Marked for Cameron Manang
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 May 2028
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hrvace lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad1 May 2028
Words exchanged at Hrvace
Ivano Kolarik 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Words at Hrvace training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marin Leovac 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 dugout1 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Konstantin Voinkov, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 May 2028
Marin Leovac loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Marin Leovac's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
Squad1 May 2028
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Hrvace would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market1 May 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Šime Perko’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market1 May 2028
Hrvace have made Ivan Šiško available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout1 May 2028
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 Marin Božanović has written the date down.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Apr 2028
84 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hrvace lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom24 Apr 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Hrvace
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market24 Apr 2028
Borna Pernar 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 Hrvace can pretend not to have heard.
Market24 Apr 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dario Maričević will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Hrvace the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad24 Apr 2028
29 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad24 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Hrvace
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marin Leovac was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 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.
Squad24 Apr 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 Hrvace this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout24 Apr 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 Hrvace, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 Apr 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Cameron Manang
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hrvace lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad17 Apr 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 Hrvace this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
A row about effort at Hrvace
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marcel Lorber was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stjepan Kučiš, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Leon Jadek's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Belts tighten at Hrvace
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Apr 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Cameron Manang
99 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hrvace lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout10 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Ivan Šiško has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Hrvace is pretending otherwise.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Hrvace
Ivano Kolarik 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Hrvace training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marin Leovac 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 dugout10 Apr 2028
Ivan Šiško 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 Hrvace, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout10 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.
Market10 Apr 2028
The Borna Pernar story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Borna Pernar signs something — a contract at Hrvace or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market10 Apr 2028
Hrvace have made Borna Pernar available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market10 Apr 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Apr 2028
107 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Hrvace lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market3 Apr 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 Hrvace, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words exchanged at Hrvace
Ivano Kolarik 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Hrvace training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marin Leovac 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 Apr 2028
Leon Jadek 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 dugout3 Apr 2028
Marko Cukon without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Marko Cukon was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
Stipe Pekić 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 Stipe Pekić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 Mar 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Cameron Manang
115 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Hrvace lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
Pressure builds in the Hrvace boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market27 Mar 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hrvace they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A falling-out at Hrvace
Ivano Kolarik 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
Marcel Lorber 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
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Serhii Shvets, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Leon Jadek 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 Hrvace, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market27 Mar 2028
The shop window has Ivan Šiško in it
Hrvace have let the market know Ivan Šiško can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom28 Feb 2028
Pressure builds in the Hrvace boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market28 Feb 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Hrvace they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A falling-out at Hrvace
Ivano Kolarik 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
Marin Leovac 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 dugout28 Feb 2028
“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 dugout28 Feb 2028
Marcel Lorber 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 dugout28 Feb 2028
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Hrvace. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Questions about Vuk Vlahović on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Market28 Feb 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ivo Guljelmović signs something — a contract at Hrvace or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Nov 2027
Yevhen Opanasenko damages knee ligaments — 28 days out
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.
Market22 Nov 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.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Both of them Šime Perko's — 8.44
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.44, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Hrvace may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Ivan Šiško has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Hrvace is pretending otherwise.
Squad22 Nov 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 Hrvace this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match20 Nov 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Hrvace training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marin Leovac 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.
In brief
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The terraces
One of their own: Šime Perko
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Borna Pausić
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Hrvace
Stefan Jovanoski 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 May 2027
Gabriel Rukavina 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.
Squad10 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Cameron Manang and Hrvace agree another 3 years.
Squad10 May 2027
No place for Cameron Manang in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Hrvace are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Market10 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Borna Pernar’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout10 May 2027
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.
In brief
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The dugout
Ivan Šiško knocks on the manager's door
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Match
Nothing left to play for but pride at Hrvace
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 May 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad3 May 2027
A fracture rules Paul Vranjičić out for 16 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Hrvace will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad3 May 2027
At 19, Šime Perko is already the best thing here
An average of 7.08 in a first team he is several years too young for. Hrvace have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad3 May 2027
A falling-out at Hrvace
Ivano Kolarik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Gabriel Rukavina 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 dugout3 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Borna Pausić
“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.
Market3 May 2027
Christoph Krause is 15, and Hrvace have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
The dugout3 May 2027
Christoph Krause loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Christoph Krause's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout3 May 2027
“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.