37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Samgurali Tskaltubo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
7.37, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Samgurali Tskaltubo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Zurab Chavchanidze 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 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Dato Kobiashvili on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Sioni will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Samgurali Tskaltubo were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
A brace, and Thiago Calone takes the afternoon — 8.64
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Thiago Calone provided it, and the 8.64 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Samgurali Tskaltubo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Zurab Chavchanidze 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 had been thinking. Rickson 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.
“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; Samgurali Tskaltubo are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
6 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Samgurali Tskaltubo can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gustavo Daniel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Samgurali Tskaltubo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Alexandre Klopp is living that version at Samgurali Tskaltubo, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Johnatan Cardoso 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 easiest signature of my career.” Martín Quiróz and Samgurali Tskaltubo agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
In brief
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Loide Augusto
The clubs have shaken hands with Atlantas; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Siauliai they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Dāvis Ikaunieks 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.
This is not rotation. Kator Akile has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Siauliai is pretending otherwise.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Ekene Olisema 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.
“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; Siauliai are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Siauliai lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A 2‑0 win over Stumbras, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
A brace, and Miloš Zličić takes the afternoon — 8.94
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Miloš Zličić provided it, and the 8.94 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from Atlantas for Ignas Sernas 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Siauliai have done the hard part with Kauno Zalgiris, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Siauliai have gone to Kauno Zalgiris with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The clubs have shaken hands with Atlantas; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alexandre Klopp will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Siauliai the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Siauliai offered $190.0K; Stumbras said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Siauliai this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Đorđe Kukolj 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.
“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; Siauliai are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Siauliai will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
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 Alexandre Klopp is on it.
In brief
The dugoutEliot Boudet asks for a word with the manager
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Suduva 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.
The offer went to Stumbras this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Veljko Bogićević 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.
This is not rotation. Edin Ajdinović has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Siauliai is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Đorđe Kukolj 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 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 Siauliai know it.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Siauliai they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The offer went to Kauno Zalgiris this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Veljko Bogićević 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 Ekene Olisema was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Miloš Zličić is on it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Jack Perkins's mistake
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Siauliai lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 15 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Siauliai and Atlantas have settled on $880.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Siauliai can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Siauliai is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
$100.0K on the table at Kauno Zalgiris. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.