Riyane Akacem 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.
At 27 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
8.30. 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Islam Tahrat on a 4‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
$100.0K settles it between the clubs for Farid Chaâl
USM Alger have accepted the money. What JS Saoura do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The offer went to MC Oran 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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Riyane Akacem 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.
“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; JS Saoura are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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 Abdelhak Cherir is on it.
The deal with JS Kabylie 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.
The offer went to CS Constantine 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdelkader Morcely and JS Saoura agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyane Akacem 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at JS Saoura has been clear about where Abdelhak Cherir stands, which is more than many ever get.
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 Khalid Dahamni is on it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. JS Saoura will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The offer went to JS Kabylie 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riyane Akacem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura 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 Abdelhak Cherir is on it.
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 Oussama Bentaleb has written the date down.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. JS Saoura will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The deal with MC Oran 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.
Riyane Akacem 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.
“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.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Leandro Sauane 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.
Nobody at JS Saoura 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.
Riyane Akacem 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fayçal Mebarki was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at JS Saoura 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.
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Riyane Akacem 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.
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.
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” JS Saoura may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyane Akacem 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.
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 Abdelhak Cherir 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 JS Saoura, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Semelo Gueï’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riyane Akacem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at JS Saoura 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.
11 seasons and 223 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abdenour Barkat and JS Saoura agree another 4 years.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riyane Akacem 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at JS Saoura, another week without a signature from Abdelkader Morcely.
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 Juba Oukaci is on it.
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 Oussama Bentaleb has written the date down.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation JS Saoura did not have in the autumn.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Riyane Akacem 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.
A point taken on 94 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Farouk Laoufi 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at JS Saoura pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Leandro Sauane
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” JS Saoura have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Constant Wayou 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 Riyane Akacem was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Islam Tahrat could afford to be generous.
Squad26 Feb 2029
The division's best last weekend was a JS Saoura man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Juba Oukaci was the best thing in any of them.
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.
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Constant Wayou 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 Fayçal Mebarki was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Nobody at JS Saoura 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 words a physio says slowly. 96 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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Riyane Akacem 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 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Juba Oukaci is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Juba Oukaci’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and JS Saoura needing him to play as if none of it matters.
103 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura 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.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against CR Belouizdad? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Nobody at JS Saoura 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 words a physio says slowly. 124 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. JS Saoura will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Farouk Laoufi did not need any: 7.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” JS Saoura have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Messaoud Midoune has just signed for JS Saoura, and for once the answer mattered.
At 23 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 JS Saoura, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Laid Ayad will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around JS Saoura the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. JS Saoura have done the hard part with CSKA Moscow, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Riyane Akacem 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mostapha Badaoui is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
JS Saoura asked and ES Setif said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
22 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what JS Saoura can pretend not to have heard.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. JS Saoura have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” JS Saoura have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
JS Saoura had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Ikorodu City, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
At 20 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.
Constant Wayou 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. ASO Chlef have kept their man, and JS Saoura go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around JS Saoura people have started saying his name in the past tense.
109 appearances across 9 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
At 22 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.
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.
Ikorodu City 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. JS Saoura will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.
The offer from MB Rouissat for Abderrahmane Djabou 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.
Add another name to the list: MC Oran have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Anas Yusuf. The answer from JS Saoura has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fayçal Mebarki trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
43 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have shaken hands with MC Oran; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Riyane Akacem 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CSKA Moscow have kept their man, and JS Saoura go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
50 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Laid Ayad has come up in conversations JS Saoura were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fayçal Mebarki was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdelkader Boutiche trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
57 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what JS Saoura can pretend not to have heard.
The name of Abderrahmane Djabou has come up in conversations JS Saoura were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Anas Yusuf was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
JS Saoura have made the call to ES Setif. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
64 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from ES Ben Aknoun for Anas Yusuf 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.
The deal with Paradou 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.
Riyane Akacem 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.
JS Saoura asked and USM Alger said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Riyane Akacem 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 Apr 2028
Adel Bouchiba 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.
“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; JS Saoura are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. JS Saoura told Abdelhak Cherir something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at JS Saoura has been clear about where Mohamed Achraf Kaddouri stands, which is more than many ever get.
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.
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 Juba Oukaci is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what JS Saoura can pretend not to have heard.
Riyane Akacem 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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adel Bouchiba 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.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what JS Saoura can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with USM Khenchela 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Abdelhak Cherir will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around JS Saoura the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Constant Wayou 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. USM Alger have kept their man, and JS Saoura go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
55 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 46 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 JS Saoura, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around JS Saoura they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Adel Bouchiba 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 Anas Yusuf was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
The dugout27 Dec 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Islam Tahrat was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the JS Saoura dressing room was either.
85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. JS Saoura lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at JS Saoura is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Adel Bouchiba 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.
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.