“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 The request is on a desk at Spartak Trnava, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Trnava people have started saying his name 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 Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.99, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Libor Holík 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
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Libor Holík at his very best
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Michal Tomič at his very best
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Trnava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Spartak Trnava moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Adam Kucka, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
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.
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.
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.
Squad22 Jul 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Michal Lobotka is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Trnava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The offer from FK Senica for Matej Dula 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Libor Holík 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 Zagreb have kept their man, and Spartak Trnava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Tom Lockyer 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.
Squad15 Jul 2030
8 new faces, and Spartak Trnava 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.
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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Trnava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tom Lockyer will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Everything agreed with Sporting CP, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lorenzo Delaygue is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad8 Jul 2030
Libor Holík 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Spartak Trnava have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Spartak Trnava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Spartak Trnava had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Slovan Bratislava, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Spartak Trnava asked and Shakhtar said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Trnava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Spartak Trnava have gone to MFK Ruzomberok 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matej Dula will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Mattia Morreale is living that version at Spartak Trnava, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Spartak Trnava asked and Sparta 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Spartak Trnava have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Spartak Trnava have done the hard part with Slovan Bratislava, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 easiest signature of my career.” Filip Havelka and Spartak Trnava agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Trnava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Add another name to the list: MSK Zilina have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Albert Strelec. The answer from Spartak Trnava has not changed — yet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Trnava can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Tom Lockyer 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.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Maximilián Halo has, at Spartak Trnava, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad10 Jun 2030
Libor Holík 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.
Spartak Trnava asked and Ajax said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“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 Spartak Trnava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Blas Moyano has, at Spartak Trnava, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
Spartak Trnava 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Trnava has been clear about where Dimitri Jepihhin stands, which is more than many ever get.
Spartak Trnava have made the call to Dinamo Zagreb. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Spartak Trnava have had the benefit of it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Faysel Kasmi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Kristián Bari 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 decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kacper Czekański and Spartak Trnava agree another 4 years.
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 Aaron Drinan is on it.
Libor Koníček is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Squad20 May 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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 easiest signature of my career.” Kacper Czekański and Spartak Trnava agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
41 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 May 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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 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.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartak Trnava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Faysel Kasmi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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 dugoutMarek Ujlaky knocks on the manager's door
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartak Trnava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
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 Martin Mikovič is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Spartak Trnava. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
Libor Holík 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Trnava has been clear about where Ondřej Šašinka stands, which is more than many ever get.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Trnava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 4 on 41 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lucas Roman and Spartak Trnava agree another 4 years.
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 Libor Holík is on it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Spartak Trnava has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Spartak Trnava. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Trnava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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 at Spartak Trnava 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartak Trnava, another week without a signature from Giuliano Antonio Marek.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Spartak Trnava would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“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 Spartak Trnava will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Trnava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Spartak Trnava. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Albert Strelec 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 Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Spartak Trnava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 4 on 41 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Spartak Trnava 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 Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Mar 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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 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 Spartak Trnava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Mar 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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 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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Spartak Trnava. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Tom Lockyer is 35, with 427 appearances behind him, and Spartak Trnava will have to plan for whichever answer comes.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kristián Bari will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Libor Holík 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.
“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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
7 new faces, and Spartak Trnava 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.
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.
5 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Spartak Trnava could ask drops and the wages Giuliano Antonio Marek can ask rise.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Ondřej Šašinka reports back to Spartak Trnava with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Spartak Trnava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad18 Feb 2030
Libor Holík 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.
Hilary Gong 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 easiest signature of my career.” Karol Lobotka and Spartak Trnava agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Spartak Trnava are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Albert Strelec reports back to Spartak Trnava with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Faysel Kasmi 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Karol Lobotka has just signed for Spartak Trnava, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad11 Feb 2030
Libor Holík 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Spartak Trnava will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The clubs have shaken hands with MFK Ruzomberok; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 6 arrived, 9 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava 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 Spartak Trnava 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 Libor Holík 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. Racing Genk have kept their man, and Spartak Trnava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Trnava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kristián Bari will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
MSK Zilina have accepted the money. What Spartak Trnava do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Daniel Tonica 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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Joshua Frau reports back to Spartak Trnava with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Albert Strelec 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.
Squad28 Jan 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
16 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartak Trnava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Spartak Trnava and Podbrezova have settled on $610.0K. 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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Banik Ostrava keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Kacper Czekański has, at Spartak Trnava, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Libor Holík 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.
Spartak Trnava asked and Zlate Moravce said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartak Trnava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Spartak Trnava have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Eduard Duţu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Spartak Trnava, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Ondřej Šašinka 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.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jan 2030
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stanislav Brabec and Spartak Trnava agree another 5 years.
The phone has started ringing about Joshua Frau again, and this time the name on the line is Gostaresh Foulad. Spartak Trnava are listening politely and promising nothing.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Michal Kroupa is in the works
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartak Trnava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from DAC Dunajska Streda for Ondřej Šašinka 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.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Spartak Trnava had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spartak Trnava 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 Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Juraj Hamsik has just signed for Spartak Trnava, and for once the answer mattered.
DAC Dunajska Streda will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Juanmi Carrión has pre-agreed a move to Spartak Trnava, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartak Trnava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kristián Bari will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Libor Holík 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 Aaron Drinan 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 Spartak Trnava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Trnava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Libor Holík signs something — a contract at Spartak Trnava or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Giannis Saregos has his answer from Spartak Trnava; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Position 4, 41 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.
Position 4 on 41 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abdulrahman Taiwo. 2‑1 against Spartak Myjava, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Abdulrahman Taiwo had Spartak Trnava level again within 1 minutes, and Spartak Myjava never got to play with a lead at all.
In brief
The dugoutThe team sheet said everything about Martin Mikovič
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Spartak Trnava scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Libor Holík 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.
7.83, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Spartak Trnava had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout10 Dec 2029
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.” Adam Kucka kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Dec 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then DAC Dunajska Streda scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Nov 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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 board was up, the win was priced in, and then MFK Ruzomberok scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lucas Roman and Spartak Trnava agree another 4 years.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Spartak Trnava told Kristián Bari something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Libor Holík 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Trnava has been clear about where Dimitri Jepihhin stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout19 Nov 2029
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.” Adam Kucka, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Spartak Trnava scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abdulrahman Taiwo. 2‑1 against MFK Michalovce, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Trnava has been clear about where Eduard Duţu stands, which is more than many ever get.
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.08 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Trnava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Spartak Trnava and MFK Skalica, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartak Trnava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Oct 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Libor Holík 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 dugout29 Oct 2029
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 Adam Kucka to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Faysel Kasmi has his answer from Spartak Trnava; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
6 goals in one match, Abdulrahman Taiwo on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Spartak Trnava and AS Trencin.
Marked 9.53 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.16 — 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.
Dominik Lobotka, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.32
A mark of 8.32 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Spartak Trnava and Podbrezova in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Three points for Spartak Trnava, 4‑2 the final word against Podbrezova in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Libor Holík 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Dominik Lobotka 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Trnava is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Libor Holík was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
MFK Michalovce will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Stanislav Danko has pre-agreed a move to Spartak Trnava, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Spartak Myjava will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Spartak Trnava were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Spartak Trnava and Spartak Myjava in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad1 Oct 2029
Libor Holík 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.
92 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartak Trnava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michal Tomič 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Adam Kucka after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
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.
122 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartak Trnava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Spartak Trnava have done the hard part with Slovan Bratislava, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michal Tomič 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. Anderlecht have kept their man, and Spartak Trnava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Spartak Trnava will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
The dugout27 Aug 2029
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 Adam Kucka left the room before anybody could ask which.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Nüraly Älip is in the works
The dugoutLibor Holík has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Moussa Touré
130 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Spartak Trnava lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Podbrezova waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Spartak Trnava is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
10.00. 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Spartak Trnava and MFK Skalica, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michal Tomič 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Trnava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Michal Tomič 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.
Spartak Trnava asked and Lokomotiv 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.
A loan enquiry to Slovan Bratislava: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Trnava has been clear about where Patrik Lukáč stands, which is more than many ever get.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Spartak Trnava will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava 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 Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 May 2029
Words at Spartak Trnava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michal Tomič 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 at Spartak Trnava 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Spartak Trnava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spartak Trnava, another week without a signature from Eric Oguocha.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Spartak Trnava have no good answer.
In brief
The dugoutEric Oguocha knocks on the manager’s door
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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 Spartak Trnava 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 Michal Tomič 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 Libor Holík 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 Spartak Trnava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Théo Mary
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrik Vasiľ will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava 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 Michal Tomič was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kristián Bari will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Malo Le Bolay has, at Spartak Trnava, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Michal Tomič 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 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 Albert Strelec trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartak Trnava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Out, 1‑2 to DAC Dunajska Streda, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Patrik Vasiľ will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spartak Trnava the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Michal Tomič 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Spartak Trnava lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Spartak Trnava people have started saying his name 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 Spartak Trnava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Michal Tomič 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nottingham Forest have kept their man, and Spartak Trnava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Spartak Trnava has been clear about where Luka Khorkheli stands, which is more than many ever get.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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 said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michal Tomič was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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 Kristián Koštrna trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 4 on 36 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Šimon Faško signs something — a contract at Spartak Trnava or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Michal Svoboda has written the date down.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Michal Tomič 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
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 Aaron Drinan is on it.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Albert Strelec: 3 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Aaron Drinan had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and MFK Ruzomberok were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Michal Tomič 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.
Marked 8.49 — 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.
In brief
Player ratingsLibor Holík misses from twelve yards
The dugoutMichal Tomič dropped after a run of poor form
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Abdulrahman Taiwo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Michal Tomič 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.
Marked 7.19 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
“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 dugout30 Oct 2028
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 Adam Kucka to a room that had heard them 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 Stefan Skrbo is on it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Abdulrahman Taiwo 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 Michal Tomič was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Adam Kucka could afford to be generous.
“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 Spartak Trnava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Luka Khorkheli 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 Michal Tomič was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Nobody at Spartak Trnava 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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
The division's best last weekend was a Spartak Trnava man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Abdulrahman Taiwo was the best thing in any of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michal Tomič was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Spartak Trnava prefer.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spartak Trnava they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Luka Khorkheli 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 Michal Tomič was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.