Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The fee is $1.7M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Zabbar St. Patrick drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Epicentr, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Epicentr, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Epicentr have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Epicentr is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Epicentr, and 0 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 17 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Shakhtar go through and Epicentr go home, 1-2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Epicentr they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Epicentr know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A new face in his position, and Kyrylo Kovalets suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Epicentr have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.