Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.37 — 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Davy Roef.
“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 The request is on a desk at Club Brugge, and it is not being withdrawn.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolò Tresoldi and Club Brugge agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Club Brugge this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
“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 The request is on a desk at KAA Gent, and it is not being withdrawn.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The shirt still fits. Jason Lukaku is back at KAA Gent, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
The shirt still fits. Michy Nainggolan is back at KAA Gent, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
The offer from Waasland-Beveren for Kyriani Sabbe 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.
Christos Tzolis 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mamadou Diakhon and Club Brugge agree another 5 years.
The fee is $14.7M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Lokeren drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The chase for Thomas Kompany ended with $9.1M changing hands and Lokeren out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Mohammed El Âdfaoui again, and this time the name on the line is Zulte Waregem. KAA Gent are listening politely and promising nothing.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. KAA Gent know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” KAA Gent have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at KAA Gent, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. KAA Gent know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Michał Skóraś 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.
“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 KAA Gent, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at KAA Gent hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 KAA Gent, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jean-Kévin Duverne trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at KAA Gent would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 34 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mouscron have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Hugo Siquet 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.
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 deal that would have taken Wilfried Kanga to Club Brugge has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to KAA Gent with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at KAA Gent would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 29 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Toby Castagne. 1‑0 against Waasland-Beveren, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.23 — 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.
Position 3, 33 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Gustav Mortensen 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Patrick Le Roux. 1‑0 against Standard Liege, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bryan Van Den Bogaert and Mouscron agree another 1 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Racing Genk defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mouscron have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Gustav Mortensen 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Thorgan Vertonghen. 2‑0 against Lokeren, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Michał Skóraś 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at KAA Gent, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mouscron this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at KAA Gent 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 Mathias Delorge signs something — a contract at KAA Gent or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Toby Castagne 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.
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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 12 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Youri Lukaku 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.
Marked 8.51 — 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Youri Lukaku signs something — a contract at Mouscron or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.