Rocco Vicol

Central Midfielder - Rudar Velenje
9 Jul 2034
Sunday
Process

Marked for Rocco Vicol

412 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

19 Jun 2034
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Valentin Atayan out for 26 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Rudar Velenje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Tempers go at Rudar Velenje

Denis Nikić 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

Rocco Vicol 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

Back issues
406 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

8 May 2034
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Valentin Atayan out for 72 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Rudar Velenje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Lejs Pličanić stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Lejs Pličanić and Rudar Velenje agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Rudar Velenje

Sabur Ali 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.

In brief

403 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

17 Apr 2034
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Valentin Atayan breaks a bone — 93 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Tempers go at Rudar Velenje

Sabur Ali 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

Rocco Vicol 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

  • Squad Luka Kolar has become a man the manager trusts
400 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

27 Mar 2034
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Kevin Skubic

28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Rudar Velenje lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

A fracture rules Valentin Atayan out for 115 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Rudar Velenje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Lejs Pličanić 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

397 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

6 Mar 2034
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Evgeniy Tishkov says Rudar Velenje went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Ante Kozina stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Ante Kozina and Rudar Velenje agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Ante Kozina 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

  • Squad Rocco Vicol falls out with a teammate over standards
386 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

19 Dec 2033
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Lejs Pličanić 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Adam Vošnjak 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

Rocco Vicol 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

  • Squad Sabur Ali has become a man the manager trusts
374 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

26 Sep 2033
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Luka Kolar

There were 12 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

Rudar Velenje refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 18 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Squad

Rocco Vicol: 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.” Rudar Velenje have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Rudar Velenje

Ante Kozina 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

Adam Vošnjak 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

Gašper Gaberšek Rotovnik was immovable

19 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Player ratings

Ante Kozina shuts the door

Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

Rastko Rastoka 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.

Match

Point won or two lost for Rudar Velenje?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Olimpija Ljubljana? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

373 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

19 Sep 2033
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Luka Kolar keeps Rudar Velenje in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Diego Conte keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Ante Kozina 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

364 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

18 Jul 2033
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Rudar Velenje

Sabur Ali 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

Evgeniy Tishkov has improved at 26, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Squad

Rocco Vicol 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

361 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

27 Jun 2033
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Sabur Ali

27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Rudar Velenje lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Sabur Ali 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Arsenii Fedorenko has improved at 25, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

In brief

  • Squad Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
342 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

14 Feb 2033
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Rastko Rastoka: 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.” Rudar Velenje have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tom Kljun 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

Rocco Vicol 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

336 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

3 Jan 2033
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

The season belongs to Gal Gorenak

An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Rudar Velenje have had the benefit of it.

Squad

Tom Kljun 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

Rocco Vicol 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

334 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

20 Dec 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Ante Kozina 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Vošnjak 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

No hiding place for Rocco Vicol

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

In brief

  • Squad Ante Kozina has become a man the manager trusts
331 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

29 Nov 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Nemanja Studen damages knee ligaments — 36 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.

Squad

Rocco Vicol says Rudar Velenje went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Ante Kozina 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

  • Squad Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
321 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

20 Sep 2032
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Luka Kolar keeps Rudar Velenje in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Match

The run at home goes on for Rudar Velenje

11 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.

Match

7 unbeaten for Rudar Velenje

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Rudar Velenje did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Tom Kljun 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.

Match

Gal Gorenak the difference as Rudar Velenje beat NK Krka

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gal Gorenak. 2‑0 against NK Krka, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Ante Kozina was immovable

18 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Squad

Rocco Vicol 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Rudar Velenje pick somebody else ahead of Lejs Pličanić

There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Gašper Gaberšek Rotovnik

Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

In brief

316 Edition

The Rudar Velenje Courier

16 Aug 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Filip Janza breaks a bone — 42 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Rocco Vicol keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Lejs Pličanić 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 Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Adam Vošnjak 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.

Match

No goals between Rudar Velenje and NK Krsko

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. NK Krsko will be the happier side with the point.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Adam Vošnjak

Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief