Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 56 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
The phone has started ringing about Shion Shinkawa again, and this time the name on the line is KV Oostende. Racing Genk are listening politely and promising nothing.
The offer from KV Kortrijk for Yari Vanderhallen 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.
Gift Dolly 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.
Squad18 Jul 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 The request is on a desk at Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: KV Kortrijk have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Yari Vanderhallen. The answer from Racing Genk has not changed — yet.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Jun 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 95 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Jun 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Add another name to the list: Standard Liege have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Shion Shinkawa. The answer from Racing Genk has not changed — yet.
Gift Dolly 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.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Racing Genk heard it as anything else.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Lander Borgers is a Racing Genk player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad6 Jun 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Valentin Guillaume has just signed for Racing Genk, and for once the answer mattered.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Sam Long has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad30 May 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 May 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Racing Genk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 50 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Racing Genk heard it as anything else.
Gift Dolly 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.
Squad25 Apr 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ionuţ Cercel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Apr 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Racing Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 100 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Gift Dolly 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 Mar 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
“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.
Boardroom14 Mar 2033
92% of the income goes out in wages at Racing Genk
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 107 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadWords at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Gift Dolly 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 Feb 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Racing Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings14 Feb 2033
A brace, and Gift Dolly takes the afternoon — 8.88
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gift Dolly provided it, and the 8.88 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Shion Shinkawa reports back to Racing Genk with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.11 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Gift Dolly 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 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.
Westerlo made Racing Genk work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Boardroom14 Feb 2033
106% of the income goes out in wages at Racing Genk
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: KV Oostende will make the call about Shion Shinkawa this week. Racing Genk have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Gift Dolly 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.
Squad31 Jan 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gift Dolly. 2‑0 against Club Brugge, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shion Shinkawa signs something — a contract at Racing Genk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The name of Shion Shinkawa has come up in conversations Racing Genk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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 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.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.23 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Racing Genk heard it as anything else.
Gift Dolly 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 Jan 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jan 2033
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Mouscron will make the call about Fabian Bredlow this week. Racing Genk have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.08 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fabian Bredlow will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gift Dolly 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.
Squad3 Jan 2033
Daniel Muñoz 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.
8.19. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
13 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.24 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Racing Genk and OH Leuven, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Gift Dolly 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 Dec 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
12 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Racing Genk heard it as anything else.
Squad13 Dec 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
0‑3 to KV Kortrijk, 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Gift Dolly 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Daan Heymans commits to Racing Genk for another 2 years.
Squad6 Dec 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Platon Matiukov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad22 Nov 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Gift Dolly 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 Nov 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tommaso Fumagalli, and the manager let it.
Boardroom15 Nov 2032
106% of the income goes out in wages at Racing Genk
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fabian Bredlow will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad8 Nov 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Racing Genk and Sint-Truiden, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Gift Dolly at his very best
Gift Dolly 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 Nov 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gift Dolly signs something — a contract at Racing Genk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Racing Genk, another week without a signature from George Johnston.
In brief
MarketThe clock does Benjamin Gomel’s negotiating for him
BoardroomThe Racing Genk production line keeps running
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 Oct 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Gift Dolly 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 run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Racing Genk are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Oct 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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 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.
Squad18 Oct 2032
The manager has not finished forgetting Mujaid Sadick's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Shion Shinkawa signs something — a contract at Racing Genk or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with KV Mechelen the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Racing Genk will enjoy reviewing.
Two goals and a mark of 8.70 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Racing Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Oct 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Gift Dolly 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tommaso Fumagalli and Racing Genk agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad27 Sep 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
“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 Racing Genk know it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.56, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings20 Sep 2032
A brace, and Daan Heymans takes the afternoon — 8.38
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Daan Heymans provided it, and the 8.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ionuţ Cercel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gift Dolly 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.
A 5‑3 win over Lokeren, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad20 Sep 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
8 goals in one match, Jarne Steuckers on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Racing Genk and Lokeren.
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad13 Sep 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Yari Vanderhallen 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.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Gift Dolly 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 Sep 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
A 1‑0 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Aug 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Racing Genk and Mouscron in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Gift Dolly 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.
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad23 Aug 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Marked 8.23 — 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.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with KV Oostende the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Racing Genk will enjoy reviewing.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ionuţ Cercel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.84 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Gift Dolly 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 deal that would have taken Mousa De Ketelaere to KV Mechelen has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Racing Genk with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad9 Aug 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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 name of Yari Vanderhallen has come up in conversations Racing Genk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fabian Bredlow will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gift Dolly 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.
Squad26 Jul 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
8 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Timothy Januzaj is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Yannick Castagne has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Squad26 Jul 2032
7 new faces, and Racing Genk 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.
In brief
BoardroomWages eat 91% of everything Racing Genk earn
BoardroomNo investment in the facilities at Racing Genk
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Gift Dolly 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.
Squad12 Jul 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Gift Dolly 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 rules permit it and it stings anyway. Christian Boyata has agreed terms with Waasland-Beveren for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
In brief
SquadDaniel Muñoz falls out with a teammate over standards
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Gift Dolly 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
In brief
SquadDaniel Muñoz falls out with a teammate over standards
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Racing Genk can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Racing Genk will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Add another name to the list: Porto have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Shion Shinkawa. The answer from Racing Genk has not changed — yet.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Adriano Esposito has just signed for Racing Genk, and for once the answer mattered.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Gift Dolly 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.
Squad31 May 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Boardroom31 May 2032
96% of the income goes out in wages at Racing Genk
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
In brief
SquadWords at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Simon Castagne has just signed for Racing Genk, and for once the answer mattered.
Gift Dolly 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom3 May 2032
94% of the income goes out in wages at Racing Genk
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
He is 18, and nobody at Racing Genk signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Charlie Taylor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gift Dolly 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.
In brief
SquadDaniel Muñoz falls out with a teammate over standards
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad12 Apr 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
44 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Felix Becker has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
Gift Dolly 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 easiest signature of my career.” Alessio Castro-Montes and Racing Genk agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Apr 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Junya Ito 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.
Boardroom5 Apr 2032
92% of the income goes out in wages at Racing Genk
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Racing Genk heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
In brief
SquadWords at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
The words a physio says slowly. 61 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
77 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Felix Becker has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad8 Mar 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The words a physio says slowly. 87 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Racing Genk is running low.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Gift Dolly 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Mar 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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 words a physio says slowly. 103 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.
Gift Dolly 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad16 Feb 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Racing Genk know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
113 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Racing Genk heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kostas Kotsaris will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
8.18. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
BoardroomWages eat 94% of everything Racing Genk earn
131 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
1‑4 against Club Brugge, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Charlie Taylor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Charlie Taylor has agreed terms with KV Mechelen for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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 words a physio says slowly. 146 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Taiga Hata will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
42 days with the chair empty, a list of names that grows and shrinks by the day, and not one signature on anything. Every week that passes takes the best candidates off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
17 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Junya Ito 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.
KV Kortrijk will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Alan Maimo has pre-agreed a move to Racing Genk, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The words a physio says slowly. 153 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.
Gift Dolly 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 Jan 2032
Daniel Muñoz 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Racing Genk, another week without a signature from Hendrik Van Crombrugge.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Taiga Hata has his answer from Racing Genk; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The words a physio says slowly. 167 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.
3 in front and in complete control, and it finished with OH Leuven the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Racing Genk will enjoy reviewing.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Platon Matiukov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Racing Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
14 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Yaimar Medina 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 coaching staff has emptied out entirely and there was nobody internal to promote, so the club has appointed a name almost none of its supporters will recognise. Clubs recover from this; none of them enjoy explaining it.
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Interim Coach recited it perfectly.
Gift Dolly 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad8 Dec 2031
Daniel Muñoz 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.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Racing Genk can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Racing Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Dec 2031
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Nov 2031
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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 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.
Gift Dolly 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.94 beside his name.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad10 Nov 2031
Daniel Muñoz 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Racing Genk and Charleroi in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings3 Nov 2031
A brace, and Gift Dolly takes the afternoon — 8.42
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gift Dolly provided it, and the 8.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Daniel Muñoz 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 easiest signature of my career.” Hendrik Van Crombrugge and Racing Genk agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Nov 2031
Yaimar Medina 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.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Shion Shinkawa had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Westerlo were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Gift Dolly 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Westerlo left with the points after a 3‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad27 Oct 2031
Daniel Muñoz 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.
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.
In brief
Player ratingsNoah Lahmadi turns it into his own net
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Genk they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Racing Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Gift Dolly 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sebastiaan Timmers will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad13 Oct 2031
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yaimar Medina 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.
52 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Racing Genk have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Gift Dolly 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Platon Matiukov will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad29 Sep 2031
Daniel Muñoz 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.
66 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Racing Genk hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Gift Dolly 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sebastiaan Timmers will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Daniel Muñoz 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Luke Mbete has just signed for Racing Genk, and for once the answer mattered.
73 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Racing Genk lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Alessio Castro-Montes has just signed for Racing Genk, and for once the answer mattered.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
Daniel Muñoz 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 rules permit it and it stings anyway. Charlie Rosenqvist has agreed terms with Mouscron for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Charlie Rosenqvist will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Genk the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
“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 Racing Genk, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Genk is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Racing Genk this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Aug 2031
Words at Racing Genk training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Muñoz 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 name of Mousa De Ketelaere has come up in conversations Racing Genk were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.