The words a physio says slowly. 33 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.
Ante Kozina 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Rok Skubic is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luka Elsnik has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gregor Janza has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Benjamin Birsa is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“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 Rudar Velenje, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Aleks Stojaković is in the works
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Gašper Gaberšek Rotovnik is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Adam Vošnjak 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adam Vošnjak signs something — a contract at Rudar Velenje or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 6 on 18 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Rudar Velenje, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rudar Velenje can pretend not to have heard.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olimpija Ljubljana have kept their man, and Rudar Velenje go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Ante Kozina 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Adam Vošnjak 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.
Rudar Velenje have made the call to NK Maribor. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
A loan enquiry to Olimpija Ljubljana: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Rudar Velenje know which stage they are at.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Rudar Velenje lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Lejs Pličanić 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sabur Ali 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Rudar Velenje, and 0 appearances in 17 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 Rudar Velenje, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Rudar Velenje they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Vošnjak 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Rudar Velenje, and 11 appearances in 37 say he has earned the hearing.
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 Rastko Rastoka is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Rudar Velenje. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Taj Rožič Šuligoj and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sandro Zukić 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Andraz Balkovec is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sandro Zukić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rudar Velenje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Sandi Balkovec has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tomas Oblak is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adam Vošnjak signs something — a contract at Rudar Velenje or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Rastko Rastoka has written the date down.
Lejs Pličanić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Vošnjak 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tilen Rajter Krebs trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Adam Vošnjak signs something — a contract at Rudar Velenje or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Aljaž Krefl commits to Rudar Velenje for another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Adam Vošnjak 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Filip Balkovec is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tilen Rajter Krebs signs something — a contract at Rudar Velenje or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Tomislav Knežević has written the date down.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Rudar Velenje has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Sabur Ali 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Rudar Velenje know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nobody at Rudar Velenje 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.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Rudar Velenje, another week without a signature from Ivan Omazić.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Rudar Velenje 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 Rudar Velenje is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Lejs Pličanić 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 Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Vošnjak 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Rudar Velenje, another week without a signature from Josip Perković.
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 Rastko Rastoka is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tomislav Knežević trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Rudar Velenje asked and Olimpija Ljubljana 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 Feb 2027
Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sabur Ali 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tilen Rajter Krebs signs something — a contract at Rudar Velenje or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Rudar Velenje will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ajdin Kadrić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Rudar Velenje the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. NK Maribor have kept their man, and Rudar Velenje go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Lejs Pličanić 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 Adam Vošnjak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A loan enquiry to Olimpija Ljubljana: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ivan Omazić
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Lejs Pličanić 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.
Add another name to the list: NK Krsko have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ajdin Kadrić. The answer from Rudar Velenje has not changed — yet.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Rudar Velenje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Vošnjak 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olimpija Ljubljana have kept their man, and Rudar Velenje go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Rudar Velenje have made the call to Olimpija Ljubljana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Lejs Pličanić 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Sabur Ali 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.
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 Rastko Rastoka is on it.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Rudar Velenje will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
7.42, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Rudar Velenje can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from NK Krsko for Hugo Šelih 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ivan Omazić is living that version at Rudar Velenje, and it tends to show in the first month.
Rudar Velenje asked and Koper 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 22 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Luka Janza has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.