Adel Bouchiba and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anas Yusuf 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.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. JS Saoura will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Hatem Grine has, at JS Saoura, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mamelodi Sundowns have kept their man, and JS Saoura go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CS Constantine will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 The request is on a desk at CS Constantine, and it is not being withdrawn.
CS Constantine had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Stade de Reims, 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 CS Constantine 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 Adama Soumaoro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
CS Constantine asked and USM Khenchela said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at CS Constantine, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Stade de Reims 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.
In brief
The dugoutMostafa Berkane is still being punished for one mistake
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine can pretend not to have heard.
The phone has started ringing about Ahmed Hassan again, and this time the name on the line is MC Oran. CS Constantine are listening politely and promising nothing.
The deal with Stade de Reims 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 CS Constantine 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 87 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 CS Constantine, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with Olympique de Marseille 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.
Tosin Omoyele 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 Djihad Bizimana was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. USM Khenchela have kept their man, and CS Constantine go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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; CS Constantine are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Mostafa Berkane'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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CS Constantine, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The offer from MC Alger for Nassim L'Ghoul 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CS Constantine can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CS Constantine they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. USM Alger have kept their man, and CS Constantine go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alexandre Oukidja and CS Constantine agree another 2 years.
Djihad Bizimana 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 Miloud Rebiaï was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 CS Constantine, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CS Constantine have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Djihad Bizimana and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adama Soumaoro 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 dugout24 May 2027
Hadji Chekal is still being punished for one mistake
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.
53 points from position 5. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ouadjih Khelfaoui will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine 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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutMiloud Rebiaï knocks on the manager's door
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ahmed Hassan and CS Constantine agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adama Soumaoro 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.
“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; CS Constantine are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Hadji Chekal 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at CS Constantine, another week without a signature from Brahim Dib.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at CS Constantine has been clear about where Hatem Grine stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Amine Mandi chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other 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 CS Constantine, and it is not being withdrawn.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. CS Constantine will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Tosin Omoyele 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adama Soumaoro 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 CS Constantine can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Position 4, 27 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CS Constantine lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah 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.
Alexandre Oukidja arrives at 38 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
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 Hatem Grine is on it.
61 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CS Constantine lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
ES Mostaganem go through and CS Constantine go home, 2‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Djihad Bizimana 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 is 21 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.
107 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. CS Constantine lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 18 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah 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.
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Squad7 Sep 2026
8 new faces, and CS Constantine are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The plan went upstairs and came back down. Nothing about that will make a headline anywhere else, and everybody who works at the training ground will remember it for years.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CS Constantine, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A season-long audition: MC Oran still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are CS Constantine's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
The words a physio says slowly. 115 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.
This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $1.0M has been paid because Yacine Goudjil is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.
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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at LOSC Lille is saying, and nobody at CS Constantine is enjoying the guessing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. JS Saoura have kept their man, and CS Constantine go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
CS Constantine spend $1.0M on the signing the town wanted
It is the rarest sequence in football: supporters ask for something, and the club goes and does it. $1.0M for Yacine Goudjil, and for one week nobody is complaining about anything.