Marked for Mateja Mijatović
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jul 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Radnicki 1923, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Radnicki 1923 asked and Jedinstvo Ub said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Rinor Rexhepi 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 dugout10 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Luca Nagy
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
A loan enquiry to Panathinaikos: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
A loan enquiry to Rivers United: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
Armando Dobra knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Armando Dobra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
Alfa Baldé gets picked when it counts
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 Alfa Baldé is on it.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Luca Nagy wants out of the dugout
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Radnicki 1923 will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jun 2028
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Radnicki 1923 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Luka Lijeskić 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.
Market12 Jun 2028
The phone has started ringing about Evandro again, and this time the name on the line is Ušće. Radnicki 1923 are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market12 Jun 2028
Issa Bah has left for Cukaricki in a $260.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Boardroom12 Jun 2028
Mačva Šabac will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Đorđe Petrović has pre-agreed a move to Radnicki 1923, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dragan Čubra commits to Radnicki 1923 for another 3 years.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Wajdi Sahli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market12 Jun 2028
Mateja Mijatović is 20, and Radnicki 1923 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Voždovac
Bogdan Reichman 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.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 14 actions, 6.89, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Match18 Sep 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Voždovac
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Danilo Knežević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad20 Sep 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Omar Al Menhali and Voždovac agree another 3 years.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
“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 Voždovac, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Novak Kostic after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateja Mijatović, and the manager let it.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
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 Bogdan Reichman is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market5 Jul 2027
“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 Voždovac, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Jul 2027
At 19, Veljko Prodanić is already the best thing here
An average of 7.03 in a first team he is several years too young for. Voždovac have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
The deal with OFK Beograd 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.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Crvena Zvezda keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
$450.0K on the table at TSC. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Voždovac training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bogdan Reichman 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Voždovac
Nikola Janković 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Uroš Petrović commits to Voždovac for another 4 years.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Nikola Janković
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 May 2027
Nikola Janković damages knee ligaments — 45 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 45 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.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Voždovac this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Voždovac
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Yurganov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch17 May 2027
“I did not go to Zemun to sit and watch. I want to come back to Voždovac and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 16 matches say the rest.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Bogdan Reichman'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.
The dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Wisdom Essien, and the manager let it.
Match17 May 2027
Voždovac have something to play for
Position 5 on 47 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Market17 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Vukašin Braunović’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout17 May 2027
Erald Maksuti asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 May 2027
15 days out for Dušan Puletić after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zemun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad17 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zemun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom17 May 2027
Wages eat 154% of everything Zemun earn
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.
The dugout17 May 2027
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 dugout17 May 2027
Milorad Kojić asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout17 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Moses Nyebe
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 May 2027
Nikola Janković damages knee ligaments — 60 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 60 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Words exchanged at Voždovac
Marko Vranješ 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.
Squad3 May 2027
A row about effort at Voždovac
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Igor Yurganov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom3 May 2027
Dubočica will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Luca Nagy has pre-agreed a move to Voždovac, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Loan watch3 May 2027
“I did not go to Grafičar to sit and watch. I want to come back to Voždovac and fight for my place.” 13 appearances in 34 matches say the rest.
Boardroom3 May 2027
Wages swallow 87% of the Voždovac income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Abubakar Maiwada, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 May 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Voždovac, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 May 2027
Bojan Matić linked with a move away
The name of Bojan Matić keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Voždovac say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Apr 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Nikola Janković
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Voždovac lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad12 Apr 2027
He is 19, he is averaging 7.03, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Voždovac
Marko Vranješ 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Igor Yurganov 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.
Loan watch12 Apr 2027
“I did not go to Zemun to sit and watch. I want to come back to Voždovac and fight for my place.” 5 appearances in 11 matches say the rest.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Jajá gets it from the manager
“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.
Market12 Apr 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Marko Vranješ’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market12 Apr 2027
Voždovac have made Nikola Janković available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
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 Abubakar Maiwada has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
52 days out for Dušan Puletić after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zemun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Zemun
Nenad Gavrić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Lukijan Abadžija 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Veljko Bogićević, and the manager let it.
Market12 Apr 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Zemun, another week without a signature from Milan Mirosavljev.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Milan Mirosavljev trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market12 Apr 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Lukijan Abadžija signs something — a contract at Zemun or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
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.
Market12 Apr 2027
Zemun have let the market know Marko Jovović can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 Mar 2027
A fracture rules Dušan Puletić out for 66 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zemun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad29 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zemun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Zemun
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lukijan Abadžija was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Ben is slowing down
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Boardroom29 Mar 2027
Belts tighten at Zemun
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateja Mijatović, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Mar 2027
74 days out for Dušan Puletić after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zemun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Mateja Mijatović: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Zemun have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Srđan Drašković 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Zemun
Mihajlo Madžarević 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.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages swallow 180% of the Zemun income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Squad22 Mar 2027
24 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.