Marked for Benjamin Birsa
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Oct 2035
The wait goes on for NK Domzale
36 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.
Match22 Oct 2035
NK Domzale are in real trouble now
Position 9, 1 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Player ratings22 Oct 2035
Age has not caught Filip Sesko yet — 7.81
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.81 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Market22 Oct 2035
“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.
Squad22 Oct 2035
Daniel Vlasic falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad22 Oct 2035
Luka Baruca 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 Oct 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Benjamin Birsa, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Oct 2035
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and NK Domzale know it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Sep 2035
33 matches without a win for NK Domzale
The run now stands at 33, and the questions being asked around NK Domzale are no longer polite ones.
Match29 Sep 2035
1‑6 to NK Maribor, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match29 Sep 2035
7 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Player ratings1 Oct 2035
Filip Sesko, 35, rolls back the years — 7.83
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.83 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad1 Oct 2035
Filip Sesko 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.
Match29 Sep 2035
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about NK Domzale and NK Maribor in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad1 Oct 2035
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Vlasic 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.
Squad1 Oct 2035
Beaten 6 times, with 4 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Squad1 Oct 2035
The manager makes an example of Benjamin Oblak
“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
Crisis
Match22 Sep 2035
32 matches without a win for NK Domzale
The run now stands at 32, and the questions being asked around NK Domzale are no longer polite ones.
Match24 Sep 2035
Every point is an argument now for NK Domzale
Position 9 and 1 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Player ratings24 Sep 2035
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.82, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad24 Sep 2035
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.
Match22 Sep 2035
NK Domzale are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad24 Sep 2035
Filip Sesko 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 NK Domzale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Sep 2035
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Sep 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Benjamin Birsa, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Sep 2035
Benjamin Oblak 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
Crisis
Match8 Sep 2035
No end in sight to NK Domzale's wait for a win
30 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at NK Domzale has to find a result from somewhere.
The terraces10 Sep 2035
Anger at NK Domzale spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Match8 Sep 2035
Chastening afternoon for NK Domzale
A 0‑6 beating by NK Krka was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market10 Sep 2035
“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.
Squad10 Sep 2035
Benjamin Skubic gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Benjamin Skubic has just signed for NK Domzale, and for once the answer mattered.
Market10 Sep 2035
The shirt still fits. Benjamin Skubic is back at NK Domzale, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Match8 Sep 2035
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between NK Domzale and NK Krka, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Boardroom10 Sep 2035
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Squad10 Sep 2035
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Vlasic 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Aug 2035
No end in sight to NK Domzale's wait for a win
28 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at NK Domzale has to find a result from somewhere.
Match27 Aug 2035
NK Domzale are in real trouble now
Position 9, 0 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad27 Aug 2035
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.
Match25 Aug 2035
1‑3 to Koper, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad27 Aug 2035
Luka Baruca 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 NK Domzale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Aug 2035
Adamu Duguri 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.
Squad27 Aug 2035
When it matters, Filip Sesko 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.
Player ratings27 Aug 2035
Nobody could get near Zan Janza
Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market27 Aug 2035
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what NK Domzale could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match11 Aug 2035
The wait goes on for NK Domzale
26 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces13 Aug 2035
Anger at NK Domzale spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market13 Aug 2035
“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 NK Domzale, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Aug 2035
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad13 Aug 2035
Filip Sesko 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.
Match11 Aug 2035
ND Gorica left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Aug 2035
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamin Oblak 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.
Squad13 Aug 2035
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and NK Domzale know it.
Player ratings13 Aug 2035
Nobody could get near Zan Janza
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Nov 2034
The wait goes on for NK Domzale
22 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.
Match22 Nov 2034
NK Celje go through and NK Domzale go home, 0‑4 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad27 Nov 2034
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.
The terraces27 Nov 2034
A cup hiding at NK Celje leaves NK Domzale explaining themselves
0-4, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
Market27 Nov 2034
“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 Domzale can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Nov 2034
Filip Sesko 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.
Match22 Nov 2034
3 matches without a goal for NK Domzale
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad27 Nov 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Benjamin Birsa, and the manager let it.
Squad27 Nov 2034
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Bruno 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Oct 2034
The wait goes on for NK Domzale
15 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces9 Oct 2034
The mood at NK Domzale has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad9 Oct 2034
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.
Market9 Oct 2034
“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 Domzale can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Oct 2034
53 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Oct 2034
Filip Sesko 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 NK Domzale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match7 Oct 2034
5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad9 Oct 2034
Daniel Vlasic 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.
Match7 Oct 2034
NK Krsko left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Sep 2034
No end in sight to NK Domzale's wait for a win
14 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at NK Domzale has to find a result from somewhere.
Match30 Sep 2034
0‑6 against NK Maribor, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad2 Oct 2034
There were 8 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.
Squad2 Oct 2034
Daniel Vlasic 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.
Match30 Sep 2034
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about NK Domzale and NK Maribor in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Match30 Sep 2034
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Squad2 Oct 2034
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Benjamin Oblak 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.
Squad2 Oct 2034
“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 Domzale are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Boardroom2 Oct 2034
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Sep 2034
The wait goes on for NK Domzale
13 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.
Squad25 Sep 2034
Filip Sesko breaks a bone — 14 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 14 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad25 Sep 2034
There were 9 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.
Match25 Sep 2034
Every point is an argument now for NK Domzale
Position 9 and 1 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Match23 Sep 2034
1‑2 to NK Celje, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad25 Sep 2034
Luka Baruca 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Sep 2034
No end in sight to NK Domzale's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at NK Domzale has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad18 Sep 2034
Filip Sesko breaks a bone — 21 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match16 Sep 2034
0‑4 to Olimpija Ljubljana, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad18 Sep 2034
There were 8 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.
Market18 Sep 2034
“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 NK Domzale, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Sep 2034
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Vlasic 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.
Match16 Sep 2034
The goals have deserted NK Domzale
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at NK Domzale can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad18 Sep 2034
Luka Baruca 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 NK Domzale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom18 Sep 2034
Nobody left the NK Domzale dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces11 Sep 2034
The mood at NK Domzale has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Match9 Sep 2034
11 matches without a win for NK Domzale
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around NK Domzale are no longer polite ones.
Squad11 Sep 2034
Filip Sesko 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.
Match9 Sep 2034
Chastening afternoon for NK Domzale
A 0‑3 beating by NK Krka was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad11 Sep 2034
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.
Market11 Sep 2034
“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.
Squad11 Sep 2034
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 Domzale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Sep 2034
Benjamin Oblak 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.
Boardroom11 Sep 2034
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Aug 2034
Filip Sesko breaks a bone — 42 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 42 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad28 Aug 2034
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match26 Aug 2034
Beaten 1‑4 by Koper, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match26 Aug 2034
9 matches without a win for NK Domzale
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around NK Domzale are no longer polite ones.
Match28 Aug 2034
Every point is an argument now for NK Domzale
Position 9 and 0 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad28 Aug 2034
Filip Sesko 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 NK Domzale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces14 Aug 2034
The mood at NK Domzale has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Squad14 Aug 2034
Filip Sesko breaks a bone — 56 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 56 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match12 Aug 2034
No end in sight to NK Domzale's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at NK Domzale has to find a result from somewhere.
Match12 Aug 2034
No clean sheets in sight for NK Domzale
7 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Squad14 Aug 2034
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 Domzale this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Aug 2034
0‑2 to ND Gorica, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad14 Aug 2034
The manager makes an example of Benjamin Birsa
“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.
Squad14 Aug 2034
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adamu Duguri 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.
Market14 Aug 2034
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at NK Domzale has been clear about where Leonardo Ferreira stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Aug 2034
Filip Sesko breaks a bone — 63 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match5 Aug 2034
Beaten 0‑3 by NK Krsko, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad7 Aug 2034
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.
Match5 Aug 2034
6 matches without a win for NK Domzale
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around NK Domzale are no longer polite ones.
Market7 Aug 2034
“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.
Match5 Aug 2034
NK Domzale are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad7 Aug 2034
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Vicente Delgado is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad7 Aug 2034
Words at NK Domzale training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Vlasic 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.
Boardroom7 Aug 2034
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Jul 2034
Filip Sesko breaks a bone — 77 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 77 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match22 Jul 2034
Chastening afternoon for NK Domzale
A 1‑10 beating by NK Celje was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad24 Jul 2034
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 3 saves does not settle it either way.
Match22 Jul 2034
4 matches without a win for NK Domzale
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around NK Domzale are no longer polite ones.
Squad24 Jul 2034
Daniel Vlasic 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.
Match22 Jul 2034
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 11 goals between NK Domzale and NK Celje, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Boardroom24 Jul 2034
7 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Match22 Jul 2034
NK Domzale are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Market24 Jul 2034
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Erik Ilicic has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.