Marked for Ofer Gelbard
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Jan 2029
16 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.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
Interim Coach has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Panargiakos can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
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.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
The deal with AEK is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Siddick Aboubakar 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 dugout8 Jan 2029
This is not rotation. Bori Hallvaxhiu has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Panargiakos is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets8 Jan 2029
Panargiakos asked and Volos NPS said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kostas Panagiotou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces8 Jan 2029
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Dec 2028
14 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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
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.
Market25 Dec 2028
“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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
César Gómez 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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kostas Panagiotou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match23 Dec 2028
Olympiacos B left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
Nikos Christou is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Ofer Gelbard
“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
Market30 Oct 2028
“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.
Match28 Oct 2028
No end in sight to Panargiakos's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Panargiakos has to find a result from somewhere.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panargiakos may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Panargiakos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Giannis Kapetanos falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad30 Oct 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Panargiakos are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match28 Oct 2028
It needed Giannis Kapetanos to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Hellas Syros, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Giorgos Zonios
“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
Match21 Oct 2028
6 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.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panargiakos may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Siddick Aboubakar 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 Oct 2028
Kostas Panagiotou falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 2‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Nikos Christou is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ofer Gelbard, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom28 Aug 2028
Four paragraphs on the club website, none of them about football. The board thanked him, wished him well, and had the search under way before the page went up.
Match26 Aug 2028
16 matches without a win for Panargiakos
The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around Panargiakos are no longer polite ones.
Boardroom28 Aug 2028
An empty coaching office at Panargiakos
There is nobody left to promote and nobody left to run a session. The board have brought in a name the supporters do not know, and the question of how a club gets here will outlast whoever answers it.
Boardroom28 Aug 2028
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
Squad28 Aug 2028
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market28 Aug 2028
Ofer Gelbard 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 Panargiakos can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
Wassim Kamga: 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.” Panargiakos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets28 Aug 2028
The deal with Levadiakos is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Siddick Aboubakar 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Apr 2028
93 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Panargiakos lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market17 Apr 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Panargiakos they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kostas Panagiotou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Giorgos Zonios and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“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.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Pavlos Chatzidimitriou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout14 Feb 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Panargiakos may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Siddick Aboubakar 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.
Transfer targets14 Feb 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Panargiakos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kostas Panagiotou 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 dugout14 Feb 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Panargiakos, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Panargiakos will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Panargiakos interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Eleftherios Ioannidis keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
Match7 Feb 2028
Panargiakos are in real trouble now
Position 10, 7 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market7 Feb 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Panargiakos have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Panargiakos close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Siddick Aboubakar 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.
Transfer targets7 Feb 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Aris Thessaloniki have kept their man, and Panargiakos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Words at Panargiakos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kostas Panagiotou 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ofer Gelbard commits to Panargiakos for another 4 years.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
A fresh start for Kostas Panagiotou under the new man
Nothing resets a career like somebody arriving who did not pick the side last season. Kostas Panagiotou has taken the hint, and Panargiakos are getting a version of him the previous regime had stopped seeing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jul 2027
Xande Silva breaks a bone — 33 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market5 Jul 2027
“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 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Hapoel Tel Aviv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Fernand Mayembo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Portimonense have kept their man, and Hapoel Tel Aviv go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market5 Jul 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Hapoel Tel Aviv have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
7 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
Daniel Dappa 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.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
When it matters, Or Israelov plays
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Jun 2027
44 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Saba lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Ahmad Dejagah has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad7 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Saba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Arwin Javad 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.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
A loan move for Saeid Karimazar is in the works
Saba have made the call to Tractor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Gostaresh Foulad: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Alireza Haghighi was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Hossein Mehraban trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for Saba
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.
Match22 Feb 2027
Every point is an argument now for Saba
Position 16 and 13 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match20 Feb 2027
Saba taken apart
0‑3 to Esteghlal, 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.
Match20 Feb 2027
The goals have deserted Saba
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Saba can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Saba
Younes Shakeri 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 Feb 2027
Words at Saba training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohammad Reza Ghobeishavi 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 dugout22 Feb 2027
“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.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
Nobody left the Saba dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Ahmad Dejagah to a room that had heard them before.