The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Maribor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
Squad13 Aug 2035
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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 board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. Rudar Velenje will replay every second of the added time for a week.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Tio Cipot provided it, and the 8.56 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” NK Maribor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.20 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Maribor can pretend not to have heard.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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 name of Timon Kikec has come up in conversations NK Maribor were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad16 Jul 2035
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. NK Zavrc moved on, Erik Stojanovic reports back to NK Maribor, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
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.
Add another name to the list: Rudar Velenje have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jan Adžić. The answer from NK Maribor has not changed — yet.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Maribor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Enzo Taborda wants continental football; whether NK Maribor can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad2 Jul 2035
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” NK Maribor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from NK Zavrc for Erik Stojanovic 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mattia Leoncini will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around NK Maribor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from NK Domzale for Benjamin Kampl 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.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Enzo Taborda is living that version at NK Maribor, and it tends to show in the first month.
Add another name to the list: Rudar Velenje have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Filip Kurtovic. The answer from NK Maribor has not changed — yet.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from NK Domzale for Anderson Gutiérrez 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.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Tiziano Caricato is living that version at NK Maribor, and it tends to show in the first month.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from Rudar Velenje for Flavio Di Marzio 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.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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 phone has started ringing about Timon Kikec again, and this time the name on the line is NK Zavrc. NK Maribor are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad4 Jun 2035
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
Commercial news is the news nobody sings about and everything else is paid for with. The board will call it a partnership; the accountants will call it the difference between this squad and a smaller one.
This is the season the town will measure the next twenty against. The trophy travels home with the squad, and the route through the streets was agreed days ago.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. NK Maribor will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Maribor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Dino Kojić at his very best
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Ezequiel Cannavo wants continental football; whether NK Maribor can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
In brief
SquadWords at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Position 1, 40 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Maribor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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 May 2035
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Maribor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadGyörgy Komáromi falls out with a teammate over standards
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
In brief
SquadWords at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Maribor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Maribor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
In brief
SquadWords at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 64 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.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Tio Cipot obliged against Rudar Velenje. 3‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is NK Maribor.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
The words a physio says slowly. 106 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 want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
In brief
SquadWords at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Maribor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
Squad30 Oct 2034
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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 2‑1 win over NK Krka, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings30 Oct 2034
Marko Ristić was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.88. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timon Kikec will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around NK Maribor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
There was one mistake and it ended in the net. Defenders are judged on the worst thing they did rather than on the eighty-nine minutes either side of it, which is unfair and is also the job.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Maribor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Maksym Tatarenko has just signed for NK Maribor, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad18 Sep 2034
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
15 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Maribor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Maribor can pretend not to have heard.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jaša Maričić. 3‑2 against NK Zavrc, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
In brief
SquadWords at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Marko Ristić at his very best
5 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.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between NK Maribor and NK Krsko, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
9 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” NK Maribor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from NK Zavrc for Cristiano De Paoli 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.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Maribor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ezequiel Cannavo 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.
In brief
SquadWords at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
SquadDino Kojić has become a man the manager trusts
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Ezequiel Cannavo has just signed for NK Maribor, and for once the answer mattered.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Marko Ristić 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Rudar Velenje will make the call about Anže Zabukovec this week. NK Maribor have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad12 Jun 2034
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” NK Maribor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadGyörgy Komáromi falls out with a teammate over standards
52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Maribor can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timon Kikec will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around NK Maribor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
In brief
MarketMarko Ristić wants to know where this is going
74 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Marko Ristić 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 Apr 2034
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Maribor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadGyörgy Komáromi falls out with a teammate over standards
102 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
116 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Maribor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 1, 49 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.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
Marko Ristić 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.
Squad13 Mar 2034
Words at NK Maribor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. György Komáromi 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.
Nobody at NK Maribor 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.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Tristan Kotar obliged against NK Celje. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is NK Maribor.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 101th minute. NK Celje will replay every second of the added time for a week.
“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 Maribor can pretend not to have heard.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Timon Kikec will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around NK Maribor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 43 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gašper Vodeb will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around NK Maribor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
Haris Mujanić 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.
In brief
SquadGyörgy Komáromi falls out with a teammate over standards
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Maribor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marko Ristić 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 offer from NK Zavrc for Timon Kikec 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gašper Vodeb will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around NK Maribor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Maribor hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Maribor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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 Maribor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Lanej Bakšič obliged against NK Krka. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is NK Maribor.
Position 1, 49 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.
ND Gorica will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. NK Maribor were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Maribor heard it as anything else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Oumar Sako will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around NK Maribor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
György Komáromi 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.