The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Farul Constanța people have started saying his name in the past tense.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Farul Constanța have done the hard part with Panathinaikos, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The chase for Bogdan Ungureanu ended with $180.0K changing hands and Rapid Bucharest out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Samuel Šigut 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 had been thinking. Ionuţ Vînă 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.
Farul Constanța asked and Panathinaikos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Marked 8.40 — 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.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Rapid Bucharest scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
The words a physio says slowly. 65 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at Panathinaikos, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Kampaniakos had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Panathinaikos people have started saying his name in the past tense.
He arrived for a fee and leaves for a fraction of it. $820.0K of what Panathinaikos paid for Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel is money the club will not see again, and the boardroom will be asked about it for two seasons.
The offer from OFK Beograd for Pedro Chirivella 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Baba Rahman has, at Panathinaikos, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Yanis Pîrvu did not need any: 7.98, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Farul Constanța this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Samuel Šigut 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.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Farul Constanța will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Farul Constanța have made the call to Korona. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panathinaikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Panathinaikos and AEL Larisa have settled on $980.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Atromitos had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The chase for Tom Louchet ended with $2.8M changing hands and PAOK out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Aris Thessaloniki have kept their man, and Panathinaikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Tom Louchet is living that version at Panathinaikos, and it tends to show in the first month.
92 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Panathinaikos lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Position 2, 38 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.
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. Panathinaikos will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Panathinaikos 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 Panathinaikos hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Lucas Ocampos 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Panathinaikos told Lucas Ocampos something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Tasos Bakasetas has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Nobody at Panathinaikos 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikos Christogeorgos, and the manager let it.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Panathinaikos told Étienne Camara something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Panathinaikos know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Étienne Camara’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Panathinaikos needing him to play as if none of it matters.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Dimitris Rallis’s exile
Position 3, 28 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.
He arrived for a fee and leaves for a fraction of it. $290.2K of what Anagennisi Karditsa paid for Konrad Michalak is money the club will not see again, and the boardroom will be asked about it for two seasons.
Manuel Baldé has gone, the accounts have $580.0K in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
The deal with Iraklis 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.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Panathinaikos paid $580.0K and Anagennisi Karditsa took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Asteras have kept their man, and Anagennisi Karditsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The fee is $680.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Marko drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
The chase for Manuel Baldé ended with $580.0K changing hands and Anagennisi Karditsa out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. David Astals has, at Panathinaikos, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Panathinaikos 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 Panathinaikos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
17 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
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 Stefan de Vrij is on it.
The unglamorous genius of a well-written contract. Giorgos Kyriakopoulos is somebody else's player now, and $1.1M has arrived because the people who sold him thought further ahead than the transfer window.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Panathinaikos waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Anagennisi Karditsa asked and Hajduk Split said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Everybody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Anagennisi Karditsa would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
In brief
The dugoutAlex Brina asks for a word with the manager
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The offer from PAOK for Jason was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The deal with Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $650.0K — a club that wants Manuel Baldé enough to be asked twice.
Lucas Ocampos 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Marko have kept their man, and Panathinaikos go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Opava will make the call about Dimitris Rallis this week. Panathinaikos have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
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.
“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.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Pedro Virgínia has just signed for Anagennisi Karditsa, and for once the answer mattered.
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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
Something was said to Giorgos Manousakis and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
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 Giorgos Manousakis is on it.
Position 3, 28 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.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Panetolikos have kept their man, and Anagennisi Karditsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Anagennisi Karditsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Anagennisi Karditsa have let the market know Rodrigo Moriñigo can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and OFI waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Manuel Baldé signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Anagennisi Karditsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 15 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Anagennisi Karditsa 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 Manuel Baldé 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. Beltinci have kept their man, and Anagennisi Karditsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Anagennisi Karditsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Anagennisi Karditsa 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. 22 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AEK keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Anagennisi Karditsa offered $73.0K; Ilioupoli 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Anagennisi Karditsa will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Anagennisi Karditsa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Anagennisi Karditsa people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Position 3, 28 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.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Francisco Ferreira was one of the reasons people came, and $400.0K does not replace that by itself.
Pyry Soiri 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Alex Brina is living that version at Anagennisi Karditsa, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Manuel Baldé 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Anagennisi Karditsa have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Manuel Baldé signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“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 Anagennisi Karditsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal with AEK 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.
“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 Anagennisi Karditsa 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 Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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. Asteras have kept their man, and Anagennisi Karditsa go back to a list with one name crossed off 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 Pyry Soiri is on 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 Anagennisi Karditsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AEK keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
Everybody at Anagennisi Karditsa saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 33 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.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Francisco Ferreira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Anagennisi Karditsa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Anagennisi Karditsa had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Squad22 May 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
Rafa Salama 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Manuel Baldé signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 41 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.
Position 3, 28 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.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
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.
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Francisco Ferreira will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Anagennisi Karditsa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Pyry Soiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Manuel Baldé 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Manuel Baldé signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Anagennisi Karditsa can pretend not to have heard.
Pyry Soiri 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
Position 3, 28 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.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Anagennisi Karditsa, another week without a signature from Francisco Ferreira.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Anagennisi Karditsa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Thiede 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Anagennisi Karditsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Manuel Baldé signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Anagennisi Karditsa 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 Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Manuel Baldé 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 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.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
6 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Anagennisi Karditsa could ask drops and the wages Francisco Ferreira can ask rise.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
“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; Anagennisi Karditsa are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad13 Mar 2028
A last season at home is what Jorge Casado is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Anagennisi Karditsa will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Vangelis Noikokyrakis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The words a physio says slowly. 28 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
At 38, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
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.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Anagennisi Karditsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Anagennisi Karditsa have let the market know Rodrigo Moriñigo can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Anagennisi Karditsa, another week without a signature from Michael Gonçalves.
45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Anagennisi Karditsa can pretend not to have heard.
6 in and 2 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.
Pyry Soiri 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Angelos Oikonomou is living that version at Anagennisi Karditsa, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manuel Baldé 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. Kudrivka have kept their man, and Anagennisi Karditsa go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 52 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.
Pyry Soiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
Anagennisi Karditsa have made the call to Kudrivka. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Anagennisi Karditsa has been clear about where Many Le Toux stands, which is more than many ever get.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Manuel Baldé signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
68 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 28 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Pyry Soiri 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 2028
Manuel Baldé 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.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Anagennisi Karditsa 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 Anagennisi Karditsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Pyry Soiri 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 Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Level with 85 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Anagennisi Karditsa had all but put away. Kavala will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
The words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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 fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
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.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
98 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Anagennisi Karditsa 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 Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Agustín Fernández 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Thanasis Tsadjaris on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Something was said to Vangelis Noikokyrakis and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
105 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francisco Ferreira 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 Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
112 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Manuel Baldé 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.
Four weeks in which nobody in the division did his job better. The award goes on a shelf and the player goes back into the side, which is the order Anagennisi Karditsa prefer.
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Thanasis Tsadjaris was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Anagennisi Karditsa dressing room was either.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
120 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Pyry Soiri 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 Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rafa Salama, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 2‑3 defeat, delivered by Thanasis Tsadjaris to a room that had heard them before.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
54 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Anagennisi Karditsa lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Pyry Soiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Manuel Baldé 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Anagennisi Karditsa has been clear about where Anestis Vlachomitros stands, which is more than many ever get.
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 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.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Half the programme played, position 3, 18 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Pyry Soiri has come out of that comparison in the side, and Anagennisi Karditsa have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Alexandros Nikolias and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Thanasis Tsadjaris left the room before anybody could ask which.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Two goals and a mark of 8.85 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Pyry Soiri and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Manuel Baldé 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 fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Thanasis Tsadjaris kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Lucas Poletto 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.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Gleidson Lima'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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Alberto Simoni’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Anagennisi Karditsa needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Anagennisi Karditsa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every first appearance is one of two stories, and this was the harder one: 4.54, and a long walk to the tunnel. The second appearance is the one that decides what the first one meant.
Pyry Soiri 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 Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marco Thiede and Anagennisi Karditsa agree another 2 years.
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.
6 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Thanasis Tsadjaris on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Anagennisi Karditsa have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Pyry Soiri 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Nikodem Spiż is living that version at Anagennisi Karditsa, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Manuel Baldé was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 91. Niki Volos had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“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 Anagennisi Karditsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 18 signed and 11 gone
That is the business done at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
The deal with Asteras 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at AEK is saying, and nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa is enjoying the guessing.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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 level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Anagennisi Karditsa know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Anagennisi Karditsa can pretend not to have heard.
A conversation is coming this week. Anagennisi Karditsa will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Manuel Baldé 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.
Position 5 on 23 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
In brief
The terracesThe stands have heard the Nick Tsaroulla talk too
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
Anagennisi Karditsa asked and Atromitos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Pyry Soiri 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Anagennisi Karditsa, another week without a signature from Nick Tsaroulla.
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 Lucas Poletto has written the date down.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Anagennisi Karditsa would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Anagennisi Karditsa can pretend not to have heard.
The chase for Konrad Michalak ended with $940.0K changing hands and Panetolikos out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at PAOK is saying, and nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa is enjoying the guessing.
The offer went to Panathinaikos 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.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Konrad Michalak from Panetolikos for $940.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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 Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Anagennisi Karditsa know which stage they are at.
Anagennisi Karditsa and Panetolikos have settled on $940.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Anagennisi Karditsa asked and Iraklis said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Marco Thiede has his answer from Anagennisi Karditsa; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
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.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nick Tsaroulla signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 5, 23 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
“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 Anagennisi Karditsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AEL Larisa keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Francisco Ferreira 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kareem Ben-Kmayal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Anagennisi Karditsa and AEL Larisa have settled on $480.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
“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 Anagennisi Karditsa, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Asteras keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Anagennisi Karditsa have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Anagennisi Karditsa 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 Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
Anagennisi Karditsa asked and Widzew Łódź said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
5 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Felipe Felício has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Nikos Golias
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Anagennisi Karditsa can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: AEL Larisa keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Pyry Soiri 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Manuel Baldé 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.
Anagennisi Karditsa asked and Panathinaikos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 35, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Anagennisi Karditsa have gone to AEK 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 fee is $94.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. PAOK drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Pyry Soiri 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 had been thinking. Manuel Baldé 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.
Anagennisi Karditsa asked and Panetolikos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Anagennisi Karditsa are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
In brief
The dugoutManuel Baldé knocks on the manager's door
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Anagennisi Karditsa will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nikos Golias 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.
Nobody at Anagennisi Karditsa 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Anagennisi Karditsa will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francisco Ferreira 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
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 Giorgos Manousakis is on it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nick Tsaroulla signs something — a contract at Anagennisi Karditsa or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Anagennisi Karditsa will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francisco Ferreira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 71 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Anagennisi Karditsa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Anagennisi Karditsa, another week without a signature from Francisco Ferreira.
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.