“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sivasspor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sivasspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.06 — 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.
Chibuike Nwaiwu 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 crowd waited for a goal that never came. Giresunspor defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
3 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Mustafa Sol obliged against Konyaspor. 2‑2 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Sivasspor.
Umraniyespor will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sivasspor were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Ianis Hagi 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 phone has started ringing about Rey Manaj again, and this time the name on the line is Besiktas. Sivasspor are listening politely and promising nothing.
Antalyaspor paid $1.3M and Sivasspor took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Chibuike Nwaiwu 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.
Marked 8.96 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Banik Ostrava can pretend not to have heard.
Filip Kubala 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.
Marked 8.42 — 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.
Marked 8.18 — 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.
“I watch every Banik Ostrava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sparta Prague runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Banik Ostrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.98 — 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.
Marked 8.68 — 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Martin Jedlička knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.