Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Bryan Hein scored, was marked 7.90, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Aleksa Maraš 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 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Plovdiv will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 19 signed and 5 gone
That is the business done at Botev Plovdiv 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.
Samuel Kalu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
Tailson was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.80. 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.
In brief
SquadMauro Rodrigues falls out with a teammate over standards
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Plovdiv will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Cherno More keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Samuel Kalu 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mauro Rodrigues 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.
Septemvri made Botev Plovdiv work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Samuel Kalu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.75. 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.
Two goals and a mark of 9.41 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A brace, and Nikola Iliev takes the afternoon — 9.32
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Nikola Iliev provided it, and the 9.32 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Plovdiv will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Botev Plovdiv can pretend not to have heard.
Samuel Kalu 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.
In brief
Transfer targetsNo deal for Rui Areias at that price
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Botev Plovdiv have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Lucas Araújo wants continental football; whether Botev Plovdiv can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mauro Rodrigues was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Tsvetan Nikolov after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
93 minutes played. Petko Panayotov found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Beroe went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Samuel Kalu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mauro Rodrigues 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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.23. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Botev Plovdiv.
Squad9 Aug 2027
7 new faces, and Botev Plovdiv 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.
Samuel Kalu 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.
Botev Plovdiv have gone to Montana 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.
Spartak 1918 paid $290.0K and Botev Plovdiv took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mascote was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Botev Plovdiv people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Baltika is saying, and nobody at Botev Plovdiv is enjoying the guessing.
Samuel Kalu 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 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.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Lokomotiv Sofia the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Botev Plovdiv will enjoy reviewing.
Two goals and a mark of 8.84 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Novara is saying, and nobody at Botev Plovdiv 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 Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
$120.0K on the table at Montana. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mauro Rodrigues was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The offer went to Novara 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 chase for Yesid Valbuena ended with $630.0K changing hands and Beroe 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 Sunderland is saying, and nobody at Botev Plovdiv is enjoying the guessing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Simeon Petrov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Botev Plovdiv have done the hard part with Beroe, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Botev Plovdiv had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Egnatia Rrogozhinë, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Botev Plovdiv offered $490.0K; Lokomotiv Sofia 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 Mauro Rodrigues was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Tailson is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Ahmed Abdullahi is in the works
“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 Botev Plovdiv, and it is not being withdrawn.
At 21 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.
Botev Plovdiv asked and Botev Vratsa said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
$430.0K on the table at Lokomotiv Sofia. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
17 goals in 28 games at Septemvri — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Botev Plovdiv updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Georgi Milanov 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.
Beroe paid $340.0K and Botev Plovdiv took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The offer went to Levski 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.
Botev Plovdiv offered $460.0K; Arda 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 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.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Botev Plovdiv can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Henrique Jocú and Botev Plovdiv agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Slavia Sofia paid $100.0K and Botev Plovdiv took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The offer from CSKA 1948 for Vladimir Mendes 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.
$800.0K on the table at Montana. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
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: Petko Panayotov from CSKA Sofia for $1.1M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Lachezar Ivanov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dimitar Tonev and Botev Plovdiv agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The offer from CSKA Sofia for Samuel Kalu 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.
Botev Plovdiv and CSKA Sofia have settled on $1.1M. 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.
The offer went to Arda 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.
Samuel Kalu 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 name of Vladimir Mendes has come up in conversations Botev Plovdiv were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Vladimir Mendes and Botev Plovdiv agree another 5 years.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Botev Plovdiv, another week without a signature from Tomás Silva.
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. Botev Plovdiv will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
17 goals in 28 games at Septemvri — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Botev Plovdiv updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antoine Conte 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.
Market31 May 2027
Gabriel Noga returns from a loan that gave him nothing
3 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mauro Rodrigues trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Pedro Igor is on it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Omar Rekik trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Botev Plovdiv. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
4 goals in 28 games at Spartak 1918 — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Botev Plovdiv updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Mauro Rodrigues’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
In brief
SquadTodor Nedelev is training like a man with a point to make
Tomás Silva 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Omar Rekik 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Botev Plovdiv, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Mauro Rodrigues is on it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Botev Plovdiv. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Stanislav Shopov 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Viktor Georgiev 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omar Rekik 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 Botev Plovdiv 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 Botev Plovdiv, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tomás Silva signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Position 4 on 59 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.
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.
Samuel Kalu 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 Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hossam Abdelmaguid 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 Lucas Araújo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Pedro Igor is on it.
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 Carlos Algarra 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 Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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 Carlos Algarra has written the date down.
3 goals in 27 games at Botev Plovdiv — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Botev Plovdiv updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Stanislav Shopov’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Botev Plovdiv know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutEdson Silva knocks on the manager’s door
Samuel Kalu 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hossam Abdelmaguid 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 no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Bistra Galchev 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bogdan Kostov and Botev Plovdiv agree another 3 years.
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 Stanislav Shopov is on it.
59 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Samuel Kalu 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 Omar Rekik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Maksym Kovaliov 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Botev Plovdiv, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Botev Plovdiv. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Tomás Silva 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.
“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.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antoine Conte 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 Samuel Kalu signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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.
4 goals in 28 games at Spartak 1918 — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Botev Plovdiv updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
3 goals in 27 games at Botev Plovdiv — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Botev Plovdiv updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Chimezie Williams and Botev Plovdiv agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antoine Conte was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Botev Plovdiv 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lucas Araújo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Samuel Kalu 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 Hossam Abdelmaguid was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Botev Plovdiv 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 Botev Plovdiv, and both men came out saying it was fine.
59 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Botev Plovdiv. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Botev Plovdiv have no good answer.
Samuel Kalu 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 Omar Rekik was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
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 Pedro Igor is on it.
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 Carlos Algarra has written the date down.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Aleksa Maraš signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutEmil Naydenov knocks on the manager's door
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Mansur Barhama has, at Botev Plovdiv, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mansur Barhama and Botev Plovdiv agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Edson Silva, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antoine Conte 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 Mascote 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 Samuel Kalu signs something — a contract at Botev Plovdiv or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at Botev Plovdiv 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.
Out, 0‑1 to Lokomotiv Sofia, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
A season average of 7.25 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
The dugout22 Feb 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 Tsvetan Nikolov 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 Botev Plovdiv, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Mauro Rodrigues is on it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Antoine Conte
Samuel Kalu 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Omar Rekik 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 Botev Plovdiv, another week without a signature from Tomás Silva.
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 Stanislav Shopov is on it.
Where he used to play does most of his talking for him at Botev Plovdiv. The room defers to it, the kids study it, and the only thing that can puncture it is a bad month.
In brief
MatchContinental football is in reach for Botev Plovdiv
The terracesThe stands have heard the Samuel Kalu talk too
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Radoslav Bodurov 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.
A brace, and Samuel Kalu takes the afternoon — 9.22
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Samuel Kalu provided it, and the 9.22 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Botev Plovdiv have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Naxxar Lions is saying, and nobody at Botev Plovdiv 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 Botev Plovdiv 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 Hossam Abdelmaguid was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Botev Plovdiv can pretend not to have heard.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Hossam Abdelmaguid scored, was marked 7.91, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The deal with Ludogorets 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Rodina 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 Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Plovdiv will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Carlos Meotti had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The deal that would have taken Hristiyan Slavkov to Slavia Sofia has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Botev Plovdiv with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Plovdiv will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Botev Plovdiv have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Samuel Kalu 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. José Ganhão has just signed for Botev Plovdiv, and for once the answer mattered.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 36 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Successful dribbles: 35. 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Stanislav Shopov provided it, and the 8.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
12 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Stanislav Shopov. 2‑1 against CSKA 1948, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Plovdiv will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.90 at 34, 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 Botev Plovdiv 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.
A 2‑0 win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Plovdiv will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Montana will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Botev Plovdiv were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
11 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere 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 Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Plovdiv will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The words a physio says slowly. 16 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 is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Septemvri kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Botev Plovdiv will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Stanislav Shopov 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Vladimir Tunchev is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Plovdiv will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
24 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Marked 8.29 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Botev Plovdiv will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv 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.” Botev Plovdiv have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Antoine Conte falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every 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 Stanislav Shopov is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Maksym Kovaliov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
Loan watchThe goals keep arriving from Nikola Iliev’s exile
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 84 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Botev Plovdiv scored in the 118th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Chimezie Williams did not need any: 8.39, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Samuel Kalu 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.
7 goals in one match, Mauro Rodrigues on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Botev Plovdiv and Beroe.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Botev Plovdiv lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Samuel Kalu 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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antoine Conte was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Georgi Milanov trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Botev Plovdiv will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
55 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv 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.” Botev Plovdiv have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Yordan Milanov 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.
Half the programme played, position 4, 31 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Botev Plovdiv dressing room in a hurry
SquadAntoine Conte falls out with a teammate over standards
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 106 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
62 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Tomás Silva 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Chimezie Williams has come out of that comparison in the side, and Botev Plovdiv have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
70 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Botev Plovdiv lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 matches without defeat, and then Slavia Sofia. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Antoine Conte 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.
“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.
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Successful dribbles: 32. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match17 Oct 2026
Mascote wins it after the whistle should have gone
93 minutes played. Mascote found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Cherno More went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Georgi Milanov 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Laurenz Orgler is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
85 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Yordan Paskov is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
92 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Dobrudzha will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Botev Plovdiv were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Mauro Rodrigues was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.18. 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Laurenz Orgler is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Botev Plovdiv will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antoine Conte was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 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.” Tsvetan Nikolov, on a 3‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Laurenz Orgler
The words a physio says slowly. 101 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.04 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Samuel Kalu 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Botev Plovdiv and Spartak 1918 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Samuel Kalu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.79. 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.
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.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Lokomotiv Sofia moved on, Hristiyan Slavkov reports back to Botev Plovdiv, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Samuel Kalu 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 first defeat in 5 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against CSKA 1948; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Botev Plovdiv, another week without a signature from Tomás Silva.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Botev Plovdiv deserved better, and so did he.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hristiyan Slavkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Botev Plovdiv people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Tomás Silva has just signed for Botev Plovdiv, and for once the answer mattered.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Tomás Silva 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 no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Aleksandar Aleksandrov 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.
19 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Botev Plovdiv lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Successful dribbles: 28. 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 hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ehije Ukaki did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Botev Plovdiv have 4 straight wins of it.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Botev Plovdiv close the window on a squad of their own making
14 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.
Todor Nedelev 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 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.
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Dimitar Tonev scored in the 88th minute, Septemvri had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Botev Plovdiv took the lot.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Botev Plovdiv can pretend not to have heard.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Georgi Milanov 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 words a physio says slowly. 35 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.
A mark of 8.22 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-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. 7.81 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Samuel Kalu 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Egnatia Rrogozhinë is saying, and nobody at Botev Plovdiv is enjoying the guessing.
The phone has started ringing about Carlos Meotti again, and this time the name on the line is Septemvri. Botev Plovdiv are listening politely and promising nothing.
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. Botev Plovdiv will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Botev Plovdiv 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.
Beroe will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Botev Plovdiv were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Maksym Kovaliov is living that version at Botev Plovdiv, and it tends to show in the first month.
Samuel Kalu 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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Georgi Milanov is a Botev Plovdiv player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Botev Plovdiv this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Antoine Conte and Botev Plovdiv agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Estudiantes have kept their man, and Botev Plovdiv go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Botev Plovdiv training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Simeon Petrov 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 board was up, the win was priced in, and then CSKA Sofia scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.94 on the card, and the Botev Plovdiv support went home talking about one name.
Squad3 Aug 2026
9 new faces, and Botev Plovdiv 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.