Marked for Bruno Bruno
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market9 Aug 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Bylis people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market9 Aug 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Kisvárda had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market9 Aug 2027
Bruno Bruno hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Bylis can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ousmane Kane and Bylis agree another 3 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Henri Sulovari 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.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Bylis 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.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Gjorgi Stoilov knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gjorgi Stoilov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Jun 2027
39 days out for Gjorgi Stoilov after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bylis will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market21 Jun 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Partizani Tirana have kept their man, and Bylis go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market21 Jun 2027
The name of Saheed Owolabi has come up in conversations Bylis were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rabiu Abdullahi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
“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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“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 Bylis know it.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan move for Arafat Doumbia is in the works
Bylis 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad31 May 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market31 May 2027
Bruno Bruno hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 May 2027
Dime Dimov 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 Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 May 2027
Pedro Vieira 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.
Market31 May 2027
Denis Shera comes back from a loan that worked
21 appearances and 3 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Bylis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rabiu Abdullahi 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 dugout31 May 2027
Denis Shera 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.
The dugout31 May 2027
Walisson Nem has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bylis 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.
Market31 May 2027
The shop window has Ahmed Sanogo in it
Bylis have let the market know Ahmed Sanogo can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 May 2027
A fracture rules Gjorgi Stoilov out for 74 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bylis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market17 May 2027
“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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words exchanged at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Bylis training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bruno Bruno 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 dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Ionuţ Gurău
“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.
The dugout17 May 2027
Ofori McCarthy has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bylis 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.
Market17 May 2027
The Pedro Vieira story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Pedro Vieira signs something — a contract at Bylis or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout17 May 2027
Henri Sulovari 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.
Loan watch17 May 2027
21 appearances away from home and 3 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 May 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 88 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market3 May 2027
Bruno Bruno hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bylis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rabiu Abdullahi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saheed Owolabi, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 May 2027
Walisson Nem has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Bylis 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Apr 2027
A fracture rules Gjorgi Stoilov out for 95 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bylis will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Dime Dimov 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bruno Bruno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market15 Mar 2027
Saheed Owolabi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bylis they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gjorgi Stoilov, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“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; Bylis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Bylis
Henri Sulovari and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Bylis would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market1 Mar 2027
Bruno Bruno hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bylis may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Bylis
Dime Dimov 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“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 Bylis know it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pedro Vieira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market1 Mar 2027
Henri Bega returns from a loan that taught him nothing
0 appearances and 0 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
Market1 Mar 2027
Manuel Hajrullaj returns from a loan that gave him nothing
4 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ionuţ Gurău, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Bylis would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market25 Jan 2027
Metta/LU come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bylis did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market25 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gjorgi Stoilov, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rabiu Abdullahi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Partizani Tirana have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
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 Ofori McCarthy is on it.
Market25 Jan 2027
The name of Pedro Vieira keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bylis say nothing, which says plenty.
Loan watch25 Jan 2027
18 appearances at Luftëtari and the goals keep coming. Bylis are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market11 Jan 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bylis have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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 Bylis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Bylis
Dime Dimov and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
“I watch every Bylis game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Lushnja runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Match9 Jan 2027
A 2‑0 win over AF Elbasani, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Ninety minutes of Faisal Charwetey at his very best
Marked 8.52. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bylis.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Ernesto Kubazi, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Bruno Bruno 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Bylis
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bylis
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gjorgi Stoilov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match24 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gjorgi Stoilov, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Bylis
Henri Sulovari and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch26 Oct 2026
“I watch every Bylis game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Kukësi runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout26 Oct 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 0‑2 Ernesto Kubazi left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Pedro Vieira is still paying for one afternoon at Bylis
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
Market26 Oct 2026
No place for Bruno Bruno in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Bruno Bruno has his answer from Bylis; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
Bruno Bruno hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bylis can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 3 signed and 10 gone
That is the business done at Bylis 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Bylis
Gjorgi Stoilov 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Pedro Vieira 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Bylis
11 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Looking ahead7 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Partizani Tirana in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Bylis would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market7 Sep 2026
The name of Pedro Vieira keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bylis say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Ionuţ Gurău knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ionuţ Gurău trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.