Partizani Tirana have accepted the money. What AF Elbasani do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Glenis Belloj 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. Tirana have kept their man, and AF Elbasani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo 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 Marjus Korreshi is on it.
AF Elbasani had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Partizani Tirana, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani 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. Partizani Tirana have kept their man, and AF Elbasani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
AF Elbasani have made the call to Lushnja. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Xhordan Lajthia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Egnatia Rrogozhinë, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
AF Elbasani offered $600.0K; Partizani Tirana said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Insa Boye 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. Vora have kept their man, and AF Elbasani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The offer from Vora for Insa Boye 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 phone has started ringing about Xhitjon Begaj again, and this time the name on the line is Flamurtari. AF Elbasani are listening politely and promising nothing.
4 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Flamurtari for Xhitjon Begaj 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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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.
“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 AF Elbasani know it.
Insa Boye 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.
AF Elbasani asked and Teuta Durrës said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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 loan enquiry to Egnatia Rrogozhinë: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
In brief
The dugoutXhitjon Begaj knocks on the manager's door
The deal with Kastrioti Krujë 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.
AF Elbasani asked and Egnatia Rrogozhinë said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; AF Elbasani are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
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.
Everything agreed with Skënderbeu Korçë, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Artem Kopyl is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
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.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and AF Elbasani have had the benefit of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The mood at AF Elbasani has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Insa Boye 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 33, 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.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Diallo 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Damiano Arapi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
25 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AF Elbasani lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Insa Boye and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Diallo 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 AF Elbasani 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at AF Elbasani would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AF Elbasani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AF Elbasani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AF Elbasani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AF Elbasani lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces24 Apr 2028
The mood at AF Elbasani has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason AF Elbasani will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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; AF Elbasani are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
60 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. AF Elbasani 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. 44 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 AF Elbasani know it.
Nobody at AF Elbasani 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. 81 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. AF Elbasani will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
88 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. AF Elbasani 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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 21 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juxhino Zeqiraj and AF Elbasani agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Xhitjon Begaj trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have shaken hands with Vora; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The name of Insa Boye has come up in conversations AF Elbasani were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
AF Elbasani close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. AF Elbasani have done the hard part with Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Two goals and a mark of 9.26 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Xhitjon Begaj did not need any: 7.91, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
$320.0K on the table at Lushnja. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Insa Boye 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” AF Elbasani have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The name of Insa Boye has come up in conversations AF Elbasani were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The deal with Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani 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. Besa Kavajë have kept their man, and AF Elbasani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Xhitjon Begaj 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.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Insa Boye 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at AF Elbasani can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Diallo 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.
Minute 85, against Korabi Peshkopi, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. AF Elbasani told Xhitjon Begaj something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Dawid Kalbarczyk is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“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; AF Elbasani are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Insa Boye 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.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Apolonia Fier were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Xhitjon Begaj 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.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Diallo 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 young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at AF Elbasani who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 90. Kukësi had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“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; AF Elbasani are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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 AF Elbasani 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.
In brief
SquadA AF Elbasani teenager takes the young player award
Position 2, 14 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.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Xhitjon Begaj did not need any: 8.98, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Insa Boye 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.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Joel Osikel in the middle of it, and Luftëtari unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
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 dugout25 Oct 2027
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.” Amer Shala, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Xhitjon Begaj, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.45
A mark of 8.45 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Insa Boye 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at AF Elbasani can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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.
The mood at AF Elbasani has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 AF Elbasani know it.
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.
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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AF Elbasani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Xhesild Rifa has his answer from AF Elbasani; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Nobody at AF Elbasani 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Iliria Fushë-Krujë in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Insa Boye 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.
Marked 8.43 — 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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 Sep 2027
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.” Amer Shala, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Insa Boye 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 Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Squad20 Sep 2027
The division's best last weekend was a AF Elbasani man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Nongo was the best thing in any of them.
In brief
SquadXhitjon Begaj, 20, is the weekend’s best young player
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Xhitjon Begaj, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.73
A mark of 7.73 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Apolonia Fier tried to reorganise, AF Elbasani did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
AF Elbasani close the window on a squad of their own making
11 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
AF Elbasani have gone to Flamurtari with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Teuta Durrës have kept their man, and AF Elbasani go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahima Diallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Skender Lilaj is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Burreli 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.
Insa Boye 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.
AF Elbasani asked and Skënderbeu Korçë said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marjus Korreshi 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 bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. AF Elbasani have done the hard part with Dinamo City, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Insa Boye 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Flamurtari have kept their man, and AF Elbasani 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Insa Boye signs something — a contract at AF Elbasani or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what AF Elbasani can pretend not to have heard.
“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 AF Elbasani know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marjus Korreshi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
AF Elbasani have made the call to Flamurtari. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
AF Elbasani have made the call to Flamurtari. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Insa Boye signs something — a contract at AF Elbasani 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 Artem Kopyl trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The mood at AF Elbasani has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Romarjo Sulo and AF Elbasani agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marjus Korreshi 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 have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at AF Elbasani can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Insa Boye 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at AF Elbasani, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at AF Elbasani. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Insa Boye has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ernesto Marqeshi is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marjus Korreshi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Position 10 and 3 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Insa Boye 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at AF Elbasani training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marjus Korreshi 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation AF Elbasani are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
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.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Redon Gega 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 AF Elbasani will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
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 Marjus Korreshi has written the date down.
“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 AF Elbasani, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at AF Elbasani this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Insa Boye 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.
AF Elbasani asked and Skënderbeu Korçë said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Teuta Durrës 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.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and AF Elbasani will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A AF Elbasani teenager takes the young player award
Mustapha Koma is 19, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
Partizani Tirana go through and AF Elbasani go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Mustapha Koma did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Insa Boye 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.