It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sesvete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Sesvete training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moses Zambrang Barnabas 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 fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Raul Bezeljak trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
HNK Vukovar 1991 next, and one man in the Sesvete dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Petar Antolković signs something — a contract at Sesvete or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sesvete can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kristijan Gojani will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sesvete the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tino Agić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Position 1, 20 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
19 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Teo Barišić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sesvete the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tino Agić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; Sesvete are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout2 Oct 2028
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Sime Cop to a room that had heard them before.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Sesvete told Robert Marijanović something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sesvete can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sesvete they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Sesvete training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tino Agić 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sesvete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every club in football 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 somebody has tried it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Sesvete, another week without a signature from Vanja Šare.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Brinje Grosuplje waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sesvete is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sesvete is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ilan Pejić 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words at Sesvete training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tino Agić 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.
Sesvete asked and Lokomotiva Zagreb said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Lokomotiva Zagreb 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sesvete know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sesvete will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
This is not rotation. Robert Marijanović has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Sesvete is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 May 2028
Tino Agić 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 tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Sesvete can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Something was said to Moses Zambrang Barnabas and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Petar Antolković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Lucko will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Lucko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Lucko, and 8 appearances in 41 say he has earned the hearing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dženis Totić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lucko, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lucko know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Lovro Stanić’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sesvete will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Teo Barišić 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sesvete, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ivan Radošević signs something — a contract at Sesvete or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Yaroslav Chistyakov is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Sesvete. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Dijanis Dudić 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. HNK Gorica have kept their man, and Lucko go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Position 3, 25 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tino Agić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Sesvete game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Lucko runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
A mark of 7.69, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Sime Cop kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lucko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristijan Blaževski 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.
Something was said to Leon Zeqiraj and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lovro Stanić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Lucko would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sesvete will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.49 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sesvete have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
He is 22 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.
Toni Gorupec 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sesvete, and 4 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout25 Oct 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.” Sime Cop, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
NK Osijek go through and Lucko go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
2 behind and going nowhere, until Lovro Stanić decided otherwise. Jarun Zagreb had done the hard part and then watched it come apart, and the noise at the final whistle was the sort a ground keeps.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lucko can pretend not to have heard.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Lovro Stanić has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Buneta was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Tino Agić 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; Sesvete are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
In brief
The dugoutTin Kulenović knocks on the manager's door
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lucko 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 Lucko this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristijan Blaževski 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Duje Ivanovic after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lucko, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lucko know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lucko will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 15 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Kristijan Blaževski 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.
Lucko asked and HNK Rijeka said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Lucko waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sesvete is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Orijent 1919 paid $100.0K and Sesvete took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Segesta have kept their man, and Sesvete go back to a list with one name crossed off 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 Sesvete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Karlo Žiger was one of the reasons people came, and $820.0K does not replace that by itself.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Sesvete training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moses Zambrang Barnabas 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sesvete this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sesvete know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The offer from Hajduk Split for Petar Antolković 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.
Everything agreed with HNK Rijeka, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
“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; Sesvete 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 Moses Zambrang Barnabas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Toni Gorupec 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 name of Jeremiah Olaleke has come up in conversations Sesvete were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vilim Krušlin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Dragan Juranović signs something — a contract at Sesvete or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at Sesvete 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.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sesvete they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Ivan Bošnjak has, at Sesvete, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Sesvete training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Moses Zambrang Barnabas 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.
Antonio Čačić 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 shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Sesvete will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sesvete will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Sesvete, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Sesvete 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at HNK Rijeka is saying, and nobody at Sesvete 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 Sesvete know it.
A conversation is coming this week. Sesvete will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Sesvete training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Petar Antolković 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.