“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Faisaly can pretend not to have heard.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Al-Faisaly have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Mohammed Al-Fuhaid is 37, with 12 appearances behind him, and Al-Faisaly will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
“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 Al-Faisaly, and 0 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
The shirt still fits. Ahmed Al-Nemer is back at Al-Faisaly, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
A new face in his position, and Raphael Silva suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Al-Faisaly have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Reva Adi Utama arrives at Al-Faisaly with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. Al-Faisaly will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Al-Faisaly, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Al-Faisaly hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Al-Faisaly is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Faisaly can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Al-Faisaly they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Marek Rodák knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Al-Faisaly have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Faisaly can pretend not to have heard.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Ibrahima N'Diaye keeps the shirt for now, at Al-Faisaly's convenience rather than his own.
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Matías Figueredo arrives at Al-Faisaly with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Faisaly has been clear about where Hassan Al-Harbi stands, which is more than many ever get.
A new face in his position, and Raphael Silva suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Al-Faisaly have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Fawaz Rabie arrives at Al-Faisaly with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Al-Faisaly can pretend not to have heard.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Al-Faisaly has been clear about where Ahmed Karenshi stands, which is more than many ever get.