“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 The request is on a desk at Debrecen, and it is not being withdrawn.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Debrecen will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 18 signed and 23 gone
That is the business done at Debrecen until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Debrecen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Debrecen asked and Arezzo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gergő Tercza and Debrecen agree another 4 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
12 new faces, and Debrecen 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Debrecen will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The deal with Dinamo Zagreb is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Blaž Bošković was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Debrecen asked and Dinamo Zagreb said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gleofilo. 1‑0 against Nyíregyháza, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Gleofilo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.06. 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.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. Kisvárda will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Kudrivka for Yacouba Silué 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Debrecen have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Everything agreed with OFK Beograd, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Vojvodina keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Dermane Karim 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 chase for Dániel Horváth ended with $120.0K changing hands and Ajka out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
5 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.
The deal with Lommel is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Debrecen this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Debrecen training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Blaž Bošković 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 offer from Csákvár for Leon Myrtaj 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Debrecen have done the hard part with Ujpest, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Debrecen offered $38.0K; Kozármisleny said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Debrecen asked and LASK said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Botond Vajda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
7 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
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. 122 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.
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. Ujpest know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Ujpest. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“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 Debrecen, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer went to Kozármisleny this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Josua Mejías 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.
Debrecen asked and Szeged-Csanád GA said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Joel Fameyeh and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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 Ujpest know it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ujpest know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Patrizio Stronati was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ujpest, and both men came out saying it was fine.
3 goals in 15 games at Fehervar — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ujpest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“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; Ujpest are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
Everybody at Ujpest saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Ujpest. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Position 2, 48 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Ujpest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrizio Stronati 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ujpest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Ujpest, and 10 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ujpest know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
6 goals in 26 games at Mezőkövesd — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ujpest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Heitor has written the date down.
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.
Joel Fameyeh and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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 Ujpest know it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Ujpest has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Add another name to the list: KFUM Oslo have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Krisztofer Horváth. The answer from Ujpest has not changed — yet.
“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; Ujpest are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Ujpest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrizio Stronati 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.
Nikola Radmanovac 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
4 goals in 8 games at Soroksár — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ujpest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ujpest know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ujpest lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Ujpest know 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 Ujpest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Ujpest know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Ujpest would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
6 goals in 24 games at Mezőkövesd — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Ujpest updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Matija Ljujić has written the date down.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ujpest lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ujpest, and both men came out saying it was fine.
52 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ujpest lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Ujpest, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Karcag for Gleofilo 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Ujpest close the window on a squad of their own making
2 in and 4 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Aljoša Matko 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 Feb 2027
Words at Ujpest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrizio Stronati 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.
59 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ujpest lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Ujpest, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Patrizio Stronati was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nikola Radmanovac trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
82 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ujpest lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
0‑3 against Ferencvaros, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
The offer from Wa All Stars for Joel Fameyeh 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.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Ujpest will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Ujpest have gone to Bilje with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The name of Barnabás Bese has come up in conversations Ujpest were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Ujpest training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrizio Stronati 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.
121 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ujpest lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
3 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 tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Ujpest can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Patrizio Stronati was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.29 — 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ujpest will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Ujpest can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ujpest this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Patrizio Stronati’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Ujpest needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Arne Maier signs something — a contract at Ujpest or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Gleofilo has written the date down.
Next up on the road: Puskas Akademia, position 7. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Patrizio Stronati has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.