Marko Vešović

Right Back - Lokomotiva Zagreb
22 Sep 2026
Tuesday
Process

Marked for Marko Vešović

8 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Age has not caught Mario Šitum yet — 8.26

At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.26 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Squad

Marko Vešović in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

No hiding place for Petar Zvonimir Kostelac

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

Match

Late, late show earns Lokomotiva Zagreb a point

Minute 96, against NK Varazdin, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.

Match

Lokomotiva Zagreb share the spoils with NK Varazdin

A 2‑2 draw with NK Varazdin leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Market

No place for Mirko Sušak in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Mirko Sušak has his answer from Lokomotiva Zagreb; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Squad

“I want to play”: Petar Zvonimir Kostelac speaks

“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.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Tomislav Kasalo on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

The dugout

Mirko Marić dropped after a run of poor form

The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.

In brief

Back issues
7 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Marko Pajač puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Lokomotiva Zagreb, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Jakov Gurlica says no to Kudrivka

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Jakov Gurlica had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Market

Lokomotiva Zagreb turn down Dinamo Zagreb for Tino Jukić

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Player ratings

Ibrahim Sabra beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Tempers go at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Marko Vešović 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.

Transfer targets

Lokomotiva Zagreb rebuffed over Youssuf Sylla

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

Squad

A row about effort at Lokomotiva Zagreb

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

Market

Talks stall between Lokomotiva Zagreb and Nikola Soldo

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

Loan watch

Maksim Podliesnyi wants to come home

“I did not go to Hrvatski Dragovoljac 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.

In brief

  • The dugout Ivan Lagundžić gets it from the manager
  • The dugout Nikola Soldo asks for a word with the manager
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
6 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Pavle Smiljanić hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokomotiva Zagreb can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Lokomotiva Zagreb say no — this time

The offer from Istra 1961 for Pavle Smiljanić was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Mario Šitum yet — 8.26

At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.26 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Transfer targets

Hajduk Split tell Lokomotiva Zagreb: Michele Šego is not for sale

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

Boardroom

Deadline passes with 4 signed and 7 gone

That is the business done at Lokomotiva Zagreb 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.

Market

Eyes on Tino Jukić again

The phone has started ringing about Tino Jukić again, and this time the name on the line is Dinamo Zagreb. Lokomotiva Zagreb are listening politely and promising nothing.

Transfer targets

Kaio Eduardo will not be coming to Lokomotiva Zagreb

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Basel is saying, and nobody at Lokomotiva Zagreb is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Words exchanged at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Marko Vešović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Pavle Smiljanić

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

4 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Krunoslav Hendija hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lokomotiva Zagreb can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets

No deal for Luka Stojković at that price

Lokomotiva Zagreb offered $620.0K; Dinamo Zagreb said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Marko Zebić

Lokomotiva Zagreb asked and Dinamo Zagreb said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Marko Vešović in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Lokomotiva Zagreb this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Oliver Heiðarsson

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Business is business: David Virgili goes

Zadar paid $510.0K and Lokomotiva Zagreb took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Market

Lokomotiva Zagreb sell Matija Subotić for $33.0K

Matija Subotić has left for NK Varazdin in a $33.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Match

Lokomotiva Zagreb come up short against HNK Rijeka

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

Market

Eyes on Ivan Katić again

The phone has started ringing about Ivan Katić again, and this time the name on the line is Lucko. Lokomotiva Zagreb are listening politely and promising nothing.

In brief

3 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Mody Boune agrees terms with Hrvatski Dragovoljac

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

Player ratings

Aleksandar Trajkovski was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 26. 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.

Market

Lokomotiva Zagreb say no — this time

The offer from Cibalia for David Virgili 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.

Transfer targets

Lokomotiva Zagreb baulk at the price for Mislav Benko

Zadar wanted more than $740.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Squad

Tempers go at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Marko Vešović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.

Market

Nikola Soldo comes home

The shirt still fits. Nikola Soldo 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.

Transfer targets

Lokomotiva Zagreb rebuffed over Max Dean

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. KAA Gent have kept their man, and Lokomotiva Zagreb go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Mate Antunović

At 22 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.

Match

Mate Antunović the difference as Lokomotiva Zagreb beat Slaven Belupo

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mate Antunović. 1‑0 against Slaven Belupo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

2 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Mate Antunović turns Rudar Velenje down

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

Market

Lokomotiva Zagreb turn down Septemvri for Petar Andrić

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Transfer targets

Lokomotiva Zagreb bid $740.0K for Mislav Benko

The offer went to Zadar this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Boardroom

Lokomotiva Zagreb go back to the board over Mislav Benko

The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $796.2K — a club that wants Mislav Benko enough to be asked twice.

Squad

A falling-out at Lokomotiva Zagreb

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

Market

As if he never left: Ivan Lagundžić returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ivan Lagundžić is a Lokomotiva Zagreb player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Player ratings

Ibrahim Sabra runs at them all day

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.

Market

Eyes on Mody Boune again

The phone has started ringing about Mody Boune again, and this time the name on the line is Hrvatski Dragovoljac. Lokomotiva Zagreb are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Dimitrije Kamenović signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dimitrije Kamenović and Lokomotiva Zagreb agree another 4 years.

In brief

1 Edition

The Lokomotiva Zagreb Courier

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Epicentr come back empty-handed

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

Squad

Marko Vešović signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Marko Vešović commits to Lokomotiva Zagreb for another 2 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Lokomotiva Zagreb

Marko Vešović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Lokomotiva Zagreb

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

Market

The clock runs on Josip Posavec's contract

36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.

Squad

Lokomotiva Zagreb are still strangers to each other

10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.

Transfer targets

Lokomotiva Zagreb try to borrow Yoël van den Ban

AZ have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Sergiu Balasa is in the works

Lokomotiva Zagreb have made the call to Astra. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Player ratings

Leon Belcar takes the honours

Marked 7.36 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Lokomotiva Zagreb had the best player on the pitch.

In brief