Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Olimpija Ljubljana they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Nobody at Olimpija Ljubljana 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nemanja Motika signs something — a contract at Olimpija Ljubljana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yayah Kallon trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Olimpija Ljubljana will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Olimpija Ljubljana they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Olimpija Ljubljana hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Olimpija Ljubljana told Luka Poredoš something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sandi Handanovic and Olimpija Ljubljana agree another 4 years.
Nobody at Olimpija Ljubljana 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 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.
“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 Olimpija Ljubljana will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Domen Vipotnik 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 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.
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 Domen Vipotnik is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matevž Vidovšek signs something — a contract at Olimpija Ljubljana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Alin Kumer Čelik 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olimpija Ljubljana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Olimpija Ljubljana they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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 Nemanja Motika is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olimpija Ljubljana, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 6, 25 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
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 Olimpija Ljubljana would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Yayah Kallon had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpija Ljubljana is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Primorje have kept their man, and Olimpija Ljubljana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Slavoljub Srnić and Olimpija Ljubljana agree another 2 years.
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 Nemanja Motika is on it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Olimpija Ljubljana people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have shaken hands with NK Maribor; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Add another name to the list: NK Maribor have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Alberto Marí. The answer from Olimpija Ljubljana has not changed — yet.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Olimpija Ljubljana have done the hard part with Bilje, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Domen Vipotnik 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Koper have kept their man, and Olimpija Ljubljana go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Olimpija Ljubljana can pretend not to have heard.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Olimpija Ljubljana had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Olimpija Ljubljana they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Nemanja Motika is on it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Olimpija Ljubljana, another week without a signature from Florjan Jevšenak.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Florjan Jevšenak trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leo Rimac signs something — a contract at Olimpija Ljubljana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.52 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Olimpija Ljubljana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpija Ljubljana is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Tabor Sežana will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Lovro Turinek has pre-agreed a move to Olimpija Ljubljana, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Leo Rimac 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florjan Jevšenak 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Nemanja Motika is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutNemanja Motika has become a man the manager trusts
“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 Olimpija Ljubljana, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Job Brecelj will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olimpija Ljubljana the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Leo Rimac 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florjan Jevšenak 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.
Marked 8.26 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Dimitar Mitrovski has come out of that comparison in the side, and Olimpija Ljubljana have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Filip Kurtovic on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Position 3, 17 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Job Brecelj will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olimpija Ljubljana the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matej Tadič, and the manager let it.
The dugout9 Oct 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Filip Kurtovic, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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 Nemanja Motika is on it.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Hajduk Split moved on, Alberto Marí reports back to Olimpija Ljubljana, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Olimpija Ljubljana can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Olimpija Ljubljana they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Domen Vipotnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Bruno Lourenço'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.
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 Nemanja Motika is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nemanja Motika trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Anej Lorbek 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Olimpija Ljubljana have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Olimpija Ljubljana, and it is not being withdrawn.
The name of Alberto Marí has come up in conversations Olimpija Ljubljana were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The offer from Suduva for Luka Zahovič 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.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Olimpija Ljubljana asked and Bilje said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Olimpija Ljubljana people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Job Brecelj will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olimpija Ljubljana the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Alberto Marí 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Florjan Jevšenak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Nemanja Motika is on it.
Koper will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Olimpija Ljubljana were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and NK Krka waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Olimpija Ljubljana is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olimpija Ljubljana will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
1 for Domen Vipotnik, marked 7.75, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Florjan Jevšenak 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
Player ratingsDimitar Mitrovski was on a different afternoon to everybody else
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpija Ljubljana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
30 appearances at Eyupspor and the goals have stopped going in. Olimpija Ljubljana lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nemanja Motika signs something — a contract at Olimpija Ljubljana or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
27 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.