Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luka Pučnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Vito Težak has come out of that comparison in the side, and Beltinci have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Petar Kampl on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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.
Pino Žeželj 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Luka Pučnik falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Moćić, and the manager let it.
The dugout26 Oct 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 1‑2 Petar Kampl left the room before anybody could ask which.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Rudar Velenje in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
The dugoutPino Žeželj asks for a word with the manager
Pino Žeželj 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 Anej Jelovica was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 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 0‑1 Petar Kampl 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 Beltinci, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Beltinci know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Beltinci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Beltinci game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Dravinja runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luka Pučnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Beltinci told Lan Vidmar something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
11 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.
Nafta 1903 next, and one man in the Beltinci dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Beltinci would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Beltinci the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luka Pučnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Petar Kampl on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
15 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Beltinci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anej Jelovica 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 used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dravinja in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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.
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 Niko Graj has written the date down.
In brief
Player ratingsThe afternoon ran through Anej Jelovica
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luka Pučnik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Murat Bajraj 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Dominik Drk has his answer from Beltinci; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout21 Sep 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.” Petar Kampl chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Nobody at Beltinci is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dominik Drk 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.
Words at Beltinci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Pučnik 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.
Minute 88, against Bistrica, 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.
11 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.
“I watch every Beltinci game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Dravinja runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Beltinci will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“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 Beltinci, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Beltinci close the window on a squad of their own making
23 in and 14 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Samod Adeola Akinremi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Nicolas Rajsel is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Jiří Januška'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.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Bistrica in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Haris Bičakčić signs something — a contract at Beltinci or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Haris Bičakčić. 2‑1 against Jadran Dekani, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Pino Žeželj 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.
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.
Marked 8.55. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Beltinci.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Luka Pučnik 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 earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Petar Kampl on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Nejc Bencak, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.07
A mark of 8.07 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.20 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Beltinci this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Domen Justinek 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.
11 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.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Beltinci know which stage they are at.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Beltinci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Anej Jelovica 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 Beltinci, another week without a signature from Kristijan Meštrič.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Vito Težak
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Vito Štrakl
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Koper keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Tomas Janza 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Vid Stojanovic 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. Vid Verbic 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Erik Sikosek is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
0‑1 to NK Krka, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Beltinci training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luka Pučnik 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 version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Pino Žeželj is living that version at Beltinci, and it tends to show in the first month.
The phone has started ringing about Patrik Legen again, and this time the name on the line is Dravinja. Beltinci are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Luka Pučnik 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 were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Petar Kampl after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.