Alan Martínez

Striker - HNK Vukovar 1991
17 Sep 2028
Sunday
Process

Marked for Alan Martínez

106 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

7 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Petar Šimun Žaja: 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.” HNK Vukovar 1991 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Match

The wait goes on for HNK Vukovar 1991

5 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.

Squad

Real improvement from Yoyo Aviv at HNK Vukovar 1991

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Yoyo Aviv is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Merveil Ndockyt 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.

Squad

A late step up for Eniss Shabani

At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.

Match

A bad afternoon for HNK Vukovar 1991 against HNK Gorica

0‑1 to HNK Gorica, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

In brief

Back issues
101 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for HNK Vukovar 1991

Position 9 and 17 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.

Squad

Merveil Ndockyt 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ivan Mamut 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.

In brief

94 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

15 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Merveil Ndockyt 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.

Squad

Words at HNK Vukovar 1991 training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Mamut 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.

Loan watch

Petar Andrić counts the days

“I watch every HNK Vukovar 1991 game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Viitorul runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

In brief

84 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

6 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces

Anger at HNK Vukovar 1991 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.

Squad

Antonio Bosec signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Antonio Bosec commits to HNK Vukovar 1991 for another 3 years.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Merveil Ndockyt 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.

Boardroom

HNK Vukovar 1991 beat the market to Marin Kuzmanić from Dugopolje

Dugopolje will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Marin Kuzmanić has pre-agreed a move to HNK Vukovar 1991, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.

Squad

Words at HNK Vukovar 1991 training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristijan Pavičić 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.

Loan watch

Daniel Vinković has seen enough of Lucko

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at HNK Vukovar 1991, and 8 appearances in 28 say he has earned the hearing.

In brief

75 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Merveil Ndockyt

24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. HNK Vukovar 1991 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Marko Đira 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Merveil Ndockyt 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.

Market

Santiago Krieger is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at HNK Vukovar 1991 has been clear about where Santiago Krieger stands, which is more than many ever get.

Squad

Alan Martínez has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at HNK Vukovar 1991 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.

Squad

Nerves in the HNK Vukovar 1991 squad

Merveil Ndockyt has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.

In brief

73 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

20 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Merveil Ndockyt damages knee ligaments — 39 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 39 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.

Match

Every point is an argument now for HNK Vukovar 1991

Position 9 and 17 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.

Squad

Alan Martínez keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” HNK Vukovar 1991 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

In brief

70 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

29 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Rúben Gonçalves has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around HNK Vukovar 1991 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Merveil Ndockyt 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ivan Mamut 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.

In brief

69 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

22 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

HNK Vukovar 1991 are in real trouble now

Position 9, 17 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.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Merveil Ndockyt 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Mario Tićinović

“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.

Match

No time for Slaven Belupo to settle

The goal that put Slaven Belupo ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when HNK Vukovar 1991 equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Merveil Ndockyt

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

HNK Vukovar 1991 share the spoils with Slaven Belupo

A 1‑1 draw with Slaven Belupo leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Getting past Antonio Đaković has become the hardest job in the division

6 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Squad

Alan Martínez has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at HNK Vukovar 1991 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.

Player ratings

An afternoon Ivan Mamut will want back

Marked 5.14. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.

In brief

66 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

HNK Vukovar 1991 out of the cup

HNK Gorica ended it 1‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Squad

Antonio Đaković decides it from twelve yards

1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Match

The wait goes on for HNK Vukovar 1991

7 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.

Market

Only the photograph left for Rúben Gonçalves

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rúben Gonçalves will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around HNK Vukovar 1991 the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Merveil Ndockyt 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for HNK Vukovar 1991 against NK Osijek

1‑2 to NK Osijek, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The terraces

HNK Vukovar 1991 supporters have found a favourite in Riad Mašala

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Riad Mašala 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Merveil Ndockyt

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Merveil Ndockyt, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Riad Mašala

Marked 8.11 — 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.

In brief

63 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

11 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

The terraces

9th and falling: the mood at HNK Vukovar 1991 has gone

11 points and a position everybody in the ground can do the arithmetic on. The songs have stopped being about the team and started being about surviving, which is a different noise entirely.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Merveil Ndockyt 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.

Match

Merveil Ndockyt’s goal not enough for HNK Vukovar 1991

Merveil Ndockyt scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Istra 1961, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Antonio Bosec gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Santiago Krieger signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Santiago Krieger commits to HNK Vukovar 1991 for another 2 years.

Squad

Alan Martínez has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at HNK Vukovar 1991 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

62 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

4 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Santiago Krieger keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” HNK Vukovar 1991 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Rúben Gonçalves has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around HNK Vukovar 1991 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Mario Tićinović signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mario Tićinović and HNK Vukovar 1991 agree another 2 years.

Squad

Merveil Ndockyt 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ivan Mamut 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 ratings

One of those days for Ivan Ćubelić

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.37, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

59 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

13 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for HNK Vukovar 1991

4 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.

Match

The goals have deserted HNK Vukovar 1991

4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at HNK Vukovar 1991 can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Mario Tićinović 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.

Squad

Riad Mašala signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Riad Mašala and HNK Vukovar 1991 agree another 4 years.

Squad

Words at HNK Vukovar 1991 training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Mamut 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Jakov Gurlica

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for HNK Vukovar 1991 against Lokomotiva Zagreb

0‑1 to Lokomotiva Zagreb, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Market

Metalurh Zaporizhzhia are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. HNK Vukovar 1991 will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Mario Tićinović

He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.

In brief

52 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Robin Gonzalez asks to leave HNK Vukovar 1991

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Robin Gonzalez 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.

Boardroom

5 academy players handed senior numbers at HNK Vukovar 1991

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Squad

Ivan Mamut 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Mario Tićinović

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mario Tićinović, and the manager let it.

Market

Daniel Srna steps up from the HNK Vukovar 1991 academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Daniel Srna 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.

Market

Sime Stanisic steps up from the HNK Vukovar 1991 academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Sime Stanisic 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.

Market

Niko Modric steps up from the HNK Vukovar 1991 academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Niko Modric 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.

Match

HNK Vukovar 1991 and HNK Rijeka take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

49 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Alan Martínez keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” HNK Vukovar 1991 may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Robin Gonzalez 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at HNK Vukovar 1991 training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Mamut 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

43 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Mario Tićinović 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.

Squad

Robin Gonzalez 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.

Loan watch

Daniel Vinković counts the days

“I watch every HNK Vukovar 1991 game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Hrvatski Dragovoljac runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

In brief

42 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for HNK Vukovar 1991

Position 8 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.

Market

Kerim Çalhanoğlu 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Alen Jurilj 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.

Squad

Alan Martínez gets it from the manager

“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.

Loan watch

Petar Andrić has seen enough of Ilves

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at HNK Vukovar 1991, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Antonio Đaković has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at HNK Vukovar 1991 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

41 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Alen Jurilj 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Robin Gonzalez 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.

Squad

Felipe Augusto gets it from the manager

“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.

In brief

39 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Nikola Krajinović: 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.” HNK Vukovar 1991 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Robin Gonzalez 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at HNK Vukovar 1991 training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Mamut 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

35 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Kerim Çalhanoğlu 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at HNK Vukovar 1991

Alen Jurilj 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.

Squad

Vito Čaić out for 15 days

The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Vito Čaić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

31 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Kerim Çalhanoğlu 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 HNK Vukovar 1991, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Mario Tićinović 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at HNK Vukovar 1991 training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Robin Gonzalez 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

24 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Mario Tadić

38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. HNK Vukovar 1991 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

Cup progress for HNK Vukovar 1991

A 1‑0 win over HNK Rijeka, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Market

Robin Gonzalez asks to leave HNK Vukovar 1991

“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.

Squad

Nikita Vlasenko: 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.” HNK Vukovar 1991 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Robin Gonzalez 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Alen Jurilj

“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.

Player ratings

Alan Martínez was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.01. 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.

Player ratings

Kerim Çalhanoğlu shuts the door

Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

No place for Jakov Biljan in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jakov Biljan has his answer from HNK Vukovar 1991; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief

17 Edition

The HNK Vukovar 1991 Post

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Ivan Rajčić

75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. HNK Vukovar 1991 lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Market

Furdjel Narsingh 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 HNK Vukovar 1991, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

The wait goes on for HNK Vukovar 1991

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.

Squad

Mario Tićinović 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 HNK Vukovar 1991 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at HNK Vukovar 1991 training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Robin Gonzalez 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 terraces

HNK Vukovar 1991 supporters have found a favourite in Jakov Gurlica

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Jakov Gurlica 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Alan Martínez

“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.

Player ratings

Robin Gonzalez runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Jakov Gurlica at his very best

Marked 8.21. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at HNK Vukovar 1991.

In brief