Marked for Karamba Gassama
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Jul 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Jadel Katongo is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad3 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Gaziantep training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jadel Katongo 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Jun 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Christopher Lungoyi and Gaziantep agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
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Squad
Words at Gaziantep training over how hard people work
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Squad
5 new faces, and Gaziantep are still learning each other
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Market
Alan Alegre placed on the list
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Market
Gaziantep shop where it costs nothing
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jun 2028
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Maksym Bahachanskyi is living that version at Gaziantep, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Agustín García Basso 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Maksym Bahachanskyi commits to Gaziantep for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
Karamba Gassama 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.
Squad22 May 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Gaziantep, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Apr 2028
Luis Pérez 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 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Myenty Abena
“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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Karamba Gassama 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
Steady
Squad6 Mar 2028
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
There were 10 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.
Match4 Mar 2028
The run at home goes on for Gaziantep
17 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad6 Mar 2028
34 appearances across 9 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Gaziantep know what they have.
Market6 Mar 2028
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Luis Pérez commits to Gaziantep for another 2 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Agustín García Basso 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.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch6 Mar 2028
“I did not go to Hatayspor to sit and watch. I want to come back to Gaziantep and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
Match4 Mar 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Feb 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Gaziantep may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match19 Feb 2028
16 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Luis Pérez 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 Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
23 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
The terraces21 Feb 2028
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match19 Feb 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Karamba Gassama. 2‑0 against Sivasspor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Deian Sorescu 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.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Getting past Zafer Görgen has become the hardest job in the division
9 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.71 on the card, and the Gaziantep support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Jan 2028
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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
The medical room confirms 49 days on the sidelines for Ogün Özçiçek, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad17 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 Dec 2027
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
There were 9 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.
Market27 Dec 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Gaziantep can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Alan Alegre 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.
Match25 Dec 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Karamba Gassama 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Alexandru Maxim dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Dec 2027
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
There were 8 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Luis Pérez 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Dec 2027
Luis Pérez 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 Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match4 Dec 2027
The run at home goes on for Gaziantep
10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Gaziantep training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Karamba Gassama 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.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.75 on the card, and the Gaziantep support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Nov 2027
Burak Bozan is the hero from the spot
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Burak Bozan: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
There were 6 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.
Match20 Nov 2027
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad22 Nov 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 Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Gaziantep training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nazım Sangaré 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.
Match20 Nov 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Besiktas leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Nov 2027
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
There were 6 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Victor Jesus: 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.” Gaziantep have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Luis Pérez 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Oct 2027
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
There were 6 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Luis Pérez 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 Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Oct 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Sep 2027
A fracture rules Alexandru Maxim out for 38 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Gaziantep will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
There were 10 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Gaziantep
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.
Market27 Sep 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 Gaziantep, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Luis Pérez 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 Gaziantep this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 40 days on the sidelines for Jadel Katongo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Alexandru Maxim out for 81 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Gaziantep will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Victor Gidado is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Luis Pérez 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match21 Aug 2027
Hatayspor left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 23 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A one-man rearguard from Zafer Görgen
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.
Match27 Mar 2027
Galatasaray left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Drissa Camara
“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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Marcos Minetti 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.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.