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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fernando Medeiros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
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.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
A brace, and Ildi Gruda takes the afternoon — 8.54
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ildi Gruda provided it, and the 8.54 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 The request is on a desk at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and it is not being withdrawn.
Albano Aleksi 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Ildi Gruda 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Afonso Rodrigues provided it, and the 8.46 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Afful will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Egnatia Rrogozhinë the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Medeiros 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.
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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Emiljano Kumbaro could afford to be generous.
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.
Chances created: 10. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mario Dajsinani 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. Ildi Gruda 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.
Dinamo City next, and one man in the Egnatia Rrogozhinë dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
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 Daniel Afful has written the date down.
In brief
Looking aheadLooking ahead: the trip to Dinamo City
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Teuta Durrës the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Egnatia Rrogozhinë will enjoy reviewing.
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.
9.35. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ildi Gruda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
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 3‑4 defeat, delivered by Emiljano Kumbaro to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Anio Poçi
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ildi Gruda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
7.68, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Egnatia Rrogozhinë had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Emiljano Kumbaro kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
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.
Up for the corner, and Ledio Beqja delivers — 7.83
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Ledio Beqja scored, was marked 7.83, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
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.
Albano Aleksi 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Fernando Medeiros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Levan Tandilashvili knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
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.
“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.
“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.
Egnatia Rrogozhinë moved before anybody else could: a new deal for Emiljano Kumbaro, agreed quietly and announced loudly. Boards extend managers for many reasons; the good one is the one this looks like.
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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Ildi Gruda 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.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Laçi waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Albano Aleksi 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 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.
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.
Position 4, 33 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Egnatia Rrogozhinë have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Albano Aleksi 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. Ildi Gruda 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 phone has started ringing about Daniel Afful again, and this time the name on the line is Pogradeci. Egnatia Rrogozhinë are listening politely and promising nothing.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Burreli will make the call about Daniel Adjessa this week. Egnatia Rrogozhinë have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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 Soumaïla Bakayoko 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.
“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.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Erdenis Daci on the training pitch
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Egnatia Rrogozhinë have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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.
The offer from Burreli for Daniel Afful 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.
Albano Aleksi 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Ildi Gruda 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.
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.
33 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
The words a physio says slowly. 18 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Laçi waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Albano Aleksi 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. Fernando Medeiros 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 33 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ildi Gruda 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 Guillem Jaime is on it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Egnatia Rrogozhinë has been clear about where Arbenit Xhemajli stands, which is more than many ever get.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alessandro Albanese signs something — a contract at Egnatia Rrogozhinë or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
40 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.
“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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Egnatia Rrogozhinë have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Albano Aleksi 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. Fernando Medeiros 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.
Add another name to the list: Burreli have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mario Dajsinani. The answer from Egnatia Rrogozhinë has not changed — yet.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë know it.
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 words a physio says slowly. 48 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Vllaznia Shkodër waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Albano Aleksi 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. Fernando Medeiros 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 Soumaïla Bakayoko 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.
He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Egnatia Rrogozhinë lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.
69 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ildi Gruda 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 run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 4 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
The dugout24 May 2027
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 Emiljano Kumbaro to a room that had heard them before.
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.
76 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.
“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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Zamiq Əliyev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Egnatia Rrogozhinë the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 May 2027
Ildi Gruda 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.
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.
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.
83 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.
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.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Joep Munsters and Egnatia Rrogozhinë agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Zamiq Əliyev 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.
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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
90 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.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ildi Gruda 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë know it.
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 Guillem Jaime is on it.
99 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Daniel Afful will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Egnatia Rrogozhinë the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Albano Aleksi 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 thought about how hard another man trains, and Ildi Gruda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 113 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ildi Gruda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Alessandro Albanese is on it.
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.
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 Andrey Yago has written the date down.
In brief
The dugoutLucas Hulk asks for a word with the manager
120 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.
A 2‑1 win over Skënderbeu Korçë, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Guillem Jaime 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ildi Gruda 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.” Emiljano Kumbaro on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
The dugoutGuillem Jaime has become a man the manager trusts
127 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.
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.
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 Ildi Gruda is on it.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ildi Gruda 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.
“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; Egnatia Rrogozhinë are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Albano Aleksi and Egnatia Rrogozhinë agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about 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 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 Fernando Medeiros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë know it.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
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 Guillem Jaime is on it.
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 Mario Dajsinani has written the date down.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Egnatia Rrogozhinë have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
“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; Egnatia Rrogozhinë are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Albano Aleksi 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. Ildi Gruda 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.
“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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and 20 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fernando Medeiros signs something — a contract at Egnatia Rrogozhinë or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
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.
Albano Aleksi 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Ildi Gruda 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 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniel Adjessa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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.
The deal that would have taken Daniel Afful to Partizani Tirana has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Egnatia Rrogozhinë with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Guillem Jaime
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Guillem Jaime has come out of that comparison in the side, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Egnatia Rrogozhinë will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Egnatia Rrogozhinë have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Ildi Gruda 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.
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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Egnatia Rrogozhinë have lost him in all but the paperwork.
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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Besa Kavajë waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Egnatia Rrogozhinë have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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.
Albano Aleksi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Ildi Gruda 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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Emiljano Kumbaro could afford to be generous.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Egnatia Rrogozhinë have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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.
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.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ildi Gruda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë know it.
Partizani Tirana will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑2, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Egnatia Rrogozhinë were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
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 7.55 for the rest of it.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Egnatia Rrogozhinë and Partizani Tirana in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ildi Gruda 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
4 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Andrew Wærnes is living that version at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ildi Gruda was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Andrew Wærnes is 19, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Altin Kryeziu 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.
“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.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Daniel Adjessa and Egnatia Rrogozhinë agree another 3 years.
Zamiq Əliyev 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.
A 1‑0 win over Kastrioti Krujë, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Albano Aleksi 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Aldo Dini has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.32 — 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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutGuillem Jaime has become a man the manager trusts
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Egnatia Rrogozhinë 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 Egnatia Rrogozhinë this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Faton Ruçi 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Teuta Durrës in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Medeiros 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ildi Gruda. 2‑0 against Vora, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I watch every Egnatia Rrogozhinë game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Kastrioti Krujë runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Eljon Sota has come out of that comparison in the side, and Egnatia Rrogozhinë have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Emiljano Kumbaro on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
9 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Egnatia Rrogozhinë have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.
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 Ersi Gjoni is on it.
16 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
“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.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Emiljano Kumbaro after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Albano Aleksi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fernando Medeiros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Ildi Gruda was the best thing in any of them.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Partizani Tirana 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 Fernando Medeiros signs something — a contract at Egnatia Rrogozhinë or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutMario Dajsinani has become a man the manager trusts
Two goals and a mark of 9.15 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Albano Aleksi 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.
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.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Fernando Medeiros is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Emiljano Kumbaro, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
A 0‑0 win over Vllaznia Shkodër, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ildi Gruda. 3‑2 against Tirana, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Ildi Gruda was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.37. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Ildi Gruda in the middle of it, and Tirana unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fernando Medeiros 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.
Marked 6.78 on 12 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Diar Gurishta is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Erdenis Daci has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Faton Ruçi has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Egnatia Rrogozhinë has been clear about where Zamiq Əliyev stands, which is more than many ever get.
Albano Aleksi 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 Altin Kryeziu signs something — a contract at Egnatia Rrogozhinë or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.