Marked for Darius Zadeja
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Feb 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Vüsal İsgəndərli
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Partizani Tirana lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market15 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Partizani Tirana is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market15 Feb 2027
Pogradeci come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Partizani Tirana did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad15 Feb 2027
David Atanaskoski 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 Feb 2027
Carlos Martínez 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Xhuliano Skuka, and the manager let it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
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 Kazeem Ogunleye is on it.
Squad15 Feb 2027
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Partizani Tirana has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Market15 Feb 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Panajot Qirko signs something — a contract at Partizani Tirana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Feb 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.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kukësi know it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Kukësi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kamer Qaka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Kukësi asked and Plateau United 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
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kukësi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Kamer Qaka beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Match6 Feb 2027
Lushnja left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Andrea Pjetri: 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.” Kukësi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Skënderbeu Korçë keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Market18 Jan 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.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The deal with Mingachevir is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Kukësi
Darius Zadeja 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Kukësi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kamer Qaka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Kukësi asked and Ikorodu City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Kammonke Willie is in the works
Kukësi have made the call to Ikorodu City. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Ibrahim Diabaté will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.93 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kukësi can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Luis Felipe 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Kukësi
Ibrahim Diabaté and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kukësi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Match19 Dec 2026
A goal on 86 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Goalkeepers do not get to make mistakes; they get to make goals. He made one, he knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match19 Dec 2026
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
There were 6 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kukësi know it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Kukësi
Fabrice N'Sakala 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Luis Felipe 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 terraces7 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Darius Zadeja has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
The game went through Jude Mamman — 6.33
Marked 6.33 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Hajrulla Tola
“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.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
Wages eat 107% of everything Kukësi earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Skerdi Xhixho'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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Nov 2026
Kukësi bow out of the cup
Bylis go through and Kukësi go home, 3‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.13, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Ildi Xhakaj: 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.” Kukësi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Skerdi Xhixho, 21, steals the show — 7.97
Marked 7.97 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Match25 Nov 2026
Ledjo Tresa among the goals in a wild afternoon
7 goals in one match, Ledjo Tresa on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Kukësi and Bylis.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kukësi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Luis Felipe 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 terraces30 Nov 2026
Kukësi supporters have found a favourite in Ledjo Tresa
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Ledjo Tresa has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
There were 6 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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
7.70, 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Kukësi and Korabi Peshkopi, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Basit Ahmed 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
“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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
One of those days for Kamer Qaka
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Kukësi
Glenis Belloj 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
It finished 3‑3, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 19 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Kukësi know it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Kukësi
Fabrice N'Sakala and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match17 Oct 2026
Still nobody has beaten Kukësi
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Kukësi
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luis Felipe was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match17 Oct 2026
Laçi made Kukësi work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Idris Nuradeen was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.25. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“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 dugout19 Oct 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kukësi can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad12 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Kukësi
Darius Zadeja and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Basit Ahmed 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
24 new faces, and Kukësi are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 7.95, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad31 Aug 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Everything agreed with Dinamo Kirov, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kukësi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom31 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Kukësi
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Kukësi asked and Kauno Zalgiris said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Basit Ahmed 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Idris Nuradeen’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Kukësi.
Market31 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Erald Daci 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Kukësi know which stage they are at.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Kukësi, another week without a signature from Luis Felipe.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Egnatia Rrogozhinë have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Partizani Tirana have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market3 Aug 2026
At 34, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Squad3 Aug 2026
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 Kukësi would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 2026
Laçi come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Partizani Tirana did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rowan Human commits to Partizani Tirana for another 4 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Partizani Tirana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Partizani Tirana training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rowan Human 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Darius Zadeja again, and this time the name on the line is Kukësi. Partizani Tirana are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.