Marked for Sergio Rodríguez
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Sep 2027
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match25 Sep 2027
0‑3 to Charleroi, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 18 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Adrien Saussez
“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.
Boardroom27 Sep 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Thorgan Carrasco after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Sep 2027
28 days out for Sergio Rodríguez after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Olympic Charleroi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Player ratings20 Sep 2027
Andrej Vasović, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.86
A mark of 7.86 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Everybody at Olympic Charleroi saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
The terraces20 Sep 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Juho Talvitie 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.
Match18 Sep 2027
A 2‑0 win over Zulte Waregem, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Match18 Sep 2027
8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Kevin Kis 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 dugout20 Sep 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Thorgan Carrasco could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Sep 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Marked 9.50 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad13 Sep 2027
The match ball belongs to Andrej Vasović, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Olympic Charleroi may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Transfer targets13 Sep 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: KAA Gent keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad13 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olympic Charleroi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Sep 2027
A 3‑2 win over Jong Gent, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Jonás Ramalho 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
Steady
Squad6 Sep 2027
A fracture rules Sergio Rodríguez out for 43 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympic Charleroi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market6 Sep 2027
Faysel Kasmi 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 Olympic Charleroi can pretend not to have heard.
Market6 Sep 2027
The offer from UTA Arad for Luca Florică 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.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
This is not rotation. Jonás Ramalho has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is pretending otherwise.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Olympic Charleroi close the window on a squad of their own making
17 in and 26 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Transfer targets6 Sep 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Standard Liege keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Nathan de Medina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch6 Sep 2027
“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 Olympic Charleroi, and 2 appearances in 10 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match25 Aug 2027
Out, 1‑2 to Standard Liege, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad30 Aug 2027
50 days out for Sergio Rodríguez after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Olympic Charleroi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market30 Aug 2027
The offer from Olimpija Ljubljana for Juho Talvitie 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Olympic Charleroi can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Marked 7.63 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with KAA Gent, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Olympic Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonás Ramalho 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.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Club Brugge have kept their man, and Olympic Charleroi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match21 Aug 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑0 against Lierse, and it could have been more.
Market23 Aug 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 Olympic Charleroi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A brace, and Juho Talvitie takes the afternoon — 8.77
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Juho Talvitie provided it, and the 8.77 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A brace, and Andrej Vasović takes the afternoon — 8.49
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andrej Vasović provided it, and the 8.49 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad23 Aug 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Olympic Charleroi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Cercle Brugge is saying, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is enjoying the guessing.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Aug 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 Olympic Charleroi, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Everything agreed with Standard Liege, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at KAA Gent is saying, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is enjoying the guessing.
Squad16 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olympic Charleroi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Olympic Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonás Ramalho 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andrej Vasović. 2‑1 against Club NXT, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces16 Aug 2027
At 19 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
72 days out for Sergio Rodríguez after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Olympic Charleroi will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
This is not rotation. Jonás Ramalho has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is pretending otherwise.
Market9 Aug 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 Olympic Charleroi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Olympic Charleroi had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Standard Liege, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Match7 Aug 2027
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Olympic Charleroi are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonás Ramalho and Olympic Charleroi agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Nathan de Medina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces9 Aug 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Sergio Rodríguez out for 79 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympic Charleroi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Lovro Golič: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Olympic Charleroi have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The deal with Cercle Brugge is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jonás Ramalho and Olympic Charleroi agree another 2 years.
Match31 Jul 2027
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 8 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Squad2 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olympic Charleroi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market2 Aug 2027
Westerlo pay $630.0K, 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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Olympic Charleroi asked and KAA Gent said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match31 Jul 2027
RFC Liege left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Sergio Rodríguez out for 87 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympic Charleroi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
No thanks: Kader Yaméogo rejects the move
Olympic Charleroi had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Club Brugge, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
Business is business: Robert Ion goes
Antwerp paid $460.0K and Olympic Charleroi took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Olympic Charleroi
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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Olympic Charleroi asked and Club Brugge said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market26 Jul 2027
The phone has started ringing about Niklo Dailly again, and this time the name on the line is Westerlo. Olympic Charleroi are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market26 Jul 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Lois Carrasco has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Sergio Rodríguez out for 95 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympic Charleroi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market19 Jul 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 Olympic Charleroi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olympic Charleroi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Olympic Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonás Ramalho 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“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; Olympic Charleroi are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market19 Jul 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Olympic Charleroi know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
Lovro Golič 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.
Market19 Jul 2027
A season-long audition: Anderlecht still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Olympic Charleroi's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jul 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 103 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market12 Jul 2027
The bid was some way short and Olympic Charleroi did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market12 Jul 2027
Hasan Jahić 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 Olympic Charleroi can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Jonás Ramalho has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Olympic Charleroi have done the hard part with Anderlecht, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Nathan de Medina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Olympic Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexis Charveys 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
6 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.
Market12 Jul 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Sergio Rodríguez out for 112 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympic Charleroi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market5 Jul 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 Olympic Charleroi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Anderlecht have kept their man, and Olympic Charleroi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
The formation has left Mimito Biai behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Olympic Charleroi will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
Kevin Kis gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Kevin Kis is on it.
Market5 Jul 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Olympic Charleroi, another week without a signature from Clovis Sossou.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Sergio Rodríguez out for 119 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympic Charleroi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market28 Jun 2027
Robert Ion 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 Olympic Charleroi can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 Jun 2027
The offer from Gomel for Vito Kopić 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 targets28 Jun 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Club Brugge is saying, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is enjoying the guessing.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Club Brugge have kept their man, and Olympic Charleroi go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
A loan move for Timon Vanhoutte is in the works
Olympic Charleroi have made the call to Anderlecht. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Cercle Brugge: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Jun 2027
A fracture rules Sergio Rodríguez out for 126 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olympic Charleroi will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market21 Jun 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad21 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olympic Charleroi this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Olympic Charleroi asked and Patro Eisden said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Time is catching up with Kevin Kis
Everybody at Olympic Charleroi saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Market21 Jun 2027
The phone has started ringing about Isao Tokora again, and this time the name on the line is Sabail. Olympic Charleroi are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexis Charveys was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market21 Jun 2027
Clovis Sossou is 20, and Olympic Charleroi have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan move for Jorne Spileers is in the works
Olympic Charleroi have made the call to Club Brugge. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 134 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The terraces14 Jun 2027
Oliver Šarkić has gone, the accounts have $2.6M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
This is not rotation. Jonás Ramalho has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is pretending otherwise.
Market14 Jun 2027
Business is business: Oliver Šarkić goes
Beerschot paid $2.6M and Olympic Charleroi took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market14 Jun 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 Olympic Charleroi, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Racing Genk is saying, and nobody at Olympic Charleroi is enjoying the guessing.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Nathan de Medina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market14 Jun 2027
Rayan Berberi has left for Westerlo in a $370.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Olympic Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonás Ramalho 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
Steady
Squad7 Jun 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 141 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market7 Jun 2027
The offer from Eupen for Luca Ferrara 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.
Market7 Jun 2027
Elias Spago 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 Olympic Charleroi can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
Everything agreed with Racing Genk, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Olympic Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonás Ramalho 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 dugout7 Jun 2027
When it matters, Kevin Kis plays
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.
Market7 Jun 2027
No place for Toshio Lake in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Toshio Lake has his answer from Olympic Charleroi; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 Apr 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Olympic Charleroi did not have in the autumn.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Olympic Charleroi training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jonás Ramalho 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
At 38, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“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.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“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 Olympic Charleroi, and 4 appearances in 12 say he has earned the hearing.
Match3 Apr 2027
It needed Mohamed Medfai to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Jong Genk, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Olympic Charleroi now.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
A brace, and Oliver Šarkić takes the afternoon — 8.71
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Oliver Šarkić provided it, and the 8.71 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Kevin Kis is not the player he was
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, Thorgan Carrasco could afford to be generous.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nathan de Medina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
When it matters, Kevin Kis plays
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Jan 2027
Adrien Saussez damages knee ligaments — 49 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 49 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A brace, and Juho Talvitie takes the afternoon — 8.92
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Juho Talvitie provided it, and the 8.92 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market11 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Nathan de Medina 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Olympic Charleroi and Waasland-Beveren in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Olympic Charleroi know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Match9 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Juho Talvitie. 4‑2 against Waasland-Beveren, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jonás Ramalho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.22 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.