Ahmed Kutucu 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Soner Dikmen 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.
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.
“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 Antalyaspor, and 5 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ivan Brnić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Georgy Djikia has written the date down.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor 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.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Arda Öztürk 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Antalyaspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
0‑6 against Galatasaray, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Antalyaspor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nuno Da Costa and Antalyaspor agree another 2 years.
Match2 Oct 2027
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Antalyaspor and Galatasaray in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
“I watch every Antalyaspor game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sivasspor runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Soner Dikmen falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Antalyaspor, another week without a signature from Julián Cuesta.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Soner Dikmen
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Berkay Vardar
Three points for Antalyaspor, 1‑0 the final word against Kayserispor in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Soner Dikmen 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.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.80 on the card, and the Antalyaspor support went home talking about one name.
Squad27 Sep 2027
11 new faces, and Antalyaspor 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Erdem Ozcan on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
Looking aheadA test against the best for Antalyaspor
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.36 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Antalyaspor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
4 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
At 27 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.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Soner Dikmen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Antalyaspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Soner Dikmen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Beaten 0‑3 by Kasimpasa, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Antalyaspor close the window on a squad of their own making
24 in and 18 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.
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 26 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.
“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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Dario Šarić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Antalyaspor, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dario Šarić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
13 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.
15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Antalyaspor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer went to Sivasspor 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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Ahmed Kutucu 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 Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 24 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Shakhtar is saying, and nobody at Antalyaspor is enjoying the guessing.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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. Shakhtar have kept their man, and Antalyaspor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Kenan Turuc has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
At 24 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.
31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The deal with Shakhtar 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.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Cenk Özkacar has improved at 26, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
“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 Antalyaspor, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Arda Öztürk is in the works
The dugoutNuno Da Costa knocks on the manager’s door
The words a physio says slowly. 38 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.
Kayserispor paid $300.0K and Antalyaspor took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Kenneth Paal 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.
13 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nuno Da Costa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bünyamin Balcı signs something — a contract at Antalyaspor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
A season-long audition: Sivasspor still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Antalyaspor's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Antalyaspor. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Antalyaspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Antalyaspor have done the hard part with Sivasspor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Kenneth Paal 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. Fatih Karagumruk have kept their man, and Antalyaspor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
52 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Antalyaspor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Antalyaspor have done the hard part with Basaksehir, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A loan enquiry to Fatih Karagumruk: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bartu Göçmen 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 shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Antalyaspor will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
60 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Antalyaspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
$570.0K on the table at Sivasspor. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Antalyaspor had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Paris Saint-Germain, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Federico Nardin has just signed for Antalyaspor, and for once the answer mattered.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Ahmet Karaman has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Caner Unai has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Kayserispor paid $2.0M and Antalyaspor took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Ahmed Kutucu 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. Fahri Ay is living that version at Antalyaspor, and it tends to show in the first month.
Hatayspor wanted more than $110.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Doğukan Sinik has improved at 28, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Antalyaspor have made the call to Grêmio. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Antalyaspor have made the call to Paris Saint-Germain. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Antalyaspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The name of Jesper Ceesay has come up in conversations Antalyaspor were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Kayserispor paid $1.2M and Antalyaspor took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Antalyaspor offered $440.0K; Alanyaspor 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.
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.
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Antalyaspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from Konyaspor for Nuno Da Costa 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.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kayserispor waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Antalyaspor is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Lautaro Giannetti 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.
Antalyaspor offered $460.0K; Kasimpasa 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.
$110.0K on the table at Alanyaspor. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Besiktas will make the call about Lautaro Giannetti this week. Antalyaspor have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
91 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kayserispor waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Antalyaspor is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sivasspor have kept their man, and Antalyaspor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The fee is $2.3M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Basaksehir drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
$460.0K on the table at Kasimpasa. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Nuno Da Costa 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 Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Antalyaspor lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
$13.1M on the table at Galatasaray. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Everything agreed with Basaksehir, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The name of Cüneyt Köz has come up in conversations Antalyaspor were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Samet Karakoç has his answer from Antalyaspor; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
SquadWords at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
44Edition
The Antalyaspor Herald
31 May 2027
From our football correspondentUneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Soner Dikmen damages knee ligaments — 105 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 105 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 Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Kenneth Paal 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.
6 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Antalyaspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Soner Dikmen damages knee ligaments — 114 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 114 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Antalyaspor can pretend not to have heard.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Kenneth Paal falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Antalyaspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Soner Dikmen damages knee ligaments — 121 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 121 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Antalyaspor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Antalyaspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bartu Göçmen was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Soner Dikmen damages knee ligaments — 129 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 129 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bartu Göçmen 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Nuno Da Costa signs something — a contract at Antalyaspor 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 Yohan Boli trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Antalyaspor. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
In brief
SquadThe training reports on Yohan Boli are not good
MatchNothing left to play for but pride at Antalyaspor
136 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Ahmed Kutucu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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 month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Hasan Yakub İlçin is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout3 May 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.” Erdem Ozcan kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nuno Da Costa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
145 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Nuno Da Costa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Dario Šarić.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutNuno Da Costa knocks on the manager’s door
SquadBartu Göçmen falls out with a teammate over standards
152 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Antalyaspor 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 Antalyaspor they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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 earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Erdem Ozcan on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Nuno Da Costa
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Kenneth Paal 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 Sander van de Streek and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Erdem Ozcan after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.06 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Antalyaspor have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Samuel Ballet. 3‑1 against Hatayspor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.39 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Antalyaspor can pretend not to have heard.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Cüneyt Köz has agreed terms with Gaziantep for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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 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.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.38 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Antalyaspor 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 Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A season average of 7.20 with 12 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Abdülkadir Ömür was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. 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.
Ahmed Kutucu 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abdülkadir Ömür. 2‑1 against Adana Demirspor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Nuno Da Costa will call it something else in private.
“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 Antalyaspor, and it is not being withdrawn.
6 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Level with 92 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Antalyaspor had all but put away. Fatih Karagumruk will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Michael Ologo is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Rayyan Baniya’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Antalyaspor needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Antalyaspor will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
7.64, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
Nobody left the Antalyaspor dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Veysel Sarı.
Successful dribbles: 30. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Antalyaspor 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.
Successful dribbles: 31. 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Antalyaspor have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Kasimpasa is saying, and nobody at Antalyaspor is enjoying the guessing.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Volkan Celik is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Antalyaspor have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Antalyaspor close the window on a squad of their own making
6 in and 3 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.
The deal with Istanbulspor 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Konyaspor have kept their man, and Antalyaspor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
The offer from Besiktas for Nuno Da Costa 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.
Lautaro Giannetti 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 Kenneth Paal 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. Konyaspor have kept their man, and Antalyaspor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Mouhamed Gueye again, and this time the name on the line is MFK Michalovce. Antalyaspor are listening politely and promising nothing.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Francis Nzaba had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Add another name to the list: Besiktas have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nuno Da Costa. The answer from Antalyaspor has not changed — yet.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Basaksehir keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor 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 Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The offer from Gaziantep for Bahadır Öztürk 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Trabzonspor keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nuno Da Costa. 2‑0 against Sivasspor, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Cengiz Ozcan has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“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 Antalyaspor, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.98 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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.
Antalyaspor asked and Konyaspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Add another name to the list: Gaziantep have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Bahadır Öztürk. The answer from Antalyaspor has not changed — yet.
Successful dribbles: 32. 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.
Lautaro Giannetti was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Kenneth Paal 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.
Minute 95, against Alanyaspor, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
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.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Rıdvan Yılmaz is still being punished for one mistake
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.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Antalyaspor. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Ahmed Kutucu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.50. 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.
“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 dugout21 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Erdem Ozcan, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Bartu Göçmen 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Lautaro Giannetti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Alper Unal has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.81 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Ahmed Kutucu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Kenneth Paal 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.
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Soner Dikmen
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
1‑4 against Trabzonspor, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Nuno Da Costa 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 music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Nuno Da Costa is still being punished for one mistake
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Erdem Ozcan after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 5 saves does not settle it either way.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.10 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sander van de Streek, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
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.” Erdem Ozcan kept it short after the 3‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
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.
Sivasspor go through and Antalyaspor go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Antalyaspor scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Two goals and a mark of 8.94 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
A 3‑2 win over Konyaspor, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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 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.
Lautaro Giannetti 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Volkan Gunok is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Baris Yildiz has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“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. Giresunspor defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
6 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
Konyaspor next, and one man in the Antalyaspor dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
A brace, and Ahmed Kutucu takes the afternoon — 8.86
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ahmed Kutucu provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Adana Demirspor were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
6 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.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Erdem Ozcan could afford to be generous.
Chances created: 11. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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.
Level with 95 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Antalyaspor had all but put away. Fatih Karagumruk will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Ahmed Kutucu 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 is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Antalyaspor told Rayyan Baniya something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Rayyan Baniya’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Antalyaspor needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Antalyaspor has been clear about where Bartu Göçmen stands, which is more than many ever get.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Antalyaspor know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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 Nuno Da Costa has written the date down.
7 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.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Kenneth Paal 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Kerem Ucar is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Erdem Ozcan to a room that had heard them before.
6 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.
Nuno Da Costa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Kenneth Paal 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
10 new faces, and Antalyaspor 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.
“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 dugout5 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Erdem Ozcan chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutSoner Dikmen knocks on the manager's door
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
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 0‑2 Erdem Ozcan left the room before anybody could ask which.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Antalyaspor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Galatasaray.
Lautaro Giannetti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Antalyaspor training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenneth Paal 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. Kayserispor have kept their man, and Antalyaspor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Bünyamin Balcı signs something — a contract at Antalyaspor or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Veysel Sarı
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Kenneth Paal had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Basaksehir moved on, Sander van de Streek reports back to Antalyaspor, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 17 combined actions and a mark of 7.20, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Antalyaspor asked and Alanyaspor said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Lautaro Giannetti had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Kasimpasa moved on, Julián Cuesta reports back to Antalyaspor, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
The phone has started ringing about Sander van de Streek again, and this time the name on the line is Alanyaspor. Antalyaspor are listening politely and promising nothing.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 19 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Lautaro Giannetti was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A point taken on 90 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Successful dribbles: 29. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor 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 Kenneth Paal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Erdem Ozcan after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $4.4M has been paid because Rıdvan Yılmaz is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.05 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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 Antalyaspor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nuno Da Costa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
In brief
The terracesThe town asked, and Antalyaspor paid $4.4M
SquadKenneth Paal falls out with a teammate over standards
Player ratingsAhmed Kutucu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
3Edition
The Antalyaspor Herald
17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondentTriumph
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
$4.4M settles it between the clubs for Rıdvan Yılmaz
Besiktas have accepted the money. What Antalyaspor do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
7.80, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Antalyaspor have done the hard part with Konyaspor, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Nuno Da Costa 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Antalyaspor and Alanyaspor, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The offer from Trabzonspor for Sander van de Streek 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Basaksehir have kept their man, and Antalyaspor go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Santos is saying, and nobody at Antalyaspor is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Antalyaspor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Deniz Kahveci is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Semih Under is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Kenan Calhanoglu has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Lautaro Giannetti 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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Antalyaspor, another week without a signature from Sander van de Streek.
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Antalyaspor have made the call to Galatasaray. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kenneth Paal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.