“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Fatih Karagumruk has to find a result from somewhere.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Moussa Kone and Fatih Karagumruk agree another 4 years.
Marked 8.12 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Fatih Karagumruk can pretend not to have heard.
5 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Moussa Kone and Fatih Karagumruk agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fatih Karagumruk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nurettin Korkmaz and Fatih Karagumruk agree another 3 years.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Pedro Ataíde could not do
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Ivo Grbić
Moussa Kone 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.
Kuzey Sapaz is 19, and Fatih Karagumruk have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Serginho 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 Moussa Kone trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Ivo Grbić 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.
Gaziantep paid $550.0K and Fatih Karagumruk took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The phone has started ringing about Moussa Kone again, and this time the name on the line is Hatayspor. Fatih Karagumruk are listening politely and promising nothing.
Serginho 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 offer from Kasimpasa for Daniel Johnson 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.
Moussa Kone 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 offer from Istanbulspor for Moussa Kone 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 name of João Camacho has come up in conversations Fatih Karagumruk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Serginho 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 Fatih Karagumruk can pretend not to have heard.
The phone has started ringing about Moussa Kone again, and this time the name on the line is Istanbulspor. Fatih Karagumruk are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Bariş Kalaycı has his answer from Fatih Karagumruk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bariş Kalaycı trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fatih Karagumruk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
6 goals in 34 games at Fatih Karagumruk — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Fatih Karagumruk updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Fatih Karagumruk, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Fatih Karagumruk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
8 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matías Kranevitter trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Daniele Verde’s exile
Marked 8.82 — 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.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.
In brief
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of João Camacho
“The easiest signature of my career.” Igor Lichnovsky and Fatih Karagumruk agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan Fernando Garro and Giresunspor agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik 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 will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Moussa Kone. 1‑0 against Istanbulspor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Marked 8.21 — 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.
Marked 8.12 — 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Anıl Yiğit Çınar and Fatih Karagumruk agree another 4 years.
9 goals in 24 games at Giresunspor — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Fatih Karagumruk updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Marked 8.23 — 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.
9 goals in 20 games at Giresunspor — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Fatih Karagumruk updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Fatih Karagumruk would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
1‑4 to Galatasaray, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Giresunspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
Igor Lichnovsky 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.
15 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Giresunspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.76 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Shavy Babicka. 2‑1 against Kasimpasa, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Fatih Karagumruk squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Tiago Çukur’s exile
The terracesThe press cannot get enough of Shavy Babicka
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Giresunspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 31 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Ivo Grbić: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not go to Adana Demirspor to sit and watch. I want to come back to Fatih Karagumruk and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
10 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.
Galatasaray go through and Giresunspor go home, 3‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Diego Córdoba: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik 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.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kenan Dervišagić. 2‑1 against Umraniyespor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Giresunspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Fatih Karagumruk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 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.
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Giresunspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Alejandro Monsalve 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.
Kenan Dervišagić 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Marked 8.72 — 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.
The captaincy has been taken off Igor Lichnovsky. Fatih Karagumruk will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Mathias Fjørtoft Løvik 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Stanislav Kritsyuk 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.
Marked 8.16 — 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.
Marked 8.02 — 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Stanislav Kritsyuk knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yiğit Efe Demir trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Giresunspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Giresunspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Yiğit Efe Demir 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 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Giresunspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A season-long audition: Basaksehir still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Giresunspor's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
Serginho 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 17, and nobody at Fatih Karagumruk signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
He is 16, and nobody at Fatih Karagumruk signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.