Marked for Sacha Burek
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Mar 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Aalesund have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A falling-out at Aalesund
Uba Charles and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Aalesund
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cheikh Mbacke Diop was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets19 Mar 2029
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 dugout19 Mar 2029
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 Cheikh Mbacke Diop is on it.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Sacha Burek
“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.
Market19 Mar 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Michael Opoku’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout19 Mar 2029
Tor Erik Larsen 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 dugout19 Mar 2029
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Jan 2029
Uba Charles 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 Aalesund this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Words at Aalesund training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sander Kartum 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 dugout29 Jan 2029
Endre Osenbroch has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Aalesund 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.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sacha Burek, and the manager let it.
Market29 Jan 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jakob Nyland Ørsahl signs something — a contract at Aalesund or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout29 Jan 2029
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Aalesund. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words exchanged at Aalesund
Uba Charles 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words at Aalesund training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sander Kartum 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 dugout18 Dec 2028
When it matters, Uba Charles 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.
The dugout18 Dec 2028
The manager makes an example of Tor Erik Larsen
“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.
Market18 Dec 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Uba Charles’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“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 Aalesund will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
Words exchanged at Aalesund
Uba Charles 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Cheikh Mbacke Diop 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.
Squad20 Nov 2028
24 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Uba Charles gets picked when it counts
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 Uba Charles is on it.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Endre Osenbroch trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad20 Nov 2028
No place for Manuel Sousa in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Aalesund are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Sep 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Aalesund can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout4 Sep 2028
Sacha Burek: 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.” Aalesund have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad4 Sep 2028
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Casper Kristensen-Fodnes is living that version at Aalesund, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Uba Charles 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 Aalesund this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Words at Aalesund training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sander Kartum 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 terraces4 Sep 2028
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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.67 on the card, and the Aalesund support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Aug 2028
Uba Charles 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Words at Aalesund training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cheikh Mbacke Diop 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 dugout28 Aug 2028
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.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sacha Burek, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Aug 2028
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Aalesund lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 12. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match26 Aug 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. IK Start will be the happier side with the point.
Market28 Aug 2028
The Uba Charles talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Aalesund know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jul 2028
“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 Aalesund, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marius Andresen and Aalesund agree another 4 years.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Uba Charles 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Aalesund
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cheikh Mbacke Diop was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match1 Jul 2028
No time for Lillestrom to settle
The goal that put Lillestrom ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Aalesund equalised, 1 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
The dugout3 Jul 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.
Match1 Jul 2028
A 2‑2 draw with Lillestrom leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
7 new boys at the Aalesund academy
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout26 Jun 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Match24 Jun 2028
At last: Aalesund win one
6 matches without a win, and then this, against Mjondalen. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Aalesund
Uba Charles 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 terraces26 Jun 2028
He is 23 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.
Match24 Jun 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Aron Sasu’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Aalesund.
Squad26 Jun 2028
A row about effort at Aalesund
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cheikh Mbacke Diop was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market26 Jun 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Jonas Bruusgaard has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Aalesund.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Marked 7.73. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Apr 2028
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Aalesund will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Aalesund may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad24 Apr 2028
A falling-out at Aalesund
Uba Charles and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Cheikh Mbacke Diop 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Aron Sasu reaches 100 appearances
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Match22 Apr 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
Nobody at Aalesund 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.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Sacha Burek
“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
Upbeat
Market27 Mar 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.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad27 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Aalesund
Uba Charles and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Cheikh Mbacke Diop 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
Nobody at Aalesund 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.
The dugout27 Mar 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 Aalesund, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market27 Mar 2028
The name of Jakob Nyland Ørsahl keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Aalesund say nothing, which says plenty.
Market27 Mar 2028
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Benjamin Hvidt may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A season on the outside for Sacha Burek
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Aalesund has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market28 Feb 2028
Molde come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Aalesund did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad28 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Aalesund
Uba Charles and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A row about effort at Aalesund
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cheikh Mbacke Diop was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Feb 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; Aalesund are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sacha Burek and Aalesund agree another 4 years.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
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 Cheikh Mbacke Diop is on it.
Market28 Feb 2028
The Uba Charles story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Uba Charles signs something — a contract at Aalesund or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout28 Feb 2028
Madou Camara 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.