Emmanuel Nweke

Striker - Zamalek
23 Jul 2028
Sunday
Process

Marked for Emmanuel Nweke

98 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

12 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Júnior Brandão keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zamalek may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

Zamalek are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 61 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Market

Zamalek say no — this time

The offer from Aswan for Hossam Abdelmaguid 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.

Market

Zamalek get their man

The chase for Baher Elmohamady ended with $690.0K changing hands and El Masry out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.

Squad

Tempers go at Zamalek

Juan Bezerra 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.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thomas Partey 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.

In brief

Back issues
95 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

22 May 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Chico Banza keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zamalek may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Mohamed Shehata has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamalek they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Juan Bezerra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamalek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souffian El Karouani 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.

Squad

Riyad Mahrez has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Zamalek 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.

Boardroom

Zamalek keep producing them

9 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.

In brief

93 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

8 May 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mahmoud Bentayg is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamalek is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

8 seasons of Ahmed Fatouh

86 appearances across 8 seasons in these colours. Careers like that are not built any more, and Zamalek know what they have.

Squad

Riyad Mahrez signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Riyad Mahrez and Zamalek agree another 2 years.

In brief

91 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

24 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mohamed Shehata is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamalek is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Juan Bezerra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamalek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souffian El Karouani 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.

Squad

Riyad Mahrez has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Zamalek 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.

Squad

Júnior Brandão knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zamalek, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Boardroom

Zamalek keep producing them

9 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.

In brief

89 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

10 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Mohamed Sobhi

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Market

Mahmoud Bentayg is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamalek is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Juan Bezerra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamalek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souffian El Karouani 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.

Squad

Allan Nyom 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Riyad Mahrez

Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

85 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

13 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Mahmoud Bentayg is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zamalek is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

The wait goes on for Zamalek

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.

Squad

Juan Bezerra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamalek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souffian El Karouani 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Juan Bezerra

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

No hiding place for Mohamed Sobhi

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mohamed Sobhi, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Kwasi Sibo at his very best

Marked 8.41. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Zamalek.

Squad

Hussein Mido stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Hussein Mido and Zamalek agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Match

Zamalek and Arab Contractors take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

84 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

6 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Pedro Pedraza was immovable

29 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Player ratings

Emmanuel Nweke, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.63

A mark of 7.63 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Marcus Coco

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Market

Oussama Idrissi wants more than Pachuca are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Squad

Oussama Idrissi signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Oussama Idrissi and Pachuca agree another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Christian Rivera 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.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Pachuca

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Christian Rivera 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.

The terraces

Pachuca supporters have found a favourite in Emmanuel Nweke

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Emmanuel Nweke 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.

In brief

84 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

6 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Zamalek

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.

Squad

Mohamed Sobhi signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mohamed Sobhi commits to Zamalek for another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Zamalek

Juan Bezerra 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.

Match

El Masry take the points off Zamalek

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

No hiding place for Júnior Brandão

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Júnior Brandão, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Juan Bezerra

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kwasi Sibo 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Mahmoud El Wensh at his very best

Marked 8.07. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Zamalek.

Boardroom

Inquest at Zamalek

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

In brief

83 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

28 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mohamed Shehata has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamalek they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souffian El Karouani 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.

Squad

Ahmed Fatouh in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamalek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Juan Bezerra

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

No hiding place for Allan Nyom

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Allan Nyom, and the manager let it.

Squad

Nasser Mansi left out for the big one

A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Nasser Mansi will call it something else in private.

Match

Zamalek and Ghazl El Mahalla take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

Player ratings

Chico Banza never got going

5.06 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

Loan watch

3 goals on loan for Emmanuel Nweke

20 appearances at Pachuca and the goals keep coming. Zamalek are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

In brief

81 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Pachuca let it slip despite Oussama Idrissi

Oussama Idrissi had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Queretaro were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Carlos Moreno

There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Carlos Moreno 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Salomón Rondón

“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.

Player ratings

Owen González was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.57. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Squad

Jonathan Buatu 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Oussama Idrissi

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Loan watch

Juan Cantú has seen enough of New York City

“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 Pachuca, and 2 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.

Match

Honours even between Pachuca and Queretaro

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

77 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

17 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Ghazl El Mahalla come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Zamalek did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Player ratings

Juan Bezerra runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Juan Bezerra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamalek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Souffian El Karouani 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.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Zamalek

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Squad

Nasser Mansi 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.

Market

The Ahmed Hamdi conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Police Union will make the call about Ahmed Hamdi this week. Zamalek have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

Squad

Thomas Partey has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Zamalek 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.

Match

No goals between Zamalek and Military Production

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Military Production will be the happier side with the point.

In brief

76 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

10 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Riyad Mahrez, 36, rolls back the years — 8.46

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.46 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Market

Ghazl El Mahalla come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Zamalek did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Ahmed Jafeli keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zamalek may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Zamalek

Ahmed Fatouh 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Allan Nyom

“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.

Market

Ghazl El Mahalla expected to open talks for Mahmoud Bentayg

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Zamalek will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

Ahmed Jafeli signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ahmed Jafeli and Zamalek agree another 4 years.

Player ratings

Juan Bezerra runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Loan watch

Emmanuel Nweke: I did not sign for Zamalek to play for other people

“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Zamalek and a proper look at me.” He remains Pachuca’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.

In brief

72 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

13 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Derby delight as Zamalek down Al Ahly

Bragging rights belong to Zamalek for another year after a 1‑0 win over Al Ahly in front of a full house.

Market

Mahmoud Bentayg has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zamalek they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Player ratings

A derby belongs to Mahmoud El Wensh

Beat anybody else and it is three points. Beat them and it is a story a city tells for a decade. Zamalek have their man.

Squad

Juan Bezerra in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zamalek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Chico Banza 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.

Squad

Omar Gaber 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.

Squad

Thomas Partey has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Zamalek 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.

Player ratings

Juan Bezerra runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Júnior Brandão keeps on missing

Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

71 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

6 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Emmanuel Nweke wins it after the whistle should have gone

94 minutes played. Emmanuel Nweke found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Cruz Azul went from a point to nothing inside one movement.

Match

Pachuca up to position 3

39 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Emmanuel Nweke at 20 — 7.74

The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Emmanuel Nweke did not need any: 7.74, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Valentín Gauthier keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Pachuca may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Oussama Idrissi wants more than Pachuca are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Jorge Berlanga 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.

Match

The run at home goes on for Pachuca

10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Oussama Idrissi

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Pachuca see off Cruz Azul

Three points for Pachuca, 2‑1 the final word against Cruz Azul in a contest settled by the finer margins.

In brief

70 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

29 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Jorge Berlanga in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pachuca this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Pachuca come up short against Monterrey

Monterrey left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

No hiding place for Carlos Moreno

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Moreno, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Víctor Guzmán runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Christian Rivera dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

Squad

When it matters, Eliás Montiel plays

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

62 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

4 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Pachuca are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 24 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Player ratings

Emmanuel Nweke, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.63

A mark of 7.63 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.

Match

Pachuca cannot stop winning

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.

Squad

Salomón Rondón stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Salomón Rondón and Pachuca agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Christian Rivera in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pachuca this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Víctor Guzmán

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

The terraces

Pachuca supporters have found a favourite in Emmanuel Nweke

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Emmanuel Nweke 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.

Match

Pachuca get the job done against Guadalajara

A 2‑0 win over Guadalajara, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Eliás Montiel

Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

In brief

58 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

6 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Israel Luna hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pachuca can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Oussama Idrissi wants more than Pachuca are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Squad

Emmanuel Nweke is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Carlos Moreno 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.

Squad

Words at Pachuca training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eliás Montiel 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.

Match

Pachuca find a way past Morelia

Morelia made Pachuca work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Jorge Berlanga 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.

Player ratings

Víctor Guzmán runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Alán Bautista in the eights

A performance of 8.20 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

55 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Cruel end for Tijuana as Pachuca pounce

There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Pachuca scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.

Market

Andrés Micolta asks to leave Pachuca

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Emmanuel Nweke keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Pachuca may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Christian Rivera 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.

Squad

Real improvement from Jakub Pira at Pachuca

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Jakub Pira is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Juan Robles gets the move he always wanted

Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Juan Robles has just signed for Pachuca, and for once the answer mattered.

Player ratings

Oussama Idrissi runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The terraces

Pachuca supporters have found a favourite in Eliás Montiel

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Eliás Montiel 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.

Match

Jakub Pira sends Pachuca past Tijuana

It finished 1‑0, and it was Jakub Pira’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Pachuca.

In brief

55 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Riyad Mahrez out for 108 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zamalek will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Luka Jović moves on

Besiktas pay $16.3M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

The terraces

Supporters turn on the $16.3M sale of Luka Jović

He is going to Besiktas, the club has $16.3M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.

Market

Zamalek turn down Ghazl El Mahalla for Hossam Abdelmaguid

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Mohamed Shehata puts it in writing

“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 Zamalek, and it is not being withdrawn.

Boardroom

Zamalek tie Trezeguet Gabr down

A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.

Squad

Real improvement from Youssef Wael at Zamalek

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Youssef Wael is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Riyad Mahrez has improved at 36, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Market

Mahmoud Bentayg attracts admirers

The name of Mahmoud Bentayg has come up in conversations Zamalek were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

In brief

54 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Carlos Moreno keeps Pachuca in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Carlos Moreno 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.

Squad

Words at Pachuca training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eliás Montiel 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Pachuca against Cruz Azul

1‑2 to Cruz Azul, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

One of those days for Alán Bautista

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Eduardo Bauermann

“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.

Market

Andrés Micolta is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Pachuca has been clear about where Andrés Micolta stands, which is more than many ever get.

Market

Veracruz are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Pachuca will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Market

The Eliás Montiel talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Pachuca know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

52 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Pachuca win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 94th minute. Pumas UNAM will replay every second of the added time for a week.

Player ratings

Both of them Salomón Rondón's — 8.40

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.40, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Carlos Moreno keeps Pachuca in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Carlos Moreno 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.

Boardroom

7 academy players handed senior numbers at Pachuca

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Match

Salomón Rondón sends Pachuca past Pumas UNAM

It finished 3‑2, and it was Salomón Rondón’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Pachuca.

Player ratings

Alán Bautista was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.72. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Market

Pachuca promote Rodolfo Gutierrez from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Rodolfo Gutierrez has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

Market

Pachuca promote Angel Rodriguez from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Angel Rodriguez has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.

In brief

51 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Pachuca turn down New York City for Gael Arturo Álvarez

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Carlos Moreno in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pachuca this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Dorados are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Pachuca will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

In brief

51 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Zamalek

Juan Bezerra 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.

Squad

Words at Zamalek training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omar Gaber 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.

Loan watch

Emmanuel Nweke counts the days

“I watch every Zamalek game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Pachuca runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

In brief

49 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Pachuca turn down Tigres for Víctor Guzmán

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Luis Quiñones 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.

Market

Juan Cantú attracts admirers

The name of Juan Cantú has come up in conversations Pachuca were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Emmanuel Nweke 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.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Pachuca

9 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.

Boardroom

Pachuca sign 8 boys into the academy

None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.

In brief

46 Edition

The Pachuca Chronicle

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Christian Vargas breaks a bone — 28 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 28 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

The terraces

Pachuca sell a favourite for $5.5M

The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Sergio Barreto was one of the reasons people came, and $5.5M does not replace that by itself.

Market

Business is business: Sergio Barreto goes

Cruz Azul paid $5.5M and Pachuca took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Squad

Real improvement from Gael Arturo Álvarez at Pachuca

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Gael Arturo Álvarez is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Market

Jorge Berlanga attracts admirers

The name of Jorge Berlanga has come up in conversations Pachuca were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Squad

Tempers go at Pachuca

Carlos Moreno 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.

In brief

34 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Adel Bouchiba out for 25 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Match

Whatever happens, JS Saoura do not lose

6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Ahmed El Sheikh 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.

Squad

Emmanuel Nweke in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Getting past Abdenasser Djoudar has become the hardest job in the division

10 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Constant Wayou

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

34 Edition

The Zamalek Chronicle

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Age has not caught Abdallah El Saeed yet — 8.53

At 41 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.53 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Market

IFK Mariehamn come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Zamalek did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Tempers go at Zamalek

Juan Bezerra 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.

Match

Zamalek get the job done against Ittihad

A 2‑1 win over Ittihad, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Souffian El Karouani 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.

Squad

Zamalek count the cost of losing El Mahdy Soliman

40 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

Luka Jović was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.15. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

Squad

Getting past El Mahdy Soliman has become the hardest job in the division

9 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.

Player ratings

Juan Bezerra runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

33 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

JS Saoura win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. USM Khenchela will replay every second of the added time for a week.

Squad

Adel Bouchiba breaks a bone — 33 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Abdenasser Djoudar

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

JS Saoura make it 4 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now JS Saoura have 4 straight wins of it.

Squad

Afriyie Acquah in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Constant Wayou sends JS Saoura past USM Khenchela

It finished 2‑1, and it was Constant Wayou’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to JS Saoura.

The terraces

JS Saoura supporters have found a favourite in Emmanuel Nweke

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Emmanuel Nweke 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.

Squad

Solly Khunyedi 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.

Player ratings

Constant Wayou was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.15. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

In brief

29 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

JS Saoura let it slip despite Emmanuel Nweke

Emmanuel Nweke had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and CR Belouizdad were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.

Squad

A fracture rules Adel Bouchiba out for 64 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Ahmed El Sheikh, 35, rolls back the years — 7.99

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.99 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Squad

Tempers go at JS Saoura

Alimi Sikiru 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.

Squad

Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ahmed El Sheikh 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.

Squad

Solly Khunyedi 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.

In brief

28 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Adel Bouchiba breaks a bone — 72 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 72 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

A brace, and Alimi Sikiru takes the afternoon — 8.22

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alimi Sikiru provided it, and the 8.22 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

CS Constantine come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and JS Saoura did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Fayçal Mebarki asks to leave JS Saoura

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Eyad Tamer: 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.” JS Saoura have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Constant Wayou runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Alimi Sikiru’s goal not enough for JS Saoura

Alimi Sikiru scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to USM Alger, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Ahmed El Sheikh 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.

Squad

Emmanuel Nweke in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

20 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Adel Bouchiba out for 131 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Ahmed El Sheikh 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.

Squad

Tempers go at JS Saoura

Riyane Akacem was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

The terraces

JS Saoura supporters have found a favourite in Emmanuel Nweke

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Emmanuel Nweke 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.

Match

JS Saoura see off ES Mostaganem

Three points for JS Saoura, 1‑0 the final word against ES Mostaganem in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Solly Khunyedi

A mark of 7.94, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

In brief

18 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Nabil Lamara

19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

JS Saoura up to position 3

19 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Player ratings

Emmanuel Nweke, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.82

A mark of 7.82 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Match

No end in sight to JS Saoura's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at JS Saoura has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at JS Saoura

Afriyie Acquah 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Kenneth Ikugar

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kenneth Ikugar, and the manager let it.

In brief

13 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Nabil Lamara

56 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

Emmanuel Nweke says JS Saoura went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Player ratings

Ahmed El Sheikh did the work nobody counts — 6.46

15 combined actions and 6.46. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.

Squad

Tempers go at JS Saoura

Ahmed El Sheikh 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.

Squad

Riyane Akacem falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Player ratings

Alimi Sikiru takes the honours

Marked 7.86 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, JS Saoura had the best player on the pitch.

In brief

11 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Nabil Lamara

70 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. JS Saoura lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

JS Saoura march on in the cup

Paradou are out and JS Saoura go through, 1‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

JS Saoura win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 114th minute. Paradou will replay every second of the added time for a week.

Player ratings

Ismail Saadi runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Abdeldjalil Ould Ammar breaks a bone — 19 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 19 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

Emmanuel Nweke, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.29

A mark of 8.29 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Player ratings

Nasreddine Zaâlani was immovable

26 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.

Squad

Real improvement from Mohamed Achraf Kaddouri at JS Saoura

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mohamed Achraf Kaddouri is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Afriyie Acquah in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

8 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Nabil Lamara damages knee ligaments — 94 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 94 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.

Squad

A fracture rules Abdeldjalil Ould Ammar out for 41 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Emmanuel Nweke is a better footballer than he was

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.

Squad

Alimi Sikiru in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Alimi Sikiru

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Honours even between JS Saoura and CS Constantine

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

5 Edition

The JS Saoura Post

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Nabil Lamara damages knee ligaments — 117 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 117 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.

Squad

A fracture rules Abdeldjalil Ould Ammar out for 64 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason JS Saoura will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

JS Saoura turn down CR Belouizdad for Ismail Saadi

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Sid Ahmed Maatellah hands in a written request

“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.

Squad

Afriyie Acquah in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at JS Saoura this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at JS Saoura training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ahmed El Sheikh 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.

In brief