Marked for Gregor Birsa
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Nov 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Tomas Brekalo
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Celje lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match2 Nov 2030
ND Gorica will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. NK Celje were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
Two goals and a mark of 8.84 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market4 Nov 2030
“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.
Market4 Nov 2030
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Celje they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match2 Nov 2030
Still nobody has beaten NK Celje
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Boardroom4 Nov 2030
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Mykyta Turchynov has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad4 Nov 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Nov 2030
Defences have started doubling up on Gregor Birsa
15 goals and a season average of 7.28 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
In brief
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Squad
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
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Looking ahead
Top-of-the-table clash for NK Celje
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Ivan Ćalušić
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad21 Oct 2030
Tomas Brekalo damages knee ligaments — 33 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 33 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.
Match19 Oct 2030
4‑0, and Gregor Birsa took the headlines on an afternoon when everything NK Celje tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings21 Oct 2030
Two goals and a mark of 9.09 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match21 Oct 2030
NK Celje refuse to drop out of the race
Position 3, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad21 Oct 2030
A falling-out at NK Celje
Leonardo Koutris and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market21 Oct 2030
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Celje they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match19 Oct 2030
Whatever happens, NK Celje 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.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alpha Diounkou 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.
Squad21 Oct 2030
13 goals and a season average of 7.23. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Oct 2030
A knee injury of the worst kind for Benjamin Verbič
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Celje lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
Matej Poplatnik, 38, rolls back the years — 8.18
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.18 at 38, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad14 Oct 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alpha Diounkou 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.
Match12 Oct 2030
NK Zavrc made NK Celje work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.85, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The terraces14 Oct 2030
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
Marked 8.00 — 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 dugout14 Oct 2030
The manager makes an example of Jordan Gabriel
“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
Triumph
Squad16 Sep 2030
Tomas Brekalo damages knee ligaments — 68 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 68 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.
Squad16 Sep 2030
The match ball belongs to Gregor Birsa, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Match14 Sep 2030
5‑1, and Gregor Birsa took the headlines on an afternoon when everything NK Celje tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market16 Sep 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Celje is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout16 Sep 2030
“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 ratings16 Sep 2030
Leonardo Koutris, 35, rolls back the years — 7.93
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.93 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Boardroom16 Sep 2030
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad16 Sep 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Sep 2030
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about NK Celje and NK Krsko in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad2 Sep 2030
82 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. NK Celje lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market2 Sep 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
The dugout2 Sep 2030
“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.
Match31 Aug 2030
Nobody wants to play NK Celje right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
Deadline passes with 25 signed and 24 gone
That is the business done at NK Celje until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market2 Sep 2030
The name of Armandas Kučys has come up in conversations NK Celje were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad2 Sep 2030
Words exchanged at NK Celje
Leonardo Koutris 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.
Squad2 Sep 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matej Poplatnik and NK Celje agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Sep 2030
Alpha Diounkou 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Aug 2030
Tomas Brekalo damages knee ligaments — 89 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 89 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.
Market26 Aug 2030
Antonio Marin 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 NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Match26 Aug 2030
NK Celje up to position 2
13 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad26 Aug 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match24 Aug 2030
NK Celje 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.
Squad26 Aug 2030
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market26 Aug 2030
The name of Mykyta Turchynov has come up in conversations NK Celje were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad26 Aug 2030
A row about effort at NK Celje
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alpha Diounkou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match24 Aug 2030
It finished 2‑1, and it was Gregor Birsa’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to NK Celje.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad19 Aug 2030
Tomas Brekalo damages knee ligaments — 96 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 96 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.
Market19 Aug 2030
NK Celje say no — this time
The offer from Olimpija Ljubljana for Armandas Kučys 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 dugout19 Aug 2030
“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.
Transfer targets19 Aug 2030
$870.0K was the most the club would pay and Olimpija Ljubljana were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad19 Aug 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Aug 2030
A row about effort at NK Celje
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alpha Diounkou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match17 Aug 2030
NK Krka made NK Celje work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The dugout19 Aug 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Ćalušić, and the manager let it.
Market19 Aug 2030
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at NK Celje, another week without a signature from Gregor Birsa.
In brief
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Player ratings
Gregor Birsa stands above it all
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Squad
NK Celje are still strangers to each other
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Aug 2030
The knee: Tomas Brekalo out for 103 days
103 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. NK Celje lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market12 Aug 2030
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. NK Celje have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Match10 Aug 2030
3‑0, and Gregor Birsa took the headlines on an afternoon when everything NK Celje tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market12 Aug 2030
“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.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
Two goals and a mark of 8.53 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Transfer targets12 Aug 2030
$850.0K settles it between the clubs for Valent Šavor
Rudar Velenje have accepted the money. What NK Celje do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Player ratings12 Aug 2030
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.04, and nobody on the pitch better.
Transfer targets12 Aug 2030
The offer went to Olimpija Ljubljana this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Market12 Aug 2030
Florjan Jevšenak wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Celje hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings29 Jul 2030
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.97, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market29 Jul 2030
Papa Daniel 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 NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Jul 2030
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alpha Diounkou 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.
Match27 Jul 2030
Three points for NK Celje, 2‑0 the final word against Rudar Velenje in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market29 Jul 2030
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. NK Celje will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad29 Jul 2030
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at NK Celje can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
The dugout29 Jul 2030
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Robert Birsa could afford to be generous.
The dugout29 Jul 2030
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Jul 2030
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Fehervar had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market15 Jul 2030
The bid was some way short and NK Celje did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market15 Jul 2030
Ivan Anić 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 NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Transfer targets15 Jul 2030
NK Celje asked and ND Gorica said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad15 Jul 2030
A row about effort at NK Celje
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alpha Diounkou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Jul 2030
The medical room confirms 16 days on the sidelines for Papa Daniel, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market15 Jul 2030
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at NK Celje, another week without a signature from Artemijus Tutyškinas.
The dugout15 Jul 2030
Žiga Frelih 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 Žiga Frelih is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Jul 2030
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around NK Celje people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The dugout1 Jul 2030
“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.
Market1 Jul 2030
“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.
Squad1 Jul 2030
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Alpha Diounkou 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 dugout1 Jul 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gregor Birsa, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Jul 2030
At 27 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Market1 Jul 2030
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout1 Jul 2030
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 Matej Poplatnik is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Jun 2030
NK Celje say no — this time
The offer from Ismaily for Florjan Jevšenak 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.
Market24 Jun 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets24 Jun 2030
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. NK Celje have done the hard part with ND Gorica, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Market24 Jun 2030
Add another name to the list: NK Domzale have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Armandas Kučys. The answer from NK Celje has not changed — yet.
Market24 Jun 2030
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at NK Celje heard it as anything else.
Squad24 Jun 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jun 2030
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alpha Diounkou is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout24 Jun 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Florjan Jevšenak, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Jun 2030
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 Benjamin Verbič is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 May 2030
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. NK Celje will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The dugout27 May 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” NK Celje may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market27 May 2030
Andraz Bijol 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 NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 May 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 May 2030
Filip Jagarčec gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Filip Jagarčec has just signed for NK Celje, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad27 May 2030
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alpha Diounkou is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout27 May 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antonio Marin, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 May 2030
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 Benjamin Verbič is on it.
The dugout27 May 2030
Łukasz Bejger 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 NK Celje, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 May 2030
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Squad20 May 2030
A row about effort at NK Celje
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alpha Diounkou was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout20 May 2030
Žiga Frelih has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at NK Celje will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout20 May 2030
Łukasz Bejger 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 NK Celje, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout20 May 2030
“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.
Market20 May 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Alpha Diounkou’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 May 2030
Florjan Jevšenak wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at NK Celje hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad6 May 2030
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 May 2030
Alpha Diounkou 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 dugout6 May 2030
“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.
Squad6 May 2030
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Wictor Gabriel
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. NK Celje will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Market6 May 2030
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout6 May 2030
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout6 May 2030
Ivan Ćalušić 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 Ivan Ćalušić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market6 May 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Leonardo Koutris signs something — a contract at NK Celje or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Apr 2030
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Squad22 Apr 2030
A muscle injury and 14 days out for Yaya Dukuly
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. NK Celje will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The dugout22 Apr 2030
When it matters, Žiga Frelih 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.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Jordan Gabriel 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 dugout22 Apr 2030
Gregor Birsa 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 NK Celje, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market22 Apr 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Alpha Diounkou’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Apr 2030
Words exchanged at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Alpha Diounkou 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 dugout15 Apr 2030
“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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
A muscle injury sidelines Roberto Punčec for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. NK Celje will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad15 Apr 2030
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; NK Celje are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout15 Apr 2030
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 Luka Vešner Tičić is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Mar 2030
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alpha Diounkou is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
Gregor Birsa 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 dugout25 Mar 2030
When it matters, Žiga Frelih 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.
The dugout25 Mar 2030
Łukasz Bejger 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.
Market25 Mar 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Alpha Diounkou’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Feb 2030
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Alpha Diounkou 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 dugout25 Feb 2030
“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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yegor Gulyaev and NK Celje agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Loan watch25 Feb 2030
“I did not go to Orenburg to sit and watch. I want to come back to NK Celje and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
Gregor Birsa has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at NK Celje 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.
Market25 Feb 2030
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Alpha Diounkou’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Gregor Birsa has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at NK Celje that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
Papa Daniel 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 Papa Daniel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Jan 2030
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Spartak Trnava waiting with a shirt. Nobody at NK Celje is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market7 Jan 2030
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad7 Jan 2030
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. NK Celje had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Market7 Jan 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jan 2030
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Jan 2030
“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.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Benjamin Verbič 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.
Market7 Jan 2030
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Transfer targets7 Jan 2030
Feyenoord have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Dec 2029
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Market31 Dec 2029
Svit Sešlar has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Celje they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market31 Dec 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Words exchanged at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordan Gabriel 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 watch31 Dec 2029
“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 NK Celje, and 1 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout31 Dec 2029
Gregor Birsa 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 Gregor Birsa is on it.
The dugout31 Dec 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at NK Celje, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 Dec 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Darko Hrka’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Dec 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Antonio Marin, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordan Gabriel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
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 Luka Vešner Tičić is on it.
Market17 Dec 2029
The name of Leonardo Koutris keeps appearing in other people's back pages. NK Celje say nothing, which says plenty.
The dugout17 Dec 2029
The manager makes Gregor Birsa a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at NK Celje. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Dec 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. NK Celje have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market10 Dec 2029
Armandas Kučys has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Celje they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market10 Dec 2029
“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.
Squad10 Dec 2029
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 Dec 2029
The manager makes an example of Armandas Kučys
“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.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Jordan Gabriel 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 dugout10 Dec 2029
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.
Market10 Dec 2029
The name of Alpha Diounkou keeps appearing in other people's back pages. NK Celje say nothing, which says plenty.
Match10 Dec 2029
NK Celje in the hunt for Europe
Position 4, 32 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match21 Nov 2029
NK Celje bow out of the cup
Koper go through and NK Celje go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Market26 Nov 2029
“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.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
“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.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad26 Nov 2029
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Player ratings26 Nov 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad26 Nov 2029
12 goals and a season average of 7.38. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordan Gabriel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout26 Nov 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Robert Birsa to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match19 Nov 2029
Full time on the season at NK Celje
Position 4 on 32 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Player ratings19 Nov 2029
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.94, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Gregor Birsa
23 goals and a season average of 7.45 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad19 Nov 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Nov 2029
NK Krsko made NK Celje work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordan Gabriel is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Nov 2029
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Robert Birsa could afford to be generous.
The dugout19 Nov 2029
When it matters, Žiga Frelih 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.
The dugout19 Nov 2029
Matej Poplatnik 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
Upbeat
Squad12 Nov 2029
A fracture rules Benjamin Verbič out for 17 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Celje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings12 Nov 2029
A brace, and Gregor Birsa takes the afternoon — 8.73
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gregor Birsa provided it, and the 8.73 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market12 Nov 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at NK Celje is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Gregor Birsa is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.39 with 21 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad12 Nov 2029
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match10 Nov 2029
NK Maribor made NK Celje work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings12 Nov 2029
One of those days for Darko Hrka
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad12 Nov 2029
A row about effort at NK Celje
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakov Pranjić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Nov 2029
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Robert Birsa, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Oct 2029
A fracture rules Benjamin Verbič out for 32 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Celje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad29 Oct 2029
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Squad29 Oct 2029
A season average of 7.36 with 12 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match27 Oct 2029
1‑2 to Olimpija Ljubljana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Matej Poplatnik will call it something else in private.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. NK Celje told Gregor Birsa something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout29 Oct 2029
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad22 Oct 2029
A fracture rules Benjamin Verbič out for 39 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Celje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match20 Oct 2029
NK Krka will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. NK Celje were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad22 Oct 2029
The match ball belongs to Armandas Kučys, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.92, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market22 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
A performance of 9.53 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Oct 2029
A season average of 7.34 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Chances created: 14. Not on the scoresheet and not remotely anonymous — a passing performance that pulled a defence apart without leaving a mark on the column that gets read.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 Oct 2029
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market15 Oct 2029
“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.
Market15 Oct 2029
Armandas Kučys has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Celje they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
Matej Poplatnik, 37, rolls back the years — 8.62
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.62 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad15 Oct 2029
19 goals and a season average of 7.34. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad15 Oct 2029
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match13 Oct 2029
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between NK Celje and NK Zavrc, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Match13 Oct 2029
It finished 4‑2, and it was Gregor Birsa’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to NK Celje.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad1 Oct 2029
A fracture rules Benjamin Verbič out for 63 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Celje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Match29 Sep 2029
Rudar Velenje will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. NK Celje were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad1 Oct 2029
The match ball belongs to Gregor Birsa, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Gregor Birsa
18 goals and a season average of 7.32 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match29 Sep 2029
Nobody wants to play NK Celje right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Player ratings1 Oct 2029
Gregor Birsa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.44. 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.
The dugout1 Oct 2029
“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 ratings1 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.19, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad24 Sep 2029
A fracture rules Benjamin Verbič out for 71 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason NK Celje will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad24 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Gregor Birsa is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.22 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match22 Sep 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gregor Birsa. 3‑2 against NK Domzale, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Gregor Birsa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.88. 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.
Squad24 Sep 2029
200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Antonio Marin
“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.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Robert Birsa on a 3‑2 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout24 Sep 2029
Svit Sešlar 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 Svit Sešlar is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad17 Sep 2029
78 days out for Benjamin Verbič after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. NK Celje will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match15 Sep 2029
7‑1, and Florjan Jevšenak took the headlines on an afternoon when everything NK Celje tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Market17 Sep 2029
Svit Sešlar 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 NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Two goals and a mark of 9.37 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Two goals and a mark of 8.03 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market17 Sep 2029
Armandas Kučys has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around NK Celje they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.34, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad17 Sep 2029
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match15 Sep 2029
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between NK Celje and NK Krsko, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Aug 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and ND Gorica waiting with a shirt. Nobody at NK Celje is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad27 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match25 Aug 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamin Verbič is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
“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 ratings27 Aug 2029
Darko Hrka 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.
Squad27 Aug 2029
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; NK Celje are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
Žiga Frelih is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Robert Birsa left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Aug 2029
Gregor Birsa takes the match ball home
5 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match18 Aug 2029
NK Krka will want this one forgotten quickly: 8‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. NK Celje were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.94, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market20 Aug 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around NK Celje people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market20 Aug 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout20 Aug 2029
“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.
Market20 Aug 2029
The phone has started ringing about Florjan Jevšenak again, and this time the name on the line is Fehervar. NK Celje are listening politely and promising nothing.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Łukasz Bejger pops up at the right end — 7.95
7.95, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad20 Aug 2029
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Aug 2029
The match ball belongs to Gregor Birsa, whose 4 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Match11 Aug 2029
6‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Market13 Aug 2029
Svit Sešlar 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 NK Celje can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Two goals and a mark of 9.75 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The terraces13 Aug 2029
Tiijan Zorko has gone, the accounts have $840.0K in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words exchanged at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Market13 Aug 2029
Business is business: Tiijan Zorko goes
NK Maribor paid $840.0K and NK Celje took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Match11 Aug 2029
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about NK Celje and NK Zavrc in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Ninety minutes of Gregor Birsa at his very best
Marked 9.64. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at NK Celje.
In brief
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The dugout
Gregor Birsa gets it from the manager
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Squad
Appearance number 200 for Darko Hrka
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Squad
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Aug 2029
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and SJK waiting with a shirt. Nobody at NK Celje is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The terraces6 Aug 2029
Žan-Luk Leban has gone, the accounts have $1.8M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Boardroom6 Aug 2029
An order from above at NK Celje: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Market6 Aug 2029
Business is business: Žan-Luk Leban goes
NK Maribor paid $1.8M and NK Celje took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market6 Aug 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Matej Poplatnik 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 dugout6 Aug 2029
Žiga Frelih 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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
A row about effort at NK Celje
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Benjamin Verbič was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market30 Jul 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around NK Celje people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market30 Jul 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad30 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at NK Celje this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Dejan Suhovršnik is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Match28 Jul 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gregor Birsa. 1‑0 against Rudar Velenje, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamin Verbič 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.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Roman Zaschepkin has improved at 26, 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.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
7.79, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. NK Celje had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout30 Jul 2029
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Robert Birsa could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Mar 2029
A knee injury of the worst kind for Matic Kurtovic
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. NK Celje lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A falling-out at NK Celje
Matej Poplatnik and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Words at NK Celje training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Roberto Punčec 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A quiet fortnight at NK Celje
With 4 players away on international duty the sessions are small and the manager can actually hear himself. It is the one break in the season, and it never quite feels like one.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout26 Mar 2029
The manager makes an example of Job Brecelj
“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
Squad12 Feb 2029
Tomas Brekalo breaks a bone — 48 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Feb 2029
“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.
Market12 Feb 2029
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. NK Celje have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Matej Poplatnik 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.
Market12 Feb 2029
Everyone has stopped pretending: Halmstad will make the call about Florjan Jevšenak this week. NK Celje have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Gregor Birsa 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 Feb 2029
Gregor Birsa 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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
5 new faces, and NK Celje are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout12 Feb 2029
Luka Vešner Tičić has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at NK Celje 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market5 Feb 2029
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around NK Celje people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
Window shuts: 3 in, 3 out at NK Celje
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 3 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Words exchanged at NK Celje
Leonardo Koutris 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 Feb 2029
A row about effort at NK Celje
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matej Poplatnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A muscle injury sidelines Roman Zaschepkin for 15 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. NK Celje will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Loan watch5 Feb 2029
“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 NK Celje, and 6 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout5 Feb 2029
When it matters, Svit Sešlar 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.
The dugout5 Feb 2029
“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 dugout5 Feb 2029
Gregor Birsa 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 NK Celje, and both men came out saying it was fine.