Rayane Yesli

Goalkeeper - Olympique Akbou
2 Jul 2028
Sunday
Process

Marked for Rayane Yesli

100 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

26 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Olympique Akbou

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Hicham Messiad 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.

Transfer targets

Olympique Akbou rebuffed over Moslem Anatouf

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. MC Alger have kept their man, and Olympique Akbou go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Merouane Mehdaoui 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.

Market

The Mohamed Chelfaoui conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: ES Setif will make the call about Mohamed Chelfaoui this week. Olympique Akbou have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

The dugout

Fethallah Tahar has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Olympique Akbou 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 dugout

Hicham Messiad knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olympique Akbou, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Rayane Yesli question follows Olympique Akbou around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Rayane Yesli’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Market

Olympique Akbou put Hicham Messiad up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Hicham Messiad may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

Back issues
95 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

22 May 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

22 days out for Hamdi Labidi after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Olympique Akbou will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

The dugout

Ali Amriche frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Ali Amriche has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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 dugout

Ramdane Hitala knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olympique Akbou, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Hamza Mouali question follows Olympique Akbou around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Hamza Mouali’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

The dugout

When it matters, Nadjib Benrabah plays

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.

Market

Hamdi Labidi placed on the list

Olympique Akbou have made Hamdi Labidi available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

The terraces

The stands have heard the Rayane Yesli talk too

What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Olympique Akbou would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.

Market

Rayane Yesli has been watched

CR Belouizdad had somebody in the stand with a notebook, and he was not there for the pies. Watching is free; the next step is not.

In brief

94 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

15 May 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Hamdi Labidi breaks a bone — 29 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 29 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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 dugout

Oussama Darfalou frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Oussama Darfalou has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Merouane Mehdaoui 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 dugout

When it matters, Hamdi Labidi plays

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.

The dugout

Hicham Messiad knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olympique Akbou, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Rayane Yesli linked with a move away

The name of Rayane Yesli keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Olympique Akbou say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Aly Dessé Sissoko remains an outsider

A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Olympique Akbou would admit. It shows on Saturdays.

Market

Ramdane Hitala placed on the list

Olympique Akbou have made Ramdane Hitala available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

91 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

24 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Full time on the season at Olympique Akbou

Position 12 on 29 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.

The dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui says Olympique Akbou went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

The dugout

Ali Amriche frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Ali Amriche has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

Walid Zamoum 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 Olympique Akbou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Rayane Yesli 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.

Match

Olympique Akbou rescue it on 85 minutes

Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 85. JS Kabylie had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Zizo

7.78, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Olympique Akbou had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

The dugout

A promise honoured for Ali Amriche

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Olympique Akbou told Ali Amriche something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

In brief

90 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

17 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

7 saves: Rayane Yesli was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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 dugout

Oussama Darfalou frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Oussama Darfalou has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Merouane Mehdaoui 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 dugout

No place for Walid Bencherifa on the big day

He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Olympique Akbou pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.

The dugout

Hamdi Labidi gets picked when it counts

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 Hamdi Labidi is on it.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Mostapha Rezkallah Bott

“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.

Looking ahead

A test against the best for Olympique Akbou

The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against JS Kabylie.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Hamza Mouali

Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

In brief

89 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

10 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Olympique Akbou

A 0‑3 beating by USM Alger was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Hicham Messiad 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 dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Mohamed Chelfaoui has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

A row about effort at Olympique Akbou

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hamdi Labidi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Merouane Mehdaoui 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.

Boardroom

Inquest at Olympique Akbou

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.

The dugout

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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Mohamed Bounedjah to a room that had heard them before.

Squad

Zizo signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Zizo and Olympique Akbou agree another 3 years.

The dugout

When it matters, Hamza Mouali plays

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.

In brief

87 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

27 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Ali Amriche frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Ali Amriche has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

Merouane Mehdaoui 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Oussama Darfalou

“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 dugout

When it matters, Fethallah Tahar plays

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.

The dugout

Rayane Yesli 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.

Looking ahead

Fethallah Tahar faces his old club

ASO Chlef next, and one man in the Olympique Akbou dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

Market

The Hamdi Labidi question follows Olympique Akbou around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Hamdi Labidi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Market

Hicham Messiad placed on the list

Olympique Akbou have made Hicham Messiad available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

86 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

20 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Hicham Messiad 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 Olympique Akbou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Oussama Darfalou frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Oussama Darfalou has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

A row about effort at Olympique Akbou

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hamdi Labidi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Dadi Mouaki’s goal not enough for Olympique Akbou

Dadi Mouaki scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to JS Saoura, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

The dugout

Rayane Yesli 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.

The dugout

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 1‑2 Mohamed Bounedjah left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

Hamdi Labidi gets picked when it counts

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 Hamdi Labidi is on it.

Market

The Hamza Mouali talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Olympique Akbou know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

Market

The shop window has Hamdi Labidi in it

Olympique Akbou have let the market know Hamdi Labidi can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

85 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

13 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Mohamed Mouaataz Khenniche keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Olympique Akbou may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

The dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Mohamed Chelfaoui has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Walid Zamoum 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.

Squad

200 appearances for Hamza Mouali

200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

The dugout

The form table has caught Walid Bencherifa

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

Match

Honours even between Olympique Akbou and MB Rouissat

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The dugout

When it matters, Hamza Mouali plays

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.

Market

Olympique Akbou and Louanes Zidi are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

In brief

82 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

21 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Oussama Darfalou frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Oussama Darfalou has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Oussama Darfalou 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 dugout

Rayane Yesli 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.

Player ratings

Dadi Mouaki stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.75 on the card, and the Olympique Akbou support went home talking about one name.

Match

Honours even between Olympique Akbou and MC Alger

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The dugout

When it matters, Fethallah Tahar plays

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.

The dugout

Mohamed Bounedjah on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Mohamed Bounedjah after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

Looking ahead

Fethallah Tahar faces his old club

CS Constantine next, and one man in the Olympique Akbou dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

In brief

81 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Olympique Akbou say no — this time

The offer from MB Rouissat for Rayane Yesli 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.

Player ratings

Louanes Zidi goes up and wins it — 7.84

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 7.84 for the rest of it.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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 Olympique Akbou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Mohamed Chelfaoui has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Transfer targets

MC Oran tell Olympique Akbou: Mohamed Amine Gherbi is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Olympique Akbou see off ES Setif

Three points for Olympique Akbou, 2‑1 the final word against ES Setif in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

A row about effort at Olympique Akbou

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Merouane Mehdaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Merouane Mehdaoui

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Merouane Mehdaoui, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Walid Zamoum

A mark of 7.96, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

In brief

79 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

31 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Hamza Mouali turns MC El Bayadh down

“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.

Market

Hicham Messiad asks to leave Olympique Akbou

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

So close: Rayane Yesli’s move dies late

The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. MC El Bayadh moved on, Rayane Yesli reports back to Olympique Akbou, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.

The dugout

Massinissa Benchelouche keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Olympique Akbou may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

The dugout

Ali Amriche frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Ali Amriche has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Market

MC El Bayadh join the queue for Oussama Darfalou

Add another name to the list: MC El Bayadh have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Oussama Darfalou. The answer from Olympique Akbou has not changed — yet.

Squad

A falling-out at Olympique Akbou

Hicham Messiad and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

A row about effort at Olympique Akbou

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hamdi Labidi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Paradou take the points off Olympique Akbou

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

78 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

24 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Hamdi Labidi asks to leave Olympique Akbou

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

The dugout

Oussama Darfalou frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Oussama Darfalou has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Market

MC El Bayadh expected to open talks for Hamza Mouali

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Olympique Akbou will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jordan Leborgne 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.

Match

Olympique Akbou share the spoils with USM Khenchela

A 1‑1 draw with USM Khenchela leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui 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.

The dugout

Fethallah Tahar has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Olympique Akbou 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 dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Mohamed Bounedjah was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Olympique Akbou dressing room was either.

In brief

77 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

17 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Rayane Yesli agrees terms with MC El Bayadh

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Olympique Akbou people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Rayane Yesli asks to leave Olympique Akbou

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

JS Kabylie come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Olympique Akbou did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

The dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Mohamed Chelfaoui has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

A row about effort at Olympique Akbou

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hamdi Labidi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

MC Oran tell Olympique Akbou: Mohamed Amine Gherbi is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Olympique Akbou see off ES Ben Aknoun

Three points for Olympique Akbou, 2‑1 the final word against ES Ben Aknoun in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Walid Zamoum 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.

Squad

Olympique Akbou lose Nadjib Benrabah

34 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Jordan Leborgne
  • Player ratings Nobody could get near M'hend Sediri
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
76 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

10 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Every point is an argument now for Olympique Akbou

Position 15 and 12 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Market

Hamza Mouali puts it in writing

“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 Olympique Akbou, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Rayane Yesli stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Transfer targets

Mohammed Fodil Belkhadem is a medical away from Olympique Akbou

The deal with MC El Bayadh 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.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Benaissa Fettouche rejects the move

Olympique Akbou had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Paradou, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Market

MC El Bayadh are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Olympique Akbou will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Jordan Leborgne signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jordan Leborgne commits to Olympique Akbou for another 3 years.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Olympique Akbou

Oussama Darfalou and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

In brief

74 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

27 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Walid Zamoum 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 Olympique Akbou can pretend not to have heard.

Match

The drought breaks for Olympique Akbou

11 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and CR Belouizdad were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Fethallah Tahar yet — 8.63

At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.63 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Louanes Zidi delivers — 7.62

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Louanes Zidi scored, was marked 7.62, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Hicham Messiad 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.

Match

Louanes Zidi the difference as Olympique Akbou beat CR Belouizdad

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Louanes Zidi. 3‑2 against CR Belouizdad, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

The dugout

Toufik Addadi frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Toufik Addadi has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Oussama Darfalou

“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.

In brief

72 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

13 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Olympique Akbou's wait for a win

10 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Olympique Akbou has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

Olympique Akbou sink to position 14

8 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

Oussama Darfalou is slowing down

At 34, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.

Match

ASO Chlef take the points off Olympique Akbou

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Merouane Mehdaoui 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 dugout

Walid Zamoum 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.

The dugout

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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Mohamed Bounedjah to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

When it matters, Hamdi Labidi plays

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.

In brief

69 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

22 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Olympique Akbou's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Olympique Akbou has to find a result from somewhere.

The dugout

Khaled Walid says Olympique Akbou went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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 dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui frozen out at Olympique Akbou

This is not rotation. Mohamed Chelfaoui has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympique Akbou is pretending otherwise.

Squad

A row about effort at Olympique Akbou

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Merouane Mehdaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Player ratings

Hamdi Labidi beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Mohamed Bounedjah chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

The dugout

Hicham Messiad left out for tactical reasons at Olympique Akbou

The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

Match

Point won or two lost for Olympique Akbou?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against MC El Bayadh? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

64 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

18 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Olympique Akbou bow out of the cup

USM Alger go through and Olympique Akbou go home, 0‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Squad

6 saves: Rayane Yesli was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Olympique Akbou against ES Mostaganem

1‑2 to ES Mostaganem, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Oussama Darfalou 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Rayane Yesli

“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.

Player ratings

Hamdi Labidi runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

The dugout

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 1‑2 Mohamed Bounedjah left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

A promise honoured at Olympique Akbou

Something was said to Hicham Messiad and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

In brief

62 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

4 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

8 saves: Rayane Yesli was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Market

Zakaria Messibah puts it in writing

“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 Olympique Akbou, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Fethallah Tahar signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fethallah Tahar and Olympique Akbou agree another 2 years.

Squad

A row about effort at Olympique Akbou

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hamdi Labidi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Oussama Darfalou 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 Olympique Akbou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for Olympique Akbou against Paradou

0‑2 to Paradou, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

No hiding place for Walid Zamoum

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Walid Zamoum, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Mohamed Bounedjah faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Mohamed Bounedjah after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

Market

Aly Dessé Sissoko told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Aly Dessé Sissoko has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Olympique Akbou.

In brief

59 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

13 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

5 matches without a win for Olympique Akbou

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Olympique Akbou are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Transfer targets

Olympique Akbou rebuffed over Mohamed Amine Gherbi

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. MC Oran have kept their man, and Olympique Akbou go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Ramdane Hitala’s goal not enough for Olympique Akbou

Ramdane Hitala scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to MC Oran, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Toufik Addadi 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 dugout

Rayane Yesli 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.

Player ratings

Hamdi Labidi beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The dugout

Mohamed Bounedjah: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

Squad

No place for Dadi Mouaki in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Olympique Akbou are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

In brief

56 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

23 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Rayane Yesli puts it in writing

“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 Olympique Akbou, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

Walid Zamoum 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 Olympique Akbou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Too much change too quickly at Olympique Akbou

5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.

The dugout

Hamdi Labidi has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Olympique Akbou 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 dugout

A promise honoured at Olympique Akbou

Something was said to Zakaria Messibah and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout

Oussama Darfalou 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 Oussama Darfalou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

The Hamza Mouali question follows Olympique Akbou around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Hamza Mouali’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Market

Toufik Addadi placed on the list

Olympique Akbou have made Toufik Addadi available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

44 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Nadjib Berrabah puts it in writing

“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 Olympique Akbou, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

Nadjib Berrabah keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Olympique Akbou may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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.

In brief

36 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Rayane Yesli wins the shoot-out

2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.

Match

Olympique Akbou through in the cup

A 2‑2 win over USM Alger, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.

Squad

A fracture rules Zakaria Messibah out for 20 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympique Akbou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Fethallah Tahar yet — 8.01

At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.01 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Squad

Tempers go at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Squad

The decline has begun for Walid Bencherifa

Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 38 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Olympique Akbou is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.

Match

Hamdi Labidi the difference as Olympique Akbou beat ASO Chlef

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Hamdi Labidi. 1‑0 against ASO Chlef, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

One of those days for Islam Eddine Slimane Tichtich

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Late, late show earns Olympique Akbou a point

Minute 88, against USM Alger, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.

In brief

34 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A fracture rules Zakaria Messibah out for 34 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympique Akbou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Fethallah Tahar scores twice — 9.22

Two goals and a mark of 9.22 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Rayane Yesli

There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Squad

A falling-out at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Olympique Akbou see off JS Saoura

Three points for Olympique Akbou, 2‑0 the final word against JS Saoura in a contest settled by the finer margins.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ali Amriche

“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 dugout

Mohamed Bounedjah has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Mohamed Bounedjah on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

The dugout

When it matters, Hamdi Labidi plays

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.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hatem El Fegoun 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.

In brief

29 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

69 days out for Zakaria Messibah after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Olympique Akbou will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

6 saves: Rayane Yesli was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Match

Olympique Akbou come up short against ES Setif

ES Setif left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Match

The run is over for Olympique Akbou

4 matches without defeat, and then ES Setif. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.

The dugout

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 Mohamed Bounedjah to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

No hiding place for Slimane Bouteldja

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Slimane Bouteldja, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Hamdi Labidi has become a man the manager trusts

Nobody at Olympique Akbou 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.

Squad

Bookings catch up with Hamza Mouali

One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and Olympique Akbou will feel it on Saturday.

In brief

27 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A fracture rules Zakaria Messibah out for 83 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympique Akbou will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Player ratings

Both of them Hamdi Labidi's — 8.76

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.76, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Louanes Zidi asks to leave Olympique Akbou

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

The dugout

Nadjib Berrabah says Olympique Akbou went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Player ratings

Fethallah Tahar, 33, rolls back the years — 8.47

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.47 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Player ratings

Merouane Mehdaoui goes up and wins it — 7.59

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 7.59 for the rest of it.

Boardroom

Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone

That is the business done at Olympique Akbou until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.

Match

Olympique Akbou make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Olympique Akbou have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

Hamdi Labidi 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 Olympique Akbou this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

22 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Olympique Akbou's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Olympique Akbou has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Both of them Hamdi Labidi's — 8.22

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.22, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Benaouda Klileche 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 Olympique Akbou can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A falling-out at Olympique Akbou

Oussama Darfalou and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

CR Belouizdad take the points off Olympique Akbou

Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Costly mistake from Rayane Yesli

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Rayane Yesli knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

The dugout

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 2‑3 Mohamed Bounedjah left the room before anybody could ask which.

The dugout

Rayane Yesli is still being punished for one mistake

Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.

Player ratings

Fethallah Tahar runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

21 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Olympique Akbou

8 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.

Squad

6 saves: Rayane Yesli was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Market

Abdeldjalil Bahoussi 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 Olympique Akbou can pretend not to have heard.

The dugout

Hatem El Fegoun: 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.” Olympique Akbou have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Words exchanged at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi 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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Olympique Akbou against USM Alger

1‑2 to USM Alger, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

No hiding place for Ramdane Hitala

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ramdane Hitala, and the manager let it.

The dugout

A promise honoured for Oussama Darfalou

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Olympique Akbou told Oussama Darfalou something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

The dugout

Mohamed Bounedjah faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Mohamed Bounedjah after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

In brief

18 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Toufik Addadi

24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Olympique Akbou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

No end in sight to Olympique Akbou's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Olympique Akbou has to find a result from somewhere.

The dugout

Mohamed Chelfaoui: 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.” Olympique Akbou have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

A falling-out at Olympique Akbou

Oussama Darfalou and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Fethallah Tahar ran the middle of the pitch — 7.06

He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 7.06, and not one of them will make a highlights package.

Match

Olympique Akbou share the spoils with MB Rouissat

A 1‑1 draw with MB Rouissat leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Zakaria Messibah 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.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Mohamed Bounedjah was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Olympique Akbou dressing room was either.

Squad

Words at Olympique Akbou training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Chelfaoui 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.

In brief

14 Edition

The Olympique Akbou Gazette

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Toufik Addadi

54 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Olympique Akbou lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Player ratings

Hamdi Labidi runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

A falling-out at Olympique Akbou

Hamdi Labidi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

MC Alger take the points off Olympique Akbou

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Rayane Yesli

“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 dugout

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 Mohamed Bounedjah to a room that had heard them before.

The dugout

Oussama Darfalou 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 Oussama Darfalou trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Walid Bencherifa

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against CS Constantine in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

Squad

The armband comes off Louanes Zidi

Olympique Akbou will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.

In brief