Marked for Ignacio Gamarra
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market19 Aug 2030
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ignacio Gamarra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novi Pazar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market19 Aug 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Maciej Klich: 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.” Novi Pazar have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match17 Aug 2030
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Novi Pazar have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad19 Aug 2030
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Aug 2030
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ignacio Gamarra. 2‑1 against TSC, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings19 Aug 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.61, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market19 Aug 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Novi Pazar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad19 Aug 2030
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Bogdan Sheiko knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Aug 2030
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.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
Defensive actions: 31. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market12 Aug 2030
“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 The request is on a desk at Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market12 Aug 2030
Only the photograph left for Jonathan Meza
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jonathan Meza will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novi Pazar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Aug 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
Marked 9.54 — 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.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
A performance of 9.53 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match10 Aug 2030
Three points for Novi Pazar, 2‑0 the final word against Napredak in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Aug 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad5 Aug 2030
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.
Market5 Aug 2030
The bid was some way short and Novi Pazar did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad5 Aug 2030
Filip Bačkulja 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 ratings5 Aug 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Aug 2030
A performance of 8.96 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Aug 2030
Marked 8.59 — 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.
Player ratings5 Aug 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.45, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Jul 2030
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.
Market29 Jul 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market29 Jul 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match27 Jul 2030
4 matches without a win for Novi Pazar
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Novi Pazar are no longer polite ones.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Driton Camaj 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 ratings29 Jul 2030
Marked 8.83 — 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.
Player ratings29 Jul 2030
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match27 Jul 2030
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
Market22 Jul 2030
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novi Pazar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market22 Jul 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market22 Jul 2030
Javor-Matis come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Novi Pazar did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad22 Jul 2030
Filip Bačkulja 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.
Market22 Jul 2030
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad22 Jul 2030
“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.
Player ratings22 Jul 2030
Marked 8.59 — 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.
Player ratings22 Jul 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings22 Jul 2030
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Jul 2030
Matvii Kokora 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 Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Jul 2030
39 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market15 Jul 2030
Add another name to the list: Radnicki Nis have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ignacio Gamarra. The answer from Novi Pazar has not changed — yet.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Driton Camaj 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.
Market15 Jul 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Semir Alić’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad15 Jul 2030
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Novi Pazar would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Luka Babic has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market8 Jul 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market8 Jul 2030
Ajia Yakub has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novi Pazar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market8 Jul 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Novi Pazar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad8 Jul 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ahmed Hadžimujović and Novi Pazar agree another 4 years.
Market8 Jul 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Novi Pazar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
$2.2M taken back off the Novi Pazar table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
Squad8 Jul 2030
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Novi Pazar would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jun 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market10 Jun 2030
The bid was some way short and Novi Pazar did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jun 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Stanislav Bulakhov and Novi Pazar agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market10 Jun 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Novi Pazar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom3 Jun 2030
Luka Babic has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Novi Pazar can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market3 Jun 2030
“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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market3 Jun 2030
Add another name to the list: Radnicki Nis have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Kornél Szűcs. The answer from Novi Pazar has not changed — yet.
Squad3 Jun 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market3 Jun 2030
The Driton Camaj talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Novi Pazar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Boardroom3 Jun 2030
Novi Pazar pull $2.2M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad3 Jun 2030
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Matías de los Santos is 37, with 256 appearances behind him, and Novi Pazar will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
Market3 Jun 2030
Novi Pazar have let the market know Ignacio Gamarra can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Filip Nović knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novi Pazar, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom6 May 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Luka Babic has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market6 May 2030
“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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad6 May 2030
Kornél Szűcs 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 May 2030
34 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market6 May 2030
At 38, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Market6 May 2030
The Driton Camaj talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Novi Pazar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 Apr 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Semir Alić 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 Apr 2030
39 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Mar 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Filip Bačkulja 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.
Squad18 Mar 2030
“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 Novi Pazar know it.
Market18 Mar 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Novi Pazar know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market18 Mar 2030
Novi Pazar have made Ignacio Gamarra available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Boardroom18 Mar 2030
19 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom4 Mar 2030
Luka Babic has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Novi Pazar can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom4 Mar 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Novi Pazar
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Novi Pazar is running low.
Market4 Mar 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Mar 2030
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Mar 2030
39 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad4 Mar 2030
The manager makes an example of Ajia Yakub
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Feb 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad11 Feb 2030
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.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
Marked 8.92 — 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.
Squad11 Feb 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Matvii Kokora commits to Novi Pazar for another 4 years.
Squad11 Feb 2030
The manager makes an example of Dragoljub Savić
“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 Feb 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Novi Pazar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Match9 Feb 2030
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
Crisis
Boardroom4 Feb 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Luka Babic has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad4 Feb 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Novi Pazar may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom4 Feb 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Novi Pazar
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market4 Feb 2030
Only the photograph left for Mateo Maravić
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mateo Maravić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novi Pazar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market4 Feb 2030
“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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market4 Feb 2030
The deal that would have taken Ignacio Gamarra to TSC has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Novi Pazar with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Market4 Feb 2030
The offer from Spartak Subotica for Jonathan Meza 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.
Squad4 Feb 2030
Driton Camaj 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.
Squad4 Feb 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bogdan Sheiko commits to Novi Pazar for another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jan 2030
“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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market28 Jan 2030
So close: Ajia Yakub’s move dies late
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Radnicki 1923 moved on, Ajia Yakub reports back to Novi Pazar, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Market28 Jan 2030
Add another name to the list: Radnicki Nis have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mateo Maravić. The answer from Novi Pazar has not changed — yet.
Squad28 Jan 2030
Filip Bačkulja 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.
Match26 Jan 2030
Three points for Novi Pazar, 3‑2 the final word against Javor-Matis in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings28 Jan 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Jan 2030
9 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings28 Jan 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.86, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Jan 2030
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Jan 2030
“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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market21 Jan 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Novi Pazar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad21 Jan 2030
The medical room confirms 21 days on the sidelines for Ömer Faruk Duymaz, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market21 Jan 2030
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Raivis Jagodinskis is a Novi Pazar player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Ömer Faruk Duymaz 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 ratings21 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.78 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Jan 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bogdan Sheiko, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Defences have started doubling up on Driton Camaj
8 goals and a season average of 7.33 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings21 Jan 2030
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
Crisis
Match22 Dec 2029
0‑3 to Crvena Zvezda, 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.
Player ratings24 Dec 2029
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market24 Dec 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Novi Pazar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market24 Dec 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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match22 Dec 2029
7 matches without a win for Novi Pazar
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Novi Pazar are no longer polite ones.
Squad24 Dec 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.
Squad24 Dec 2029
The medical room confirms 50 days on the sidelines for Ömer Faruk Duymaz, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Dec 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dragoljub Savić, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Nov 2029
Vojvodina ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Market26 Nov 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ignacio Gamarra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novi Pazar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market26 Nov 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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Nov 2029
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.
The terraces26 Nov 2029
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 6 of the 30 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
Squad26 Nov 2029
The medical room confirms 79 days on the sidelines for Ömer Faruk Duymaz, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Driton Camaj 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.
Match24 Nov 2029
Napredak left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 Nov 2029
The manager makes an example of Kornél Szűcs
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Nov 2029
The wait goes on for Novi Pazar
11 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.
Market5 Nov 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad5 Nov 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.
Market5 Nov 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Novi Pazar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings5 Nov 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match3 Nov 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Nov 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Vilotić, and the manager let it.
Player ratings5 Nov 2029
Marked 8.11 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 Oct 2029
The wait goes on for Novi Pazar
10 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.
Market29 Oct 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novi Pazar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market29 Oct 2029
Bob Omoregbe 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 Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad29 Oct 2029
109 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad29 Oct 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Novi Pazar may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Driton Camaj 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.
Match27 Oct 2029
Whatever happens, Novi Pazar do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Oct 2029
9 matches without a win for Novi Pazar
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Novi Pazar are no longer polite ones.
Market22 Oct 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market22 Oct 2029
Mateo Maravić has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novi Pazar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Ignacio Gamarra 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 ratings22 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.86, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 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.
Match20 Oct 2029
It needed Luka Bijelović to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Cukaricki, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Squad22 Oct 2029
4 goals and a season average of 7.23. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Oct 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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match6 Oct 2029
7 matches without a win for Novi Pazar
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Novi Pazar are no longer polite ones.
Market8 Oct 2029
Only the photograph left for Regont Murati
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Regont Murati will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novi Pazar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ignacio Gamarra, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Oct 2029
Marked 8.44 — 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.
Player ratings8 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match6 Oct 2029
A 1‑1 draw with Radnik Surdulica leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Market8 Oct 2029
The name of Driton Camaj keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Novi Pazar say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Oct 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Novi Pazar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match29 Sep 2029
No end in sight to Novi Pazar's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Novi Pazar has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Driton Camaj 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 ratings1 Oct 2029
Marked 8.94 — 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.
Player ratings1 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad1 Oct 2029
“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.
Match29 Sep 2029
A 2‑2 draw with IMT leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Driton Camaj is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.22 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings1 Oct 2029
The one thing Mateo Maravić could not do
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Sep 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novi Pazar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market3 Sep 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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match1 Sep 2029
Whatever happens, Novi Pazar do not lose
7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
One of those days for Semir Alić
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dragoljub Savić, and the manager let it.
Squad3 Sep 2029
The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Regont Murati, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Mateo Maravić knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novi Pazar, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market27 Aug 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Market27 Aug 2029
Mateo Maravić has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novi Pazar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Aug 2029
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.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Aug 2029
The medical room confirms 45 days on the sidelines for Jovan Marinković, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match25 Aug 2029
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Novi Pazar did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.60 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Aug 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Driton Camaj 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bogdan Sheiko, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match18 Aug 2029
A 2‑2 draw with TSC leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad20 Aug 2029
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Aug 2029
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.
Market6 Aug 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ignacio Gamarra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novi Pazar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market6 Aug 2029
Bob Omoregbe 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 Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.66 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Marked 8.34 — 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.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
A defender's afternoon for Semir Alić
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market23 Jul 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market23 Jul 2029
The offer from Radnicki 1923 for Ignacio Gamarra 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.
Match21 Jul 2029
No end in sight to Novi Pazar's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Novi Pazar has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Driton Camaj 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.
Market23 Jul 2029
The shirt still fits. Predrag Grujic is back at Novi Pazar, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market23 Jul 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Match21 Jul 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings23 Jul 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.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Kornél Szűcs 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Jul 2029
Ajia Yakub 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 Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Market16 Jul 2029
The bid was some way short and Novi Pazar did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Semir Alić and Novi Pazar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Ignacio Gamarra 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.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Mateo Maravić knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mateo Maravić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Jul 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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Driton Camaj 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.
Market9 Jul 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Novi Pazar will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad9 Jul 2029
76 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market9 Jul 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Luka Bijelović’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad9 Jul 2029
The move was somebody else's story. What it left behind was a dressing-room stall nobody has taken and a player who keeps looking at it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jun 2029
The offer from Zeleznicar Pancevo for Ignacio Gamarra 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.
Market18 Jun 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jun 2029
The medical room confirms 19 days on the sidelines for Dragoljub Savić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market18 Jun 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Aleksandar Popović may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Ajia Yakub asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Luka Babic has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market4 Jun 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad4 Jun 2029
The medical room confirms 137 days on the sidelines for Jovan Marinković, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market4 Jun 2029
Only the photograph left for Regont Murati
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Regont Murati will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novi Pazar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad4 Jun 2029
79 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 May 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 May 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 May 2029
The medical room confirms 137 days on the sidelines for Regont Murati, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad14 May 2029
33 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market14 May 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luka Bijelović signs something — a contract at Novi Pazar or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market14 May 2029
Novi Pazar have let the market know Ignacio Gamarra can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Apr 2029
Ajia Yakub 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 Novi Pazar can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom30 Apr 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Novi Pazar
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Novi Pazar is running low.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Apr 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 Novi Pazar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ersan Mavrić and Novi Pazar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Apr 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“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 Novi Pazar know it.
Squad16 Apr 2029
36 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad16 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Svante Källoff and Novi Pazar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market16 Apr 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luka Bijelović signs something — a contract at Novi Pazar or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Mar 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Driton Camaj 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 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Filip Jovanovic clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
Match8 Jan 2029
21 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market8 Jan 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ignacio Gamarra and Novi Pazar agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Driton Camaj 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 Novi Pazar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.