62 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. HNK Gorica lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around HNK Gorica people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at AC Milan is saying, and nobody at HNK Gorica is enjoying the guessing.
Jurica Pršir 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dušan Stevanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
HNK Gorica asked and Krasnodar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Raúl Torrente 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dušan Stevanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at HNK Gorica 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. HNK Gorica know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 30 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Jurica Pršir 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 Apr 2027
Words at HNK Gorica training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dušan Stevanović 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 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at HNK Gorica, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason HNK Gorica will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Jurica Pršir 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at HNK Gorica training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ognjen Bakić 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 HNK Gorica 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. HNK Gorica will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Jurica Pršir 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dušan Stevanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
HNK Gorica asked and Villarreal said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dušan Stevanović trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Tomas Baković is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason HNK Gorica will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Ante Erceg 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at HNK Gorica training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dušan Stevanović 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.
“I did not go to Hrvatski Dragovoljac to sit and watch. I want to come back to HNK Gorica and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 25 matches say the rest.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. HNK Gorica will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ognjen Bakić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. HNK Gorica 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 HNK Gorica 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 HNK Gorica this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ognjen Bakić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 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.
Nobody at HNK Gorica 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.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Raúl Torrente arrives from Dinamo Zagreb with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mateo Leš signs something — a contract at HNK Gorica or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutTomas Baković knocks on the manager's door
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. HNK Gorica will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Everything was agreed with HNK Rijeka and then the doctor spoke. HNK Gorica have walked away from a signing on the advice of somebody who never saw him play, which is how it is supposed to work.
The offer from KCB for Husein Sumbuljević 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.
Jurica Pršir 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 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 easiest signature of my career.” Krunoslav Hendija and HNK Gorica agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason HNK Gorica will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Jurica Pršir 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bruno Bogojević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at HNK Gorica 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ognjen Bakić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason HNK Gorica will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Jurica Pršir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at HNK Gorica training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dušan Stevanović 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.
“I did not go to Hrvatski Dragovoljac to sit and watch. I want to come back to HNK Gorica and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. HNK Gorica will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Jurica Pršir 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dušan Stevanović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. HNK Gorica have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. HNK Gorica know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Istra 1961 will replay every second of the added time for a week.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. HNK Gorica scored in the 123th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A brace, and Théo Epailly takes the afternoon — 8.25
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Théo Epailly provided it, and the 8.25 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Jurica Pršir 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 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. HNK Gorica will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Istra 1961, and it could have been more.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A brace, and Jakov Pranjić takes the afternoon — 8.21
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jakov Pranjić provided it, and the 8.21 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The name of Medin Gashi has come up in conversations HNK Gorica were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Jurica Pršir and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at HNK Gorica training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bruno Bogojević 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.
HNK Gorica asked and DAC Dunajska Streda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. HNK Gorica will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Jurica Pršir 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.
HNK Gorica have gone to Dinamo Zagreb with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
HNK Gorica have gone to Dinamo Zagreb with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Thanasis Triantafyllou and HNK Gorica agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.