99 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Egnatia Rrogozhinë will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Joshua Morgan 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.
106 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Egnatia Rrogozhinë they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gentian Selmani 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 oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
113 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Laurent Mallet 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.
At 35, 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Egnatia Rrogozhinë know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
120 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Egnatia Rrogozhinë will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 Laurent Mallet is on it.
Squad30 Apr 2035
Joshua Morgan falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Georgi Shopov has written the date down.
127 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Egnatia Rrogozhinë will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Altin Kryeziu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexis Jacquot is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
134 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Egnatia Rrogozhinë will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Gentian Selmani 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 tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
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 dugout16 Apr 2035
Laszlo Dietz 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kassim Siby trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
141 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Egnatia Rrogozhinë will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
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 Kastriot Selmani is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
148 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Egnatia Rrogozhinë will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 Laurent Mallet is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
155 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 106 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Santiago Bravo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Pinto is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ildi Gruda is on it.
162 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Egnatia Rrogozhinë will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Neumann will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Egnatia Rrogozhinë the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Laurent Mallet was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ziad Moualhi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout19 Mar 2035
Laszlo Dietz 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Egnatia Rrogozhinë will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Pinto is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
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 Kastriot Selmani is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Egnatia Rrogozhinë know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 127 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Egnatia Rrogozhinë can pretend not to have heard.
Altin Kryeziu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Pinto is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ziad Moualhi 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Laszlo Dietz has his answer from Egnatia Rrogozhinë; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Feb 2035
Tiago Pinto 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.
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 Gentian Selmani is on it.
The dugout19 Feb 2035
The manager has not finished forgetting Laszlo Dietz's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Position 3 on 40 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Egnatia Rrogozhinë people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Gentian Selmani 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.
Squad12 Feb 2035
Tiago Pinto 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.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Egnatia Rrogozhinë will try again when the window opens; Partizani Tirana may not be selling by then.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Julian Bytyci was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Julian Bytyci. 1‑0 against AF Elbasani, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Altin Kryeziu scored in the 85th minute, Luftëtari had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë took the lot.
15 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Position 3, 27 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
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 7.85 for the rest of it.
Gentian Selmani and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Dec 2034
Tiago Pinto 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Interim Coach on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
The dugoutIldi Gruda has become a man the manager trusts
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Pinto 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 dugout20 Nov 2034
The manager has not finished forgetting Altin Kryeziu's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
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 Ildi Gruda is on it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Lushnja in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ildi Gruda signs something — a contract at Egnatia Rrogozhinë or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë, 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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everybody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 34 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Squad30 Oct 2034
Tiago Pinto 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.
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 Kastriot Selmani is on it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Laurent Mallet and Egnatia Rrogozhinë agree another 3 years.
Squad16 Oct 2034
Tiago Pinto 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.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ildi Gruda’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Kastriot Selmani and Egnatia Rrogozhinë agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Gentian Selmani was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Pinto is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, another week without a signature from Soumaïla Bakayoko.