Marked for Dávid Kelemen
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jun 2028
The offer from Ludogorets for Eric Bile 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
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 1918 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Vasco Oliveira commits to Spartak 1918 for another 3 years.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dávid Kelemen, and the manager let it.
Boardroom5 Jun 2028
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Boubacar Hanne knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Boubacar Hanne trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kristian Dimitrov and Spartak 1918 agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Maksym Kovaliov 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Dávid Kelemen
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Jan 2028
Dávid Kelemen: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Spartak 1918 have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad31 Jan 2028
He is 19, he is averaging 7.09, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad31 Jan 2028
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 1918 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Nobody could get near Xande
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
A performance of 9.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match29 Jan 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Georg Stojanovski. 2‑1 against Septemvri, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
A masterclass from Eric Bile
Marked 8.17 — 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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
7 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Jan 2028
0‑4 to Ludogorets, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Match15 Jan 2028
4 matches without a win for Spartak 1918
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Spartak 1918 are no longer polite ones.
Squad17 Jan 2028
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 1918 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Georg Stojanovski commits to Spartak 1918 for another 4 years.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
A season average of 7.38 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom17 Jan 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jan 2028
Marco Lund in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Diosgyor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“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.
Market10 Jan 2028
At 35, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Squad10 Jan 2028
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Diosgyor would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Market10 Jan 2028
The name of Anderson Esiti keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Diosgyor say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match18 Sep 2027
Puskas Akademia left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Tempers go at Vasas
Bence Zsolt Vékony 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
János Uram lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Iván Tello gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Máté Ódor asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market20 Sep 2027
Victor Gey linked with a move away
The name of Victor Gey keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Vasas say nothing, which says plenty.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Marked 5.33, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match11 Sep 2027
Nowhere to hide for Vasas
1‑4 against Ferencvaros, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The terraces13 Sep 2027
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 5 of the 24 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad13 Sep 2027
András Radó in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vasas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
“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.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
A performance of 8.53 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Marked 8.23 — 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.
Boardroom13 Sep 2027
Doors closed at Vasas
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The terraces13 Sep 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Victor Gey
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Sep 2027
The wait goes on for Bekescsaba
13 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bekescsaba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The medical room confirms 44 days on the sidelines for Gergő Nagy, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Zoltán Pesti gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match4 Sep 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“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 Bekescsaba know it.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
The one thing Zoltán Pesti could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Market6 Sep 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Bence Daru’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
$1.1M — a new record at Bekescsaba
No footballer has ever cost this club more, and the number will be read out every time he misplaces a pass for the next two years.
Squad14 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bekescsaba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yassine El Ouatki trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Apr 2027
Ismaïl Aaneba 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad26 Apr 2027
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Aug 2026
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Kevin Balla obliged against Honved. 2‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Bekescsaba.
Market31 Aug 2026
“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 Bekescsaba, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Richárd Zsolnai 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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bence Daru, and the manager let it.
Match29 Aug 2026
Ujpest left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.08 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for Gergő Kovács
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market24 Aug 2026
Bence Pintér hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bekescsaba can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bekescsaba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.21 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match22 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Richárd Nagy. 2‑1 against Vasas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.42 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Dávid Kelemen
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Richárd Nagy finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Bekescsaba have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market24 Aug 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Dávid Kelemen may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Aug 2026
Richárd Zsolnai 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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Marked 9.14 — 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
A 2‑1 win over Paksi, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.79, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“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.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad10 Aug 2026
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market10 Aug 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Bekescsaba, another week without a signature from Dániel Póser.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tobías Vargas lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.