Marked for Samuel Štefánik
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
Samuel Štefánik 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Kevin Persson 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateo Anaya, and the manager let it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Dec 2026
“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 The request is on a desk at Podbrezova, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Podbrezova
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Podbrezova are no longer polite ones.
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a goal for Podbrezova
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Samuel Štefánik 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rico Speksnijder 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Gabriel Bravo
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Luka Silagadze 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match28 Nov 2026
3 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Persson 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 terraces30 Nov 2026
The crowd has taken to Šimon Faško
At 20 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samuel Štefánik, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Kevin Persson will call it something else in private.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Marked 7.28 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Podbrezova had the best player on the pitch.
Match28 Nov 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. MFK Skalica came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kevor Palumets and Podbrezova agree another 3 years.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ridwan Sanusi 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kevin Persson, and the manager let it.
Match21 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 43. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“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 Podbrezova know it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ridwan Sanusi 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rene Rantuša Lampreht, and the manager let it.
Match31 Oct 2026
Point won or two lost for Podbrezova?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against FK Senica? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market26 Oct 2026
Kevin Persson 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 Podbrezova can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“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 Podbrezova know it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rico Speksnijder 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match17 Oct 2026
7 matches without a win for Podbrezova
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Podbrezova are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Matej Jurička is a better footballer than he was
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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Persson 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match3 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Podbrezova
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Podbrezova are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Oct 2026
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Samuel Štefánik and Podbrezova agree another 2 years.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Luka Silagadze 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 Oct 2026
Rico Speksnijder 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Podbrezova's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Podbrezova has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Kevin Persson 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
9 new faces, and Podbrezova are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Squad28 Sep 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Samuel Štefánik 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Podbrezova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ridwan Sanusi 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Mateo Anaya
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Gabriel Bravo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Match12 Sep 2026
Point won or two lost for Podbrezova?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against MFK Skalica? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 40. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.92, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Samuel Štefánik 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 terraces31 Aug 2026
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.
Match29 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑0, and it was Radek Šiler’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Podbrezova.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Matúš Marcin gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Podbrezova
6 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 38. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Samuel Štefánik and Podbrezova agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Podbrezova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces10 Aug 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Radek Šiler 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Samuel Štefánik
“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.
Match8 Aug 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Luka Silagadze’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Podbrezova.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.66 on the card, and the Podbrezova support went home talking about one name.
Market10 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Kevor Palumets’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad10 Aug 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.