67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Persik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Persik 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 Persik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad17 Nov 2031
Jon Toral 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.
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.
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Persik would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
In brief
The dugoutMuhamad Firly knocks on the manager’s door
95 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Persik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Persik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
Squad20 Oct 2031
Reno Piscopo 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.
Every club 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 it has been tried.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” PSBS Biak had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and PSBS Biak waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Persik is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Semen Padang were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Words at Persik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jon Toral 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Persija have kept their man, and Persik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jon Toral was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Persik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Persebaya defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Maluku Utara United in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Nobody at Persik is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Persik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sergio Castel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Sergio Castel is on it.
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kiko signs something — a contract at Persik or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Muhamad Firly trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
4 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Persik could ask drops and the wages Nur Diansyah can ask rise.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Stefano Asnawi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Persik is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Adrián Luna 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sergio Castel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Persik will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“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 Persik know it.
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Joaquín Ravasio is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
In brief
The dugoutJordi Amat asks for a word with the manager
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Persik 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 Persik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Sergio Castel 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.
Nobody at Persik will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Persik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Jon Toral 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sergio Castel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Persik, another week without a signature from Leo.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Persik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Adrián Luna 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 Oct 2030
Words at Persik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Castel 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.
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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Reno Piscopo is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Persik know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Persik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Sergio Castel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Persija have kept their man, and Persik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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; Persik are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Persik lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Persik 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 Persik they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Jon Toral 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.
Persik asked and Persija said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Persik will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Persik, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ricky Nugroho will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Persik the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Persik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Telmo Castanheira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Persik 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 Persik this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Words at Persik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Castel 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 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Persik people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Ricky Nugroho had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Persik had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Words at Persik training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jon Toral 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Rapid Wien have kept their man, and Persik go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Persik has been clear about where Nur Diansyah stands, which is more than many ever get.