Marked for Viktor Budinský
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad17 May 2027
50 days out for Matěj Chaluš after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Banik Ostrava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market17 May 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Banik Ostrava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad17 May 2027
Matěj Chaluš 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 May 2027
Jiří Boula 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 dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michal Frydrych, and the manager let it.
Market17 May 2027
Jiří Boula linked with a move away
The name of Jiří Boula keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Banik Ostrava say nothing, which says plenty.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Apr 2027
80 days out for Matěj Chaluš after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Banik Ostrava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Matěj Chaluš and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Banik Ostrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Václav Jurečka 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.
Market19 Apr 2027
The Jiří Boula story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jiří Boula signs something — a contract at Banik Ostrava or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Lauri Laine
“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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Banik Ostrava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Banik Ostrava's wait for a win
17 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Banik Ostrava has to find a result from somewhere.
Market23 Nov 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Filip Kubala beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 28. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Matěj Chaluš and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match21 Nov 2026
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Banik Ostrava can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Václav Jurečka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 7.92 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Banik Ostrava had the best player on the pitch.
Loan watch23 Nov 2026
“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 Banik Ostrava, and 2 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Oct 2026
10 matches without a win for Banik Ostrava
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Banik Ostrava are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Václav Jurečka and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Banik Ostrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jiří Boula 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
3 matches without a goal for Banik Ostrava
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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 7.34 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Banik Ostrava had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Half-satisfied: Jakub Vydra on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Viktor Budinský, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Banik Ostrava than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Match3 Oct 2026
Point won or two lost for Banik Ostrava?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Slovacko? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.