Marked for Eliandro
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Apr 2027
Ilija Vukotić has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFI they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Tempers go at OFI
Borja González 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.
Market12 Apr 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Aaron Leya Iseka has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at OFI.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Eliandro
“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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at OFI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kyllian Gasnier was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Aaron Leya Iseka asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market12 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lorenzo Dickmann signs something — a contract at OFI or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Juan Neira has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Juan Neira has written the date down.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Eddie Salcedo has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” OFI may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A falling-out at OFI
Thiago Nuss and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at OFI
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eddie Salcedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match21 Nov 2026
AEK take the points off OFI
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
No hiding place for Eliandro
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Eliandro, and the manager let it.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“I watch every OFI game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at CSKA 1948 runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.39 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Eliandro: 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.” OFI have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match31 Oct 2026
It had gone 7 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at OFI training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eddie Salcedo 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Panetolikos made OFI work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Pablo Lara has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and OFI will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Spyridon Tzolis kept it short after the 2‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
OFI say no — this time
The offer from Iraklis for Thiago Nuss 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around OFI people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Kavala had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
$2.9M on the table at Panathinaikos. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Market10 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Krešimir Krizmanić again, and this time the name on the line is Hellas Syros. OFI are listening politely and promising nothing.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $3.1M — a club that wants Giorgos Kyriakopoulos enough to be asked twice.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The deal with Cortulua is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Thiago Nuss commits to OFI for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A falling-out at OFI
Thiago Nuss and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.