The offer from Atyrau for Amit Ohana 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.
Ester Sokler 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Idan Nachmias 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ester Sokler. 2‑1 against Maccabi Haifa, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Ester Sokler in the middle of it, and Maccabi Haifa unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
Marked 8.26 — 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.
8 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Idan Nachmias 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.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ahmad Yaqoub is living that version at Bnei Sakhnin, and it tends to show in the first month.
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maron Ghantous 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 8.18 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
It needed Matty Cudjoe to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Hapoel Kfar Saba, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Safrudin Tahar is 35 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
“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 Bnei Sakhnin, 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Idan Nachmias 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: Loay Halaf. 2‑1 against Hapoel Raanana, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Filip Mihaljević arrives at 36 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Idan Nachmias 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Bnei Sakhnin pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Hapoel Acre? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The name of Amit Ohana has come up in conversations Bnei Sakhnin were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Matty Cudjoe 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 3‑1 win over Hapoel Beer Sheva, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Daniel Atlan has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Bnei Sakhnin have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
“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 ratings15 Jan 2029
Matty Cudjoe was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.45. 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.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Matan Zelmanovics has his answer from Bnei Sakhnin; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“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 Bnei Sakhnin, 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Ori Dahan 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Bnei Sakhnin can tell you which week it ends in.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roei Zikri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bnei Sakhnin the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bnei Sakhnin know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Mohammed Abu-Nil: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Position 2, 26 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roei Zikri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bnei Sakhnin the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Ori Dahan 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.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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 month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Saná Gomes is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
In brief
Boardroom85% of the income goes out in wages at Bnei Sakhnin
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roei Zikri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bnei Sakhnin the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
A 1‑0 win over Hapoel Raanana, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Nobody at Bnei Sakhnin 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.
4‑0, and Loay Halaf took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bnei Sakhnin tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
A brace, and Loay Halaf takes the afternoon — 8.41
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Loay Halaf provided it, and the 8.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 8.54 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bnei Sakhnin are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Modestas Vorobjovas signs something — a contract at Bnei Sakhnin or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Reef Sheratzky has just signed for Bnei Sakhnin, and for once the answer mattered.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Max Grechkin and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
He is 20, and nobody at Bnei Sakhnin signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
A 3‑0 win over Hapoel Kiryat Shmona, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
A brace, and Amit Ohana takes the afternoon — 8.64
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Amit Ohana provided it, and the 8.64 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.33 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bnei Sakhnin they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Paraschiv 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 easiest signature of my career.” Max Grechkin and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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 Bnei Sakhnin 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Modestas Vorobjovas signs something — a contract at Bnei Sakhnin or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Davi Barbosa, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Nicolás Paz has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Marked 8.17 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Roei Zikri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bnei Sakhnin 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Johan N'Zi commits to Bnei Sakhnin for another 2 years.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ester Sokler. 1‑0 against Beitar Jerusalem, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 36 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Artur Miranyan has his answer from Bnei Sakhnin; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Boardroom28 Aug 2028
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Bnei Sakhnin
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ofir Natcho is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Avi Refaelov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from Atyrau for Amit Ohana 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bnei Sakhnin can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bnei Sakhnin they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Isiaq Kamaideen is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
In brief
SquadMatty Cudjoe has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Add another name to the list: Rosenborg have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Daniel Paraschiv. The answer from Bnei Sakhnin has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bnei Sakhnin have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 85 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Ori Dahan 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 101 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 110 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Daniel Paraschiv 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 easiest signature of my career.” Abdoulaye Mariko and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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 is 20, and nobody at Bnei Sakhnin signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bnei Sakhnin will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 May 2028
Ori Dahan 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.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bnei Sakhnin 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 May 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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 Bnei Sakhnin 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.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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
SquadIdan Nachmias has become a man the manager trusts
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bnei Sakhnin 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Ori Dahan 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.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 Bnei Sakhnin 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
“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 Bnei Sakhnin, 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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 loan was meant to give him football. 0 games and 0 goals later he is back at Bnei Sakhnin no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their doing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
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.
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.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Maccabi Haifa? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
A 1‑0 win over Maccabi Petach Tikva, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bnei Sakhnin 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Johan N'Zi and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 2 years.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Daniel Paraschiv was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 8.23. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bnei Sakhnin.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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; Bnei Sakhnin are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I watch every Bnei Sakhnin game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Al Dhafra runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
SquadIdan Nachmias has become a man the manager trusts
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Daniel Paraschiv. 2‑0 against Hapoel Acre, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The deal that would have taken Ahmed Salman to Maccabi Haifa has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Bnei Sakhnin with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 crowd waited for a goal that never came. Maccabi Tel Aviv defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Daniel Paraschiv signs something — a contract at Bnei Sakhnin or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Ori Dahan 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.
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Matty Cudjoe 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“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 Bnei Sakhnin, and 0 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
33 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Bnei Sakhnin will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Hapoel Kfar Saba spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.52 — 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Ori Dahan 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.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Idan Nachmias was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.12. 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.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Daniel Paraschiv 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
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
Hapoel Raanana made Bnei Sakhnin work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Matty Cudjoe was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.42. 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.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.91, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Matty Cudjoe 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 warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Matty Cudjoe 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.
It finished 2‑0, and it was Loay Halaf’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bnei Sakhnin.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Matty Cudjoe was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.16. 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.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Loay Halaf was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.18. 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bnei Sakhnin have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Ester Sokler 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.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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 easiest signature of my career.” Mohamed Ghaname and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bnei Sakhnin is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Durel Avounou has improved at 30, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
It finished 3‑2, and it was Ester Sokler’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bnei Sakhnin.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matty Cudjoe 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.
8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Loay Halaf was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.31. 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bnei Sakhnin have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Idan Nachmias has improved at 30, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
“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 Bnei Sakhnin, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
243 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Bnei Sakhnin will not try tonight.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
At 26 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
4 academy players handed senior numbers at Bnei Sakhnin
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Matty Cudjoe 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ori Melikson 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. Tomer Levy 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bnei Sakhnin is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Daniel Paraschiv and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 5 years.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Durel Avounou and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 3 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Matty Cudjoe 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.
In brief
SquadA muscle injury sidelines Reuben Acquah for 16 days
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bnei Sakhnin is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Paraschiv was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Johan N'Zi commits to Bnei Sakhnin for another 2 years.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Matty Cudjoe 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.
He is going to Hapoel Kfar Saba, the club has $850.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Hapoel Kfar Saba pay $850.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Bnei Sakhnin training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ori Dahan 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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Jubayer Bushnak again, and this time the name on the line is Hapoel Kfar Saba. Bnei Sakhnin are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Ori Dahan 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 easiest signature of my career.” Jubayer Bushnak and Bnei Sakhnin agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bnei Sakhnin 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 Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Ori Dahan 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 Bnei Sakhnin 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Artur Miranyan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Daniel Paraschiv 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.
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Ori Dahan 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.
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin 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 Bnei Sakhnin is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Aziz Ouattara 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.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bnei Sakhnin have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bnei Sakhnin they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Bnei Sakhnin lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bnei Sakhnin this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Ori Dahan 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.