The Dubrava Chronicle
Squad26 Jul 2027
Šimun Šabijan damages knee ligaments — 21 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Ivan Mamić: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dubrava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Bruno Rebic signs on for the long haul
Dubrava moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Bruno Rebic, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Dubrava
Amet Korça 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.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Dubrava
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pavle Bonić 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 targets26 Jul 2027
Door shut on Marko Batur
Dubrava asked and Lokomotiva Zagreb said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market26 Jul 2027
One of our own: Josip Simunovic joins the Dubrava first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Josip Simunovic is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market26 Jul 2027
Stipe Grbic steps up from the Dubrava academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Stipe Grbic 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.
In brief
- Market Dubrava promote Dejan Budimir from within
- Market Niko Vukas steps up from the Dubrava academy
- Match Dubrava make home a hard place to visit