0‑3 to Besa Kavajë, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“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 The request is on a desk at Pogradeci, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Pogradeci have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Precious Agwu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Enes Kuka 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.
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Ensar Kampula left the room before anybody could ask which.
The deal with Dinamo City 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is saying, and nobody at Pogradeci is enjoying the guessing.
“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 Pogradeci know it.
Kleandro Kleandro and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Enes Kuka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Pogradeci are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Flavio Shkembi is 18, and Pogradeci have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“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 Pogradeci, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have shaken hands with Vllaznia Shkodër; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The deal with Tirana 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Pogradeci will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enes Kuka 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
9 new faces, and Pogradeci are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Pogradeci have made the call to Dinamo City. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
In brief
The dugoutSokol Uldedaj has become a man the manager trusts
Position 11, 20 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.
The terraces2 Aug 2027
The mood at Pogradeci 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.
“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 Pogradeci, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nura Dan Megi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Pogradeci the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Precious Agwu 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.
Pogradeci asked and Vora said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Enes Kuka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Pogradeci know it.
In brief
BoardroomWages swallow 94% of the Pogradeci income
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Vllaznia Shkodër, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Precious Agwu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Pogradeci asked and Tirana said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Enes Kuka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Pogradeci have made the call to Teuta Durrës. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Pogradeci will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Pogradeci is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The deal with Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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.
Precious Agwu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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 Pogradeci know it.
Pogradeci asked and Vora said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Enes Kuka 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and João Urbáez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Precious Agwu 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Enes Kuka 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Pogradeci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Precious Agwu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad3 May 2027
Enes Kuka 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Rafael Reyes trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Pogradeci are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
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 Drilon Mati has written the date down.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
“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 Pogradeci know it.
Squad26 Apr 2027
João Urbáez 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.
Nobody at Pogradeci 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
“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; Pogradeci are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Precious Agwu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enes Kuka 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.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sokol Uldedaj is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Precious Agwu signs something — a contract at Pogradeci or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. João Urbáez 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Pogradeci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Pogradeci. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Enes Kuka 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.
Aurel Xhemali 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say João Urbáez is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Pogradeci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Pogradeci will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Precious Agwu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Enes Kuka 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.
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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Precious Agwu signs something — a contract at Pogradeci or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
Precious Agwu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. João Urbáez 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and José Rafael Reyes trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Pogradeci would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
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 Drilon Mati has written the date down.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pogradeci can pretend not to have heard.
“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 Pogradeci know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enes Kuka 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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Pogradeci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Pogradeci until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and João Urbáez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to Egnatia Rrogozhinë: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Pogradeci have made the call to Partizani Tirana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
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.
“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; Pogradeci are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and João Urbáez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 7.05 on 10 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 2‑3 defeat, delivered by Ensar Kampula to a room that had heard them before.
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.
Precious Agwu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enes Kuka 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.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
A 1‑1 draw with Burreli leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Ensar Kampula was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Pogradeci dressing room was either.
Kleandro Kleandro 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Enes Kuka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Pogradeci know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Pogradeci have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pogradeci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Enes Kuka 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.
26 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Kastrioti Krujë in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Flamurtari have kept their man, and Pogradeci go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Pogradeci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enes Kuka 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.
26 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Ensar Kampula left the room before anybody could ask which.
Henri Bega 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.
“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 Pogradeci will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.