Everything agreed with CSKA Moscow, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The name of Marko Dabro has come up in conversations Istra 1961 were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vinko Rozić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Istra 1961 asked and Zenit said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Solin waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Istra 1961 is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Istra 1961 have gone to HNK Rijeka with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
$260.0K was the most the club would pay and Grobnican were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Vinko Rozić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
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.
In brief
The dugoutJan Hlapčić is still being punished for one mistake
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Istra 1961 will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vinko Rozić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
29 games, 4 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Istra 1961 now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The loan was meant to give him football. 0 games and 0 goals later he is back at Istra 1961 no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their doing.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Diego Alexander Rossi is on it.
Milan Gajić 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vinko Rozić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Diego Alexander Rossi is on it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Istra 1961 has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Filip Taraba signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutDanijel Đurić knocks on the manager's door
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Istra 1961 can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Istra 1961 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rene Hrvatin commits to Istra 1961 for another 5 years.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vinko Rozić 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Istra 1961, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Istra 1961, and it is not being withdrawn.
Add another name to the list: HNK Rijeka have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Raul Kumar. The answer from Istra 1961 has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vinko Rozić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Mislav Ćutuk 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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Niko Šepić is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Vladimir Ignatenko 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Advan Kadušić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 21 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Advan Kadušić.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Istra 1961, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Marcelo Corluka chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Varteks waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Istra 1961 is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Viktoria Plzen keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Zvonimir Šarlija and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Vinko Rozić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 21 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Slavia Prague is saying, and nobody at Istra 1961 is enjoying the guessing.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Vinko Rozić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Filip Taraba 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vladimir Ignatenko. 1‑0 against BSK Bijelo Brdo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The young player of the month award goes to a 21-year-old at Istra 1961 who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Silvio Goričan is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Istra 1961 has been clear about where Danijel Đurić stands, which is more than many ever get.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Istra 1961 have done the hard part with Dinamo Moscow, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Vladimir Ignatenko 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Karlovac 1919 pay $86.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
In brief
Squad12 new faces, and Istra 1961 are still learning each other
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Istra 1961 have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Istra 1961 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Vito Čaić from NK Osijek for $1.5M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Istra 1961 can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Varteks waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Istra 1961 is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Istra 1961 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Toni Brajković is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Croatia Zmijavci pay $130.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Dinamo Zagreb have accepted the money. What Istra 1961 do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Istra 1961 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Istra 1961 offered $27.0K; Lokomotiva Zagreb said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Istra 1961 can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
The offer from NK Osijek for Emil Frederiksen was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Istra 1961, and it is not being withdrawn.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $590.0K — a club that wants Mislav Ćutuk enough to be asked twice.
$490.0K on the table at Dinamo Zagreb. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Zvonimir Šarlija 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.
Istra 1961 offered $350.0K; Sesvete said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Istra 1961 asked and Dinamo 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.
In brief
SquadSilvio Goričan falls out with a teammate over standards
Position 8 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Dominik Celija 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.
26 appearances and 2 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Istra 1961 is running low.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Istra 1961 they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mohamed Nasraoui 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luka Vukas 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marco Corluka is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Milan Modric is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Silvio Goričan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Istra 1961 told Zvonimir Šarlija something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Silvio Goričan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody at Istra 1961 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.
Somebody to talk to at the next peg, a few words of the language, and a training ground that has stopped being a foreign country. It never appears in a scouting report and it decides most signings.
The agreement at Hrvatski Dragovoljac has 8 days left in it, with 26 appearances to weigh. Three doors: keep him, sell him, lend him again — and none of them stays open long.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Josip Radošević 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.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Istra 1961 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Andrews Tetteh's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Samuli Miettinen's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The mood at Istra 1961 has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Istra 1961 is running low.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Istra 1961 is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The medical room confirms 52 days on the sidelines for Roko Anić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daouda Doumbia 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Istra 1961, and both men came out saying it was fine.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
5 new faces, and Istra 1961 are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Niko Šepić is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Filip Taraba signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 8 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Istra 1961 can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan 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.
Filip Taraba 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.
Something was said to Franko Kolić and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
He went out to keep goal every week and came back with 0 games and 0 of them shut out. Somebody at Istra 1961 argued for this move last summer; nobody is arguing for it now.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Samuli Miettinen's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
In brief
Boardroom$5.0M taken back off the Istra 1961 table
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Istra 1961 have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zaglebie have kept their man, and Istra 1961 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daouda Doumbia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Feb 2027
5 new faces, and Istra 1961 are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Istra 1961 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Nobody at Istra 1961 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.
Istra 1961 had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Krasnodar, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Zvonimir Šarlija 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Josip Radošević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dinamo Moscow have kept their man, and Istra 1961 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Istra 1961 know which stage they are at.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Silvio Goričan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Zvonimir Šarlija 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 fee is $130.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Lokomotiva Zagreb drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Josip Radošević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Dinamo Zagreb will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Kaloyan Bozhkov has pre-agreed a move to Istra 1961, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Istra 1961 asked and Dinamo 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.
Add another name to the list: Uskok have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Toni Brajković. The answer from Istra 1961 has not changed — yet.
Something was said to Silvio Goričan and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
In brief
The dugoutVinko Rozić knocks on the manager's door
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Mohamed Nasraoui 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Advan Kadušić 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Silvio Goričan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Zvonimir Šarlija 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Advan Kadušić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Istra 1961 are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Rene Hrvatin is on it.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Istra 1961 will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Istra 1961. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Position 8 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matej Franko 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Marcelo Corluka after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Marked 4.23. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Samuli Miettinen's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Zvonimir Šarlija 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.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matej Franko was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Matej Franko.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Marcelo Corluka, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Istra 1961, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 9 and 10 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Istra 1961, another week without a signature from Silvio Goričan.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Istra 1961, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Istra 1961 can tell you which week it ends in.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Marcelo Corluka to a room that had heard them before.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Hajduk Split next, and one man in the Istra 1961 dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.