The Zlin Chronicle
Squad19 Jul 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lukáš Bartošák
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zlin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Zlin
Samuel Šigut and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom19 Jul 2027
5 academy graduates step up at Zlin
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Zlin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonín Křapka 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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Door shut on Hamidou Kante
Zlin asked and Slavia Prague said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market19 Jul 2027
Stanislav Cerny steps up from the Zlin academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Stanislav Cerny 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Zlin promote David Holes from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. David Holes has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market19 Jul 2027
Ales Provod steps up from the Zlin academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ales Provod 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
Zlin promote Martin Vydra from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Martin Vydra has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
- The dugout The manager has not finished forgetting Tom Ulbrich's mistake
- The dugout Zvonimir Katalinić knocks on the manager's door
- Looking ahead A reunion for Jiří Tesař