Marked for David Lemos
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market6 Aug 2029
“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 The request is on a desk at DAC Dunajska Streda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market6 Aug 2029
Ammar Ramadan wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at DAC Dunajska Streda hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joao Villamarín and DAC Dunajska Streda agree another 2 years.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Ammar Ramadan 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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“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; DAC Dunajska Streda are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match4 Aug 2029
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.71, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“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.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 May 2029
“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.
Market7 May 2029
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at DAC Dunajska Streda heard it as anything else.
Squad7 May 2029
Ammar Ramadan 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 May 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Lemos commits to DAC Dunajska Streda for another 3 years.
Squad7 May 2029
50 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad7 May 2029
“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
Market5 Mar 2029
“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 DAC Dunajska Streda, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Mar 2029
David Lemos: 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.” DAC Dunajska Streda have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market5 Mar 2029
Karol Blaško has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around DAC Dunajska Streda they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at DAC Dunajska Streda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Mar 2029
The medical room confirms 37 days on the sidelines for Marcos Funes, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at DAC Dunajska Streda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Sep 2028
1‑2 to AS Trencin, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.95, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Matej Trusa 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
66 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Uroš Kabić runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Sep 2028
4 goals and a season average of 7.35. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at DAC Dunajska Streda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Aug 2028
1‑2 to Podbrezova, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Marked 8.61 — 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.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom28 Aug 2028
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Loan watch28 Aug 2028
“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 DAC Dunajska Streda, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cody David, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Rahim Ibrahim 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.
Market28 Aug 2028
DAC Dunajska Streda have let the market know Leandro Filipe can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Defensive actions: 30, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad31 Jul 2028
A one-man rearguard from Aljaž Ivačič
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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at DAC Dunajska Streda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Defensive actions: 22. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match29 Jul 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Matej Trusa. 1‑0 against Spartak Myjava, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Marked 8.34 — 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.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch31 Jul 2028
“I watch every DAC Dunajska Streda game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at MSK Zilina runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 May 2028
Rahim Ibrahim wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at DAC Dunajska Streda hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad1 May 2028
Ammar Ramadan 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.
Squad1 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nino Kukovec, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Apr 2028
Position 3, 34 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
Squad10 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at DAC Dunajska Streda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Lukáš Juliš
“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.
Loan watch10 Apr 2028
“I did not go to Spartak Myjava to sit and watch. I want to come back to DAC Dunajska Streda and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.
Market10 Apr 2028
The Aljaž Ivačič story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Aljaž Ivačič signs something — a contract at DAC Dunajska Streda or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Tsotne Kapanadze has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Nov 2027
A 1‑0 win over AS Trencin, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Defensive actions: 29, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Ammar Ramadan 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 ratings22 Nov 2027
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad22 Nov 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.
Match20 Nov 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.94 on the card, and the DAC Dunajska Streda support went home talking about one name.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Taras Kacharaba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Nov 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 DAC Dunajska Streda this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Nov 2027
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Ammar Ramadan
7 goals and a season average of 7.43 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad15 Nov 2027
The team sheet said everything about Aljaž Ivačič
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Aljaž Ivačič.
Match13 Nov 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Podbrezova leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 Nov 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.
Match8 Nov 2027
26 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Ammar Ramadan 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giorgi Gagua and DAC Dunajska Streda agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Marked 9.12 — 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.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Marked 8.67 — 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.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Ammar Ramadan 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 ratings25 Oct 2027
A performance of 8.66 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jakub Paur commits to DAC Dunajska Streda for another 1 years.
Match23 Oct 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad25 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad27 Sep 2027
Ammar Ramadan 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.
Squad27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Matej Trusa
“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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Matej Trusa leaves them behind him
Shots: 13. 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.
The terraces27 Sep 2027
The spotlight tightens on Aljaž Ivačič
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market27 Sep 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Aljaž Ivačič’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
A mark of 5.64 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.