Marko Rog

Central Midfielder - Lokomotiva Zagreb
13 Jan 2028
Thursday
Process

Marked for Marko Rog

73 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

20 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

The dugout

Luka Dajčer: 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.” Lokomotiva Zagreb have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Santiago Wanderers join the queue for Feta Fetai

Add another name to the list: Santiago Wanderers have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Feta Fetai. The answer from Lokomotiva Zagreb has not changed — yet.

Squad

Marko Vešović 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 Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Mario Šitum gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Squad

A row about effort at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mario Mladenovski was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Marko Vešović knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Marko Rog has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Lokomotiva Zagreb will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.

Squad

Matija Subotić: “I am not a substitute”

“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Lokomotiva Zagreb will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.

Market

The Tino Jukić story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tino Jukić signs something — a contract at Lokomotiva Zagreb or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

Back issues
66 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Lokomotiva Zagreb through in the cup

A 2‑1 win over HNK Vukovar 1991, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Match

A hiding for Lokomotiva Zagreb

Beaten 0‑3 by Hajduk Split, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

The dugout

Petar Andrić: 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.” Lokomotiva Zagreb have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Dušan Vuković beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Tempers go at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Marko Vešović 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 terraces

Lokomotiva Zagreb supporters have found a favourite in Mirko Sušak

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Mirko Sušak has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Squad

Words at Lokomotiva Zagreb training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mario Šitum 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.

Player ratings

Mirko Sušak was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.15. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Marko Rog

“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.

In brief

61 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

27 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Ibrahim Sabra, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.02

A mark of 8.02 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Oliver Heiðarsson

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Whatever happens, Lokomotiva Zagreb do not lose

7 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.

Squad

Mirko Marić 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 Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

The game went through Marko Rog — 7.21

Marked 7.21 on 15 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.

Player ratings

Leon Belcar shuts the door

Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Match

Lokomotiva Zagreb find a way past NK Osijek

NK Osijek made Lokomotiva Zagreb work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Marijan Čabraja makes it 200

200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Josip Modric kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

In brief

53 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

2 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Ante Matić out for 61 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokomotiva Zagreb will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Sam Rak-Sakyi keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lokomotiva Zagreb may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Mirko Marić 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 Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Sam Rak-Sakyi signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sam Rak-Sakyi and Lokomotiva Zagreb agree another 4 years.

Transfer targets

Sion tell Lokomotiva Zagreb: Winsley Boteli is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Player ratings

Oliver Heiðarsson beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Jakov-Anton Vasilj the difference as Lokomotiva Zagreb beat HNK Gorica

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jakov-Anton Vasilj. 1‑0 against HNK Gorica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Jakov-Anton Vasilj

Marked 8.32 — 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.

Squad

Lokomotiva Zagreb lose Matija Subotić

60 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

34 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Mirko Sušak sends Lokomotiva Zagreb through

Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Mirko Sušak obliged against HNK Rijeka. 3‑2 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Lokomotiva Zagreb.

Player ratings

Both of them Mirko Sušak's — 8.22

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.22, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Player ratings

Vintage Aleksandar Trajkovski — 7.87

At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.87, and nobody on the pitch better.

Match

Nobody wants to play Lokomotiva Zagreb right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Words exchanged at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Marko Vešović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Mirko Sušak

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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Marko Rog

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Words at Lokomotiva Zagreb training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tommy Pilling 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.

The dugout

The form table has caught Mirko Marić

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

In brief

21 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Fran Karačić out for 50 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Lokomotiva Zagreb will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Words exchanged at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Petar Zvonimir Kostelac and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout

When it matters, Marko Rog 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.

The dugout

Mario Šitum has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Mario Šitum has written the date down.

The dugout

Mario Mladenovski knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Tino Jukić linked with a move away

The name of Tino Jukić keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Lokomotiva Zagreb say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

16 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Dušan Vuković

Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The dugout

Marko Rog says Lokomotiva Zagreb went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Marko Vešović 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 Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marko Pajač was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Looking ahead

Everything rides on NK Varazdin

Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Lokomotiva Zagreb know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.

The dugout

No hiding place for Marko Pajač

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marko Pajač, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Aleksandar Trajkovski

7.46, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Lokomotiva Zagreb had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Josip Modric was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Lokomotiva Zagreb dressing room was either.

The dugout

The form table has caught Marko Pajač

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

In brief

14 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Lokomotiva Zagreb march on in the cup

Sibenik are out and Lokomotiva Zagreb go through, 6‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

Lokomotiva Zagreb are in real trouble now

Position 8, 10 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.

Squad

A day Oliver Heiðarsson will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Player ratings

Dušan Vuković scores twice — 8.28

Two goals and a mark of 8.28 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

The dugout

Mate Antunović keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lokomotiva Zagreb may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Match

6 goals as Lokomotiva Zagreb and Sibenik go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Lokomotiva Zagreb and Sibenik, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Match

Hajduk Split take the points off Lokomotiva Zagreb

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Dinko Utrobičić

At 17 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.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Oliver Heiðarsson at his very best

Marked 8.50. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Lokomotiva Zagreb.

In brief