mustapha Alili 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Feb 2027
27 matches without a win for ASO Chlef
The run now stands at 27, and the questions being asked around ASO Chlef are no longer polite ones.
Match20 Feb 2027
13 matches without a goal for ASO Chlef
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 13 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 54 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 54 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.
Match22 Feb 2027
ASO Chlef are in real trouble now
Position 14, 16 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market22 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Ayoub Kerssani: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ASO Chlef have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market22 Feb 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ASO Chlef they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Maki Tall 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.
Match20 Feb 2027
0‑1 to CR Belouizdad, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
In brief
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Squad
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
-
Market
The shop window has Joelson in it
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Player ratings
The referee tires of Fatah Achour
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Feb 2027
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
26 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 61 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 61 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.
Match13 Feb 2027
ASO Chlef cannot find the net
12 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market15 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market15 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ASO Chlef is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Ibrahim Farhi 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A last season at home is what Joelson is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
Match13 Feb 2027
USM Alger left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Feb 2027
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
25 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match6 Feb 2027
The goals have deserted ASO Chlef
11 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ASO Chlef can tell you which week it ends in.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Aissa Benaceur has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Jean: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ASO Chlef have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Kokou Avotor 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. ASO Chlef will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Redouane Zerdoum, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jan 2027
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
24 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
76 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
The mood at ASO Chlef has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Match30 Jan 2027
ASO Chlef cannot find the net
10 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Pressure builds in the ASO Chlef boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market1 Feb 2027
ASO Chlef say no — this time
The offer from AS Bakaridjan for Luis Fernando Cruz 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
Mohamed Arab: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ASO Chlef have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kokou Avotor 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match23 Jan 2027
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
23 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match23 Jan 2027
ASO Chlef cannot find the net
9 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match25 Jan 2027
Every point is an argument now for ASO Chlef
Position 14 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Maki Tall 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Joelson 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Joelson
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match16 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for ASO Chlef
22 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match16 Jan 2027
The goals have deserted ASO Chlef
8 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ASO Chlef can tell you which week it ends in.
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Joelson: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ASO Chlef have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market18 Jan 2027
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
Maki Tall in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mustapha Alili 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Jan 2027
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
21 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
97 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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 ASO Chlef, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Carlão keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” ASO Chlef may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match9 Jan 2027
7 matches without a goal for ASO Chlef
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Maki Tall 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
0‑1 to CS Constantine, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Mustapha Alili 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for ASO Chlef
20 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match30 Dec 2026
The cup run ends for ASO Chlef
0‑1 against JS Kabylie, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
The terraces4 Jan 2027
The mood at ASO Chlef has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
Pressure builds in the ASO Chlef boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match2 Jan 2027
ASO Chlef cannot find the net
6 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Mohamed Barka: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ASO Chlef have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for ASO Chlef
18 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 112 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 112 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.
Match28 Dec 2026
ASO Chlef sink to position 14
13 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market28 Dec 2026
Joelson hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Match26 Dec 2026
4 matches without a goal for ASO Chlef
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Mustapha Alili 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
No hiding place for Jean
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jean, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Dec 2026
17 matches without a win for ASO Chlef
The run now stands at 17, and the questions being asked around ASO Chlef are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 119 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 119 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market21 Dec 2026
Mohamed Barka hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Match19 Dec 2026
The goals have deserted ASO Chlef
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ASO Chlef can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Dalil Adel Hassen Khodja 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mustapha Alili 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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
7.23, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. ASO Chlef had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Carlão dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2026
16 matches without a win for ASO Chlef
The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around ASO Chlef are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 126 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 126 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
“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 ASO Chlef, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Dec 2026
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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A last season at home is what Jean is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Dec 2026
15 matches without a win for ASO Chlef
The run now stands at 15, and the questions being asked around ASO Chlef are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 133 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 133 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Maki Tall in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Home is on Jean's mind
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; ASO Chlef are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match28 Nov 2026
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Lucas Malacarne damages knee ligaments — 140 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 140 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match30 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for ASO Chlef
Position 14 and 9 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market30 Nov 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ASO Chlef can pretend not to have heard.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Maki Tall 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; ASO Chlef are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Ibrahim Farhi 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
148 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match21 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for ASO Chlef
13 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.
Market23 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Maki Tall in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ASO Chlef this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Nov 2026
The goals have deserted ASO Chlef
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ASO Chlef can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abderrahmane Medjadel, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
155 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match14 Nov 2026
No end in sight to ASO Chlef's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at ASO Chlef has to find a result from somewhere.
Market16 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Maki Tall 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at ASO Chlef training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Carlão 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
No hiding place for Joelson
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joelson, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Malacarne
162 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ASO Chlef lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match7 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for ASO Chlef
11 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Mohamed Barka: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ASO Chlef have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.