Marked for Ivan Cimerman
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Oct 2029
0‑3 to NK Maribor, 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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Nedeljko Stojišić 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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Words at NK Zavrc training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mark Zabukovnik 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 dugout22 Oct 2029
“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.
Boardroom22 Oct 2029
Nobody left the NK Zavrc dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout22 Oct 2029
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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Youri Fellaini to a room that had heard them before.
Market22 Oct 2029
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Darko Marjanović has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at NK Zavrc.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Two goals and a mark of 8.78 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Kevin Bijol, 20, steals the show — 8.08
Marked 8.08 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Nedeljko Stojišić 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.
Squad24 Sep 2029
A row about effort at NK Zavrc
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mark Zabukovnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match22 Sep 2029
It finished 3‑1, and it was Stian Džumhur’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to NK Zavrc.
The terraces24 Sep 2029
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Ninety minutes of Žan Leban at his very best
Marked 8.27. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at NK Zavrc.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Ivan Cimerman
“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.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces3 Sep 2029
The mood at NK Zavrc 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.
Market3 Sep 2029
Kevin Bijol 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 NK Zavrc can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Sep 2029
Kevin Bijol has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Zavrc they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
NK Zavrc close the window on a squad of their own making
9 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad3 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Zavrc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Words at NK Zavrc training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mark Zabukovnik 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.
Transfer targets3 Sep 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Koper have kept their man, and NK Zavrc go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout3 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matej Pučko, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom28 May 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at NK Zavrc
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at NK Zavrc is running low.
Squad28 May 2029
A falling-out at NK Zavrc
Nedeljko Stojišić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 May 2029
Words at NK Zavrc training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mark Zabukovnik 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 dugout28 May 2029
“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.
Squad28 May 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anej Koroša commits to NK Zavrc for another 3 years.
The dugout28 May 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at NK Zavrc, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Mar 2029
“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 NK Zavrc, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Darko Marjanović commits to NK Zavrc for another 2 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Words exchanged at NK Zavrc
Mark Zabukovnik 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.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Stian Džumhur 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 dugout5 Mar 2029
“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.
Market5 Mar 2029
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ivan Cimerman has his answer from NK Zavrc; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom29 Jan 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at NK Zavrc
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at NK Zavrc is running low.
Market29 Jan 2029
NK Zavrc say no — this time
The offer from NK Krka for Kevin Bijol 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Luka Badžim 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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
A row about effort at NK Zavrc
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mark Zabukovnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
The manager makes an example of Tom Žurga
“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.
Market29 Jan 2029
The name of Lenny Ilečić keeps appearing in other people's back pages. NK Zavrc say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Dec 2028
“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 NK Zavrc, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout11 Dec 2028
Rok Cerin: 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.” NK Zavrc have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Luka Badžim 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 NK Zavrc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Stian Džumhur 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 dugout11 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Tom Žurga
“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.
Market11 Dec 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Oct 2028
No end in sight to NK Zavrc's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at NK Zavrc has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad23 Oct 2028
A falling-out at NK Zavrc
Luka Badžim and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Mark Zabukovnik 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.
Match21 Oct 2028
NK Maribor left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
The team sheet said everything about Tom Žurga
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Tom Žurga.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Somebody else is better right now than Darko Marjanović
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
One booking too many, and Mark Zabukovnik sits out. NK Zavrc lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad13 Mar 2028
115 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. NK Zavrc lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match13 Mar 2028
NK Zavrc sink to position 10
11 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words exchanged at NK Zavrc
Mark Zabukovnik 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at NK Zavrc training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Badžim 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The NK Zavrc dressing room has split into 3 groups
Squads form friendships and that is healthy; this is not that. 3 separate groups, 2 players belonging to none of them, and a set of tables at lunch that have stopped rearranging themselves. It very rarely fixes itself.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Rok Cerin 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.