Charis Charisis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Sivasspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marius Ştefănescu 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Caner Yildiz has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Kerem Bayindir has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Erkan Ucar has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kerem Under has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
A date was given and it came and went. Nobody upstairs will call it a broken promise, and nobody downstairs will call it anything else for a long time.
Sivasspor have more foreign players than the form allows, and he is the one without a place on it. He will train with a side he is not permitted to play for until the next window.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 15 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Şahin Kalınsazlıoğlu has just signed for Sivasspor, and for once the answer mattered.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 27 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sivasspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sivasspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutTuraç Böke has become a man the manager trusts
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 20 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 Sivasspor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Valon Ethemi 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.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Sivasspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolas Janvier 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sivasspor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Sivasspor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Charis Charisis 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 Jul 2027
Words at Sivasspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marius Ştefănescu 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sivasspor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Charis Charisis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Valon Ethemi 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 have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Sivasspor know it.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Young Boys have kept their man, and Sivasspor go back to a list with one name crossed off 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 Sivasspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Aly Mallé has written the date down.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sivasspor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sivasspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Sivasspor, 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 Sivasspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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; Sivasspor are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Brondby have kept their man, and Sivasspor 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. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sivasspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Sivasspor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Aris Thessaloniki is saying, and nobody at Sivasspor is enjoying the guessing.
Sivasspor asked and Alanyaspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Charis Charisis 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.
Add another name to the list: Kasimpasa have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mert Çelik. The answer from Sivasspor has not changed — yet.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sivasspor will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
31 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sivasspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Sivasspor have paid $2.4M for Victor Gidado, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Sivasspor asked and Besiktas 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 deal with Aris Thessaloniki is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Charis Charisis 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sivasspor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
40 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sivasspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer went to Trabzonspor this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Sivasspor asked and Molde said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 77 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
47 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sivasspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Sivasspor have paid $4.3M for Marius Ştefănescu, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Sivasspor have paid $4.3M for Nicolas Janvier, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Sivasspor have gone to Gaziantep 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Sivasspor have done the hard part with Besiktas, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
$360.0K was the most the club would pay and Kayserispor were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
In brief
The terracesThe town asked, and Sivasspor paid $4.3M
SquadValon Ethemi falls out with a teammate over standards
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sivasspor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
54 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sivasspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sivasspor people have started saying his name in the past tense.
$270.0K on the table at Kayserispor. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Charis Charisis 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 Valon Ethemi 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 Sivasspor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
64 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sivasspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Charis Charisis 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Sivasspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Valon Ethemi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sivasspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Turaç Böke is on it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sivasspor will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sivasspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Valon Ethemi 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 Daniel Avramovski trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sivasspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Sivasspor. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Emirhan Başyiğit has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 106 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
81 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sivasspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sivasspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Sivasspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Valon Ethemi 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 Okan Erdoğan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sivasspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Sivasspor. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The words a physio says slowly. 95 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.
0‑4 against Trabzonspor, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“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; Sivasspor are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Valon Ethemi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cihat Çelik, and the manager let it.
Boardroom3 May 2027
Nobody left the Sivasspor dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout3 May 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 0‑4 Oguzhan Kokcu left the room before anybody could ask which.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
In brief
Player ratingsIonut Keseru beats them one at a time
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The words a physio says slowly. 63 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sivasspor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Sivasspor can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Valon Ethemi 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 words a physio says slowly. 93 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.
Charis Charisis 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Sivasspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Valon Ethemi 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.
Sivasspor asked and Plaza Colonia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Every long career reaches the week the player starts thinking about the last one. He would like it to be at the club that first put him on a pitch, and Sivasspor now know that too.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Sivasspor told Ionut Keseru something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
4 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Emirhan Başyiğit, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.97 for the rest of it.
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Sivasspor and Hatayspor in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Arif Kocaman 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.