Marked for Dhirar Brik
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 Jan 2029
Tom Flanagan 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 Marek can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Marek have done the hard part with Zaglebie, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
This is not rotation. Slav Petkov has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Marek is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words exchanged at Marek
Toni Ivanov 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.
Transfer targets15 Jan 2029
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Levski have kept their man, and Marek go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words at Marek training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Edgar Mota 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.
Match13 Jan 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Marek can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Todor Angelov after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Südtirol can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A muscle injury and 15 days out for Raphael Odogwu
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Südtirol will quote 15 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Südtirol asked and Avellino said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market16 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Gabriele Platto again, and this time the name on the line is Pafos. Südtirol are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“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; Südtirol are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
A loan enquiry to Alverca: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Market16 Aug 2027
The name of Andrea Giorgini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Südtirol say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A wage question at Südtirol
Alessandro Mallamo has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
Fabian Tait has been promised minutes
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 Fabian Tait has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Südtirol can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Südtirol asked and River Plate said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad9 Aug 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 Südtirol know it.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
A loan move for Adam Bareiro is in the works
Südtirol have made the call to Boca Juniors. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Marco Iuliano 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A wage question at Südtirol
Karim Zedadka has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.