Marked for Marko Simić
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2031
A European night to remember for Napredak
2‑0 against Flora, under lights, against people who do not speak the same language as the crowd. These are the evenings a club measures its decade in, and there are never as many of them as anybody expects.
Player ratings15 Dec 2031
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match13 Dec 2031
Nowhere to hide for Napredak
0‑3 against TSC, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Miloš Zličić breaks a bone — 87 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 87 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market15 Dec 2031
“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 The request is on a desk at Napredak, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market15 Dec 2031
Only the photograph left for Dániel Bartusz
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dániel Bartusz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Napredak the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings15 Dec 2031
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.84 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Aleksa Radonjić 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.
Squad15 Dec 2031
A row about effort at Napredak
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dušan Pantelić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Nov 2031
1‑5 to Novi Pazar, 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.
Match29 Nov 2031
No end in sight to Napredak's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Napredak has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Dec 2031
101 days out for Miloš Zličić after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Napredak will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match28 Nov 2031
A European lesson for Napredak
0‑1 against Roda. Continental football is unforgiving about the things a domestic league lets a side get away with, and this was a night spent finding out which of those the club still has.
Market1 Dec 2031
“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 Napredak, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Dec 2031
There were 7 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.
Boardroom1 Dec 2031
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Napredak
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad1 Dec 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Napredak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Nov 2031
Bashar Musa among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, Bashar Musa on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Napredak and Novi Pazar.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Nov 2031
A fracture rules Miloš Zličić out for 108 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Napredak will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market24 Nov 2031
Bashar Musa 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 Napredak can pretend not to have heard.
Match24 Nov 2031
Napredak are in real trouble now
Position 14, 16 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.
Match22 Nov 2031
7 matches without a win for Napredak
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Napredak are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings24 Nov 2031
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.53 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Match22 Nov 2031
Andrija Majdevac scored, and precious little else went right: 3‑5 to IMT, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad24 Nov 2031
A falling-out at Napredak
Strahinja Jovanović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match22 Nov 2031
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Napredak and IMT in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad24 Nov 2031
Dušan Pantelić 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Oct 2031
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The terraces13 Oct 2031
Anger at Napredak spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Match11 Oct 2031
Beaten 1‑4 by Crvena Zvezda, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match11 Oct 2031
No end in sight to Napredak's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Napredak has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom13 Oct 2031
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Slobodan Milenkovic has agreed terms with Radnicki Nis for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Market13 Oct 2031
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Napredak they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad13 Oct 2031
Strahinja Jovanović 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.
Squad13 Oct 2031
A row about effort at Napredak
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dušan Pantelić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad13 Oct 2031
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Aug 2031
Beaten 0‑3 by Spartak Subotica, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
The dugout4 Aug 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Napredak may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad4 Aug 2031
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Player ratings4 Aug 2031
Successful dribbles: 25. 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.
Squad4 Aug 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Napredak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets4 Aug 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. PAOK have kept their man, and Napredak go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market4 Aug 2031
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Dániel Bartusz has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Napredak.
The dugout4 Aug 2031
Marko Simić 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.
Squad4 Aug 2031
Miloš Soprenić 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Jun 2031
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Napredak lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market30 Jun 2031
“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.
Market30 Jun 2031
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Napredak is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Strahinja Jovanović 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 targets30 Jun 2031
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.
Squad30 Jun 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Branislav Tadic and Napredak agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Transfer targets30 Jun 2031
A loan move for Dušan Jovanović is in the works
Napredak have made the call to Partizan. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets30 Jun 2031
A loan move for Filip Dostanić is in the works
Napredak have made the call to Crvena Zvezda. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market30 Jun 2031
The clock does Marko Simić’s negotiating for him
7 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Napredak could ask drops and the wages Marko Simić can ask rise.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom16 Jun 2031
Pressure builds in the Napredak boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad16 Jun 2031
36 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Napredak lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market16 Jun 2031
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Napredak people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market16 Jun 2031
Napredak say no — this time
The offer from Javor-Matis for Bashar Musa 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.
Market16 Jun 2031
“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.
Squad16 Jun 2031
Bashar Musa 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 targets16 Jun 2031
TSC wanted more than $240.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets16 Jun 2031
Napredak asked and Crvena Zvezda said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout16 Jun 2031
Marko Simić 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Jun 2031
43 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Napredak lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market9 Jun 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Napredak can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
The paperwork begins on Jan Virgili
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Napredak have done the hard part with Crvena Zvezda, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Market9 Jun 2031
The name of Aleksa Radonjić has come up in conversations Napredak were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Transfer targets9 Jun 2031
The offer went to TSC this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad9 Jun 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Napredak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Jun 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Darko Lukic and Napredak agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
“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.
Market9 Jun 2031
Kai Jansen is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Napredak has been clear about where Kai Jansen stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom21 Apr 2031
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Napredak
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad21 Apr 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Napredak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Apr 2031
Words at Napredak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miloš Soprenić 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 dugout21 Apr 2031
Marko Simić 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.
The dugout21 Apr 2031
Kai Jansen 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 dugout21 Apr 2031
Darko Sergej has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Napredak 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad14 Apr 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Napredak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Miloš Soprenić 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 dugout14 Apr 2031
The manager makes an example of Dániel Bartusz
“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.
The dugout14 Apr 2031
Bashar Musa 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 dugout14 Apr 2031
Marko Simić knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marko Simić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market14 Apr 2031
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Napredak know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Petar Mićin is doing the arithmetic
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Napredak says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Kai Jansen wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Napredak have no good answer.
Market14 Apr 2031
Napredak have let the market know Aleksa Radonjić can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout17 Mar 2031
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad17 Mar 2031
A falling-out at Napredak
Nemanja Stevanović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
Bashar Musa knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Napredak, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market17 Mar 2031
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Napredak know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market17 Mar 2031
Senne Maes told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Senne Maes has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Napredak.
Market17 Mar 2031
Napredak have made Aleksa Radonjić available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout17 Mar 2031
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.
Boardroom17 Mar 2031
The Napredak production line keeps running
51 graduates out of an academy now rated 9 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Mar 2031
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Napredak is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Words exchanged at Napredak
Nemanja Stevanović 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.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Miloš Soprenić 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 dugout10 Mar 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kai Jansen, and the manager let it.
Market10 Mar 2031
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Petar Mićin is doing the arithmetic
The table has started to be checked before the results are in, and that is always the tell. Nobody at Napredak says the word out loud, and everybody in the building is thinking it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces3 Mar 2031
The mood at Napredak has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom3 Mar 2031
Djordje Djuricic has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Napredak can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match3 Mar 2031
Every point is an argument now for Napredak
Position 14 and 23 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.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Nemanja Stevanović 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 Mar 2031
Words at Napredak training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miloš Soprenić 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 dugout3 Mar 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marko Simić, and the manager let it.
Market3 Mar 2031
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad3 Mar 2031
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Darko Sergej commits to Napredak for another 4 years.
The dugout3 Mar 2031
Kai Jansen loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Kai Jansen's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Feb 2031
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Napredak
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market24 Feb 2031
Bashar Musa 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 Napredak can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout24 Feb 2031
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad24 Feb 2031
A falling-out at Napredak
Strahinja Jovanović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Feb 2031
Miloš Soprenić 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 dugout24 Feb 2031
The manager makes an example of Bashar Musa
“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
Boardroom27 Jan 2031
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Napredak
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market27 Jan 2031
“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 Napredak, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market27 Jan 2031
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Napredak have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets27 Jan 2031
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Napredak have done the hard part with Partizan, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Match25 Jan 2031
No end in sight to Napredak's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Napredak has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad27 Jan 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Napredak this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match25 Jan 2031
3 matches without a goal for Napredak
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Transfer targets27 Jan 2031
Napredak asked and Radnicki Nis said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad27 Jan 2031
A row about effort at Napredak
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miloš Soprenić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Jan 2031
0‑5 to Crvena Zvezda, 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.
Market20 Jan 2031
“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.
Squad20 Jan 2031
There were 7 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.
Squad20 Jan 2031
A move Marko Simić would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Marko Simić is living that version at Napredak, and it tends to show in the first month.
Transfer targets20 Jan 2031
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Napredak have done the hard part with Partizan, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad20 Jan 2031
A falling-out at Napredak
Nemanja Stevanović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets20 Jan 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Novi Pazar have kept their man, and Napredak go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad20 Jan 2031
Miloš Soprenić 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 dugout20 Jan 2031
“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.