“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 The request is on a desk at Sigma Olomouc, and it is not being withdrawn.
Michal Beran 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.
“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; Sigma Olomouc are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It needed Abubakar Ghali to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Viktoria Plzen, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sigma Olomouc can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sigma Olomouc can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jakov Biljan and Sigma Olomouc agree another 1 years.
Péter Baráth 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 touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Matěj Mikulenka 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.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Petr Stanek is a Sigma Olomouc player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Marked 9.29 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Sigma Olomouc, and it is not being withdrawn.
Péter Baráth was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Alexsandro again, and this time the name on the line is Zbrojovka Brno. Sigma Olomouc are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Slavia Prague paid $5.1M and Sigma Olomouc took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of David Tkáč has come up in conversations Sigma Olomouc were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Péter Baráth 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sigma Olomouc can pretend not to have heard.
Michal Beran 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Péter Baráth 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Sylla trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Péter Baráth 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Péter Baráth 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Matěj Náprstek trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Sigma Olomouc, 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.05 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sigma Olomouc can pretend not to have heard.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Sigma Olomouc, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.08 — 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: John Dembe. 2‑1 against Slovacko, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.30 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.05 — 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 9.06 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Michal Beran 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.
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.
Michal Beran 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.
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.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.60 — 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Pribram will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sigma Olomouc were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Péter Baráth 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.
Marked 9.33 — 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 8.82 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Daniel Coufal is a Sigma Olomouc player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Lukas Cerny is a Sigma Olomouc player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Work is signed off on a capacity of 7804. It is the sort of decision a club is judged on twenty years later, by people who were not there when it was taken.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sigma Olomouc know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Péter Baráth 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: Teplice have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Matúš Hruška. The answer from Sigma Olomouc has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Sigma Olomouc has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
A new face in his position, and Kwanele Nkabi suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Sigma Olomouc have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ignacio Bessone will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sigma Olomouc, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sigma Olomouc know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Péter Baráth 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sigma Olomouc know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Matěj Mikulenka 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Péter Baráth signs something — a contract at Sigma Olomouc or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kwanele Nkabi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tomáš Huk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Péter Baráth 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.
6 goals in 11 games at Zalgiris — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sigma Olomouc updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Jiří Sláma’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Matěj Mikulenka 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sigma Olomouc, and 9 appearances in 42 say he has earned the hearing.
Péter Baráth 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.
Péter Baráth 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Péter Baráth signs something — a contract at Sigma Olomouc or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sigma Olomouc, and both men came out saying it was fine.
4 goals in 5 games at Zalgiris — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sigma Olomouc updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc 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 Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sigma Olomouc, and 1 appearances in 34 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Péter Baráth 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jan Koutný trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Jan Bořil 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Václav Sejk. 1‑0 against Teplice, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sigma Olomouc this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Diego Esser knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sigma Olomouc have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Jan Bořil was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Felipe Fernández. 1‑0 against Jablonec, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sigma Olomouc, and 0 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.