Mirko Sušak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Lokomotiva Zagreb has been clear about where Marko Batur stands, which is more than many ever get.
Aleks Stojaković 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Lokomotiva Zagreb is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Aleks Stojaković 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.
Aleks Stojaković 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Lokomotiva Zagreb can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marko Pajač will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokomotiva Zagreb the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Aleks Stojaković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I did not go to Dugopolje to sit and watch. I want to come back to Lokomotiva Zagreb and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Lokomotiva Zagreb can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marko Pajač will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Lokomotiva Zagreb 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 Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not go to Dugopolje to sit and watch. I want to come back to Lokomotiva Zagreb and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and both men came out saying it was fine.
7 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Lokomotiva Zagreb could ask drops and the wages Marko Vešović can ask rise.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Lokomotiva Zagreb can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Aleks Stojaković 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.” Dušan Vuković and Lokomotiva Zagreb agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokomotiva Zagreb they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Mirko Sušak was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ibrahim Sabra. 1‑0 against NK Varazdin, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Marked 8.05 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“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 Lokomotiva Zagreb, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokomotiva Zagreb they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokomotiva Zagreb they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Four paragraphs on the club website, none of them about football. The board thanked him, wished him well, and had the search under way before the page went up.
Position 8 and 18 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“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 Lokomotiva Zagreb, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
Mario Šitum 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: NK Osijek will make the call about Matija Subotić this week. Lokomotiva Zagreb have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lokomotiva Zagreb they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Position 8 and 18 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The offer from Fehervar for Petar Andrić 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Lokomotiva Zagreb game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at HNK Gorica runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” David Večerić and Lokomotiva Zagreb agree another 3 years.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Petar Topić has his answer from Lokomotiva Zagreb; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Marko Vešović keeps the shirt for now, at Lokomotiva Zagreb's convenience rather than his own.
Position 8 and 18 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Aleksandar Trajkovski was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I watch every Lokomotiva Zagreb game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at HNK Gorica runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dušan Vuković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokomotiva Zagreb can pretend not to have heard.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Lokomotiva Zagreb has to find a result from somewhere.
Aleksandar Trajkovski was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and 0 appearances in 12 say he has earned the hearing.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Marko Rog trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Leon Belcar 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 8.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I did not go to HNK Rijeka to sit and watch. I want to come back to Lokomotiva Zagreb and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 6 matches say the rest.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lokomotiva Zagreb have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Aleksandar Trajkovski was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Lokomotiva Zagreb are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Lokomotiva Zagreb has to find a result from somewhere.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Nikola Simunovic is back at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Luka Sucic is a Lokomotiva Zagreb player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
The shirt still fits. Mato Majer is back at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.