Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Jablonec they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Transfer targets25 Jun 2029
$1.1M settles it between the clubs for Adam Ševínský
Sparta Prague have accepted the money. What Jablonec do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Jan Chramosta and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Words at Jablonec training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dušan Pavlović 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 phone has started ringing about Stenn de Mol again, and this time the name on the line is Deportivo La Coruña. Jablonec are listening politely and promising nothing.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Jihlava waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Jablonec is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jablonec will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ebrima Singhateh will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Jablonec the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sparta Prague have kept their man, and Jablonec go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Jan Chramosta 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Jablonec will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tobias Keller was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Jablonec 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.
In brief
The dugoutMatěj Pulkrab knocks on the manager’s door
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jablonec will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Jablonec, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Jablonec they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Dušan Pavlović has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Jan Chramosta 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 Dušan Pavlović 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 Vakhtang Chanturishvili is on 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 Jablonec, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jablonec will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jablonec is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Matěj Polidar has his answer from Jablonec; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dušan Pavlović trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Matěj Pulkrab has written the date down.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Jablonec is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jablonec 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 Dušan Pavlović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Nobody at Jablonec 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matěj Pulkrab trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jablonec this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Position 6, 47 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Sparta Prague waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Jablonec is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jablonec can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Slovan Liberec for Nassim Innocenti 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.
Jan Chramosta 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sparta Prague have kept their man, and Jablonec go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” David Planka has his answer from Jablonec; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 104 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.
9 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jihlava can tell you which week it ends in.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleš Kočí 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.
119 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jihlava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
142 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Jihlava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Marián Tvrdoň 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 is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Jihlava told Radim Šudák something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
The dugoutKarel Soldát dropped after a run of poor form
14 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The words a physio says slowly. 150 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.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jihlava can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleš Kočí 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.
1‑4 to Slovacko, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Karel Soldát and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Karel Soldát 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 Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Ezekiel Tamara 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
Jihlava ran out of time with Dukla Prague. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Adrián Čermák 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Jihlava and Slavia Prague, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleš Kočí 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.
Sparta Prague have accepted the money. What Jihlava do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Everything agreed with Sparta Prague, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sparta Prague have kept their man, and Jihlava 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 Aleš Kočí was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Tyrese Omotoye has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
In brief
The dugoutKarel Soldát dropped after a run of poor form
11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
Jihlava have gone to Mlada Boleslav 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.
David Jablonský 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
Sparta Prague have accepted the money. What Jihlava do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Jihlava have done the hard part with Sparta Prague, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jihlava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
David Jablonský and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Radim Šudák has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
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 bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jihlava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have shaken hands with Sparta Prague; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Everything agreed with Slavia Prague, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Radim Šudák was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
In brief
The dugoutAleš Kočí asks for a word with the manager
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Jihlava and Sparta Prague have settled on $660.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
David Jablonský 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Slovacko have kept their man, and Jihlava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 56 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
David Jablonský 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Jihlava and Sparta Prague have settled on $150.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Jihlava have done the hard part with Sparta Prague, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Adrián Čermák 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.
Jihlava asked and Slavia Prague said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Aleš Kočí 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 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jihlava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have shaken hands with Sparta Prague; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Jihlava can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jihlava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jihlava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
David Jablonský 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 Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Jihlava asked and CSKA Moscow said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Jihlava have made the call to Bayer Leverkusen. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Slavia Prague have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Miroslav Křehlík trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A month in which every rumour is possible and most of them are nonsense. The manager has a list, the board has a number, and neither is telling the other the whole of it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
David Jablonský 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Aleš Kočí 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleš Kočí trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 98 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Jihlava would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Jihlava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Jakub Schick has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
David Jablonský 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 Aleš Kočí was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Marián Tvrdoň is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Jihlava would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
David Jablonský 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.
Squad1 May 2028
Marián Tvrdoň 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.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Jonathan Spiff has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Marián Tvrdoň is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
In brief
The dugoutPavel Soukup asks for a word with the manager
The mood at Jihlava 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.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleš Kočí 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 nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Jihlava can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
David Jablonský 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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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 Aleš Kočí trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
David Jablonský 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
Dealt with internally, which is the phrase a club uses when it would rather nobody asked twice. He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday.
It involved Filip Slavata, it was loud enough to reach the car park, and it was over by lunch. Dressing rooms run hot; the ones that should worry you are the silent ones.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miroslav Křehlík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Jihlava will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Toni Frau trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Vít Beneš
The mood at Jihlava 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jihlava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jihlava 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 Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jihlava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Jihlava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Jihlava the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jihlava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
David Jablonský and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marvis Ogiomade 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 mood at Jihlava 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.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Jihlava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jihlava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Marián Tvrdoň 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Jihlava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Jihlava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 14 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jihlava can tell you which week it ends in.
David Jablonský 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.
Jihlava ran out of time with Sparta Prague. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jihlava can tell you which week it ends in.
David Jablonský and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Marián Tvrdoň 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Adrián Čermák will call it something else in private.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Jihlava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Jihlava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Everything agreed with Sparta Prague, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Ezekiel Tamara 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 Vít Beneš 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. NK Varazdin have kept their man, and Jihlava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Position 15 and 13 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 nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Police Union waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Jihlava is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Jihlava and Pribram have settled on $72.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
David Jablonský 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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Marián Tvrdoň 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Vít Beneš
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jihlava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jonathan Spiff did not need any: 7.70, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
David Jablonský 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 Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
0‑5 against Slavia Prague, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
David Jablonský 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 Vít Beneš 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 Vít Beneš.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 117 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marián Tvrdoň was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jakub Schick after 0‑5, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
Player ratingsAn own goal to forget for Tomáš Kocour
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
David Jablonský and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
“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.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Jakub Schick to a room that had heard them before.
“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; Jihlava are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Vít Beneš
18 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Jihlava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
8 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Ezekiel Tamara 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jihlava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
7 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Jihlava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marián Tvrdoň 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.
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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Jihlava told Tomáš Franěk something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Jihlava can pretend not to have heard.
6 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jihlava can tell you which week it ends in.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vít Beneš was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The dugout15 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.” Jakub Schick chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Vít Beneš
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
David Jablonský 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 Vít Beneš was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Jihlava will try not to make too much of it.
“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.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Jakub Schick left the room before anybody could ask which.
14 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces1 Nov 2027
The mood at Jihlava 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Jihlava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Jihlava can tell you which week it ends in.
David Jablonský 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.
0‑1 to Slovan Liberec, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Jihlava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Miroslav Křehlík 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.