The NK Osijek Courier
Squad26 Jul 2027
Arnel Jakupović 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 Osijek this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Graduation day at NK Osijek
8 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.
The terraces26 Jul 2027
The crowd has taken to Luka Vrbančić
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market26 Jul 2027
Eyes on Ivan Barić again
The phone has started ringing about Ivan Barić again, and this time the name on the line is Segesta. NK Osijek are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market26 Jul 2027
NK Osijek promote Andrej Kovacevic from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Andrej Kovacevic 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
Filip Benko steps up from the NK Osijek academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Filip Benko 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
One of our own: Sime Cop joins the NK Osijek first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sime Cop is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Match24 Jul 2027
NK Osijek see off Lokomotiva Zagreb
Three points for NK Osijek, 1‑0 the final word against Lokomotiva Zagreb in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at NK Osijek training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tonio Teklić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
- Player ratings Nothing got past Luka Jelenić
- Player ratings The afternoon belonged to Luka Vrbančić
- Player ratings Nobody could get near Stanislav Shopov