Zbrojovka Brno

Czech First League
24 Aug 2027
Tuesday
Process
56 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

23 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Zbrojovka Brno out of the cup

Banik Ostrava ended it 2‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Squad

Zdeněk Mička breaks a bone — 53 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Player ratings

Both of them Martin Rymarenko's — 8.29

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.29, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Filip Vácha arrives at the club he grew up with

Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Filip Vácha has, at Zbrojovka Brno, and the first month will show what that does to a man.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno say no — this time

The offer from Dukla Prague for Jakub Klíma 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.

Market

Kudrivka join the queue for Martin Gjorgievski

Add another name to the list: Kudrivka have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Martin Gjorgievski. The answer from Zbrojovka Brno has not changed — yet.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Player ratings

Bienvenue Kanakimana was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 22. 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Abdoul Salam Dembélé

Zbrojovka Brno asked and LNZ said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

Back issues
55 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

6 saves: Adam Hrdina was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Market

Stanislav Hofmann hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zbrojovka Brno can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amadou Danté was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno come up short against Viktoria Plzen

Viktoria Plzen left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Amadou Danté was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 18. 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 ratings

Alexis Alégué in the eights

A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

A falling-out at Zbrojovka Brno

Adam Hrdina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The dugout

Martin Masopust answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

Squad

No place for Albert Korvah in the new shape

He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Zbrojovka Brno are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.

In brief

54 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

9 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Not going: Martin Gjorgievski stays at Zbrojovka Brno

“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Malavan had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.

Squad

Amadou Danté 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.

Match

Alexis Alégué the difference as Zbrojovka Brno beat Slovacko

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexis Alégué. 3‑1 against Slovacko, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Market

Dukla Prague watching Jakub Klíma

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Zbrojovka Brno have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Player ratings

Alexis Alégué was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.72. 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.

Squad

Petr Ševčík signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Petr Ševčík commits to Zbrojovka Brno for another 2 years.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Daniel Vašulín

Marked 8.33 — 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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Bienvenue Kanakimana

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Patrik Žitný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

53 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

2 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Amadou Danté

Successful dribbles: 34. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Petr Mareš asks to leave Zbrojovka Brno

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno rebuffed over Yacouba Silué

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Debrecen have kept their man, and Zbrojovka Brno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Market

The Martin Gjorgievski conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Malavan will make the call about Martin Gjorgievski this week. Zbrojovka Brno have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

Match

Mlada Boleslav take the points off Zbrojovka Brno

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrik Žitný 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 dugout

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 Martin Masopust left the room before anybody could ask which.

Squad

Adam Hrdina slips down the pecking order

The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Adam Hrdina is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.

In brief

52 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Amadou Danté runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 39. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Alexis Alégué breaks Teplice hearts

Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Alexis Alégué scored in the 89th minute, Teplice had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Zbrojovka Brno took the lot.

Player ratings

A brace, and Alexis Alégué takes the afternoon — 8.29

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alexis Alégué provided it, and the 8.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Market

Aleksa Marković has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zbrojovka Brno they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Market

Hamza Ougnou hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zbrojovka Brno can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Squad

Amadou Danté 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.

Transfer targets

Zaglebie tell Zbrojovka Brno: Michał Matys is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Alexis Alégué the difference as Zbrojovka Brno beat Teplice

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexis Alégué. 2‑1 against Teplice, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

In brief

51 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Daniel Vašulín in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

5 academy graduates step up at Zbrojovka Brno

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.

Squad

Amadou Danté 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.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Stefan Vukić

Zbrojovka Brno asked and Hajduk Split said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Market

One of our own: Antonin Jankto joins the Zbrojovka Brno first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Antonin Jankto is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Ondrej Krejci steps up from the Zbrojovka Brno academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ondrej Krejci 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.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno promote Adam Stanek from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Adam Stanek 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.

Market

One of our own: Stanislav Brabec joins the Zbrojovka Brno first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Stanislav Brabec is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Adam Hrdina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

50 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

12 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Amadou Danté signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Amadou Danté commits to Zbrojovka Brno for another 4 years.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Artem Stepanov

Zbrojovka Brno asked and Bayer Leverkusen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrik Žitný 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.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno ask about Michał Matys

A loan enquiry to Zaglebie: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Aleksa Marković

“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.

Squad

The formation has left Komnen Andrić behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Zbrojovka Brno will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

Market

Petr Mareš is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Zbrojovka Brno has been clear about where Petr Mareš stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

The manager makes Jakub Pokorný a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zbrojovka Brno. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

49 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

5 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Zbrojovka Brno spell it out for Martin Masopust

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Martin Masopust has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Adam Hrdina 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.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Amadou Danté 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.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno rebuffed over Otar Mchedlidze

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nizhniy Novgorod have kept their man, and Zbrojovka Brno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Dominik Sváček signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dominik Sváček and Zbrojovka Brno agree another 2 years.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno try to borrow Komnen Andrić

HNK Rijeka have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.

Boardroom

Zbrojovka Brno sign 6 boys into the academy

None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.

Squad

Daniel Kutík slips down the pecking order

The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Daniel Kutík is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.

Market

No place for Jakub Janetzký in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jakub Janetzký has his answer from Zbrojovka Brno; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief

48 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

28 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Lukáš Staněk out for 15 days

15 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zbrojovka Brno lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Martin Gjorgievski says no to Viitorul

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Martin Gjorgievski had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Market

Dominik Preisler puts it in writing

“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 Zbrojovka Brno, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

The step up is real for Martin Gjorgievski

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.

Market

Aleksa Marković has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zbrojovka Brno they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Adam Hrdina 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.

Squad

Late improvement for Amadou Danté

At 26 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.

Boardroom

Zbrojovka Brno beat the market to Yusuf Mohammed from Slovan Liberec

Slovan Liberec will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Yusuf Mohammed has pre-agreed a move to Zbrojovka Brno, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Igor Andreev

Zbrojovka Brno asked and Rodina said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

In brief

47 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Lukáš Staněk

22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zbrojovka Brno lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Zbrojovka Brno

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Zbrojovka Brno is running low.

Market

Jakub Janetzký puts it in writing

“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 Zbrojovka Brno, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Axel Gnapi Dable rejects the move

Zbrojovka Brno had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Fakel, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Squad

A falling-out at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Martin Gjorgievski signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Martin Gjorgievski commits to Zbrojovka Brno for another 4 years.

Market

Rigino Cicilia moves on

Bohemians 1905 pay $150.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno rebuffed over Stefan Vukić

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hajduk Split have kept their man, and Zbrojovka Brno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Patrik Žitný 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.

In brief

46 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

14 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Rigino Cicilia hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zbrojovka Brno can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno say no — this time

The offer from Napredak for Rigino Cicilia 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.

Transfer targets

Igor Andreev will not be coming to Zbrojovka Brno

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Rodina is saying, and nobody at Zbrojovka Brno is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Adam Hrdina in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Real improvement from Lukáš Toman at Zbrojovka Brno

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lukáš Toman is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno promote Michal Darida from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Michal Darida 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.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno promote Adam Provod from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Adam Provod 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.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Stefan Vukić is in the works

Zbrojovka Brno have made the call to Hajduk Split. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

45 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

7 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Zbrojovka Brno put Martin Masopust on notice

The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.

Market

Adam Hrdina hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zbrojovka Brno can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno turn down Slavia Prague for Martin Gjorgievski

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Adam Hrdina is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Squad

Zbrojovka Brno lose Patrik Masopust

29 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Market

Napredak watching Rigino Cicilia

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Zbrojovka Brno have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Igor Andreev is in the works

Zbrojovka Brno have made the call to Rodina. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

44 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Tomáš Břečka asks to leave Zbrojovka Brno

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Market

Only the photograph left for Aleksa Marković

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aleksa Marković will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zbrojovka Brno the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Patrik Žitný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zbrojovka Brno, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

A door opens for Stanislav Hofmann

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.

In brief

43 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

24 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Zbrojovka Brno boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Daniel Vašulín in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný 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 dugout

Jakub Selnar gets it from the manager

“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 dugout

Filip Vedral asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

The dugout

Jakub Pokorný has been promised minutes

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 Jakub Pokorný has written the date down.

Market

The Amadou Danté question follows Zbrojovka Brno around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Amadou Danté’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

Questions about Jakub Selnar on the training pitch

The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.

Squad

Word from the training ground: Jakub Pokorný

The sharpest man in every session this week, by all accounts. Lines like this run the week before somebody’s run in the side begins.

In brief

42 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Zbrojovka Brno count the cost of losing Petr Ševčík

34 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

The dugout

No hiding place for Stanislav Hofmann

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stanislav Hofmann, and the manager let it.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Dominik Preisler 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.

Market

The Daniel Vašulín story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Daniel Vašulín signs something — a contract at Zbrojovka Brno or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

Patrik Žitný asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

In brief

41 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrik Žitný 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 dugout

No hiding place for Denis Granečný

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Granečný, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Stanislav Hofmann has been promised minutes

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 Stanislav Hofmann has written the date down.

Market

The Martin Gjorgievski story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Martin Gjorgievski signs something — a contract at Zbrojovka Brno or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

Patrik Žitný knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zbrojovka Brno, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

40 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

3 May 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Zbrojovka Brno spell it out for Martin Masopust

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Martin Masopust has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Aleksa Marković is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zbrojovka Brno is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Adam Hrdina 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

A door opens for Jakub Pokorný

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.

Market

The Bienvenue Kanakimana question follows Zbrojovka Brno around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Bienvenue Kanakimana’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

39 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

26 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Žan-Luk Leban

16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Zbrojovka Brno lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Zbrojovka Brno boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

A falling-out at Zbrojovka Brno

Adam Hrdina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Štěpán Langer

“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 dugout

Stanislav Hofmann has been promised minutes

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 Stanislav Hofmann has written the date down.

In brief

38 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

19 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban damages knee ligaments — 23 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 23 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrik Žitný 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 dugout

Adam Hrdina asks for a word with the manager

“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Jakub Janetzký

“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.

Market

Daniel Vašulín linked with a move away

The name of Daniel Vašulín keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zbrojovka Brno say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

37 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Žan-Luk Leban out for 32 days

32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Zbrojovka Brno lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

The dugout

Filip Vedral keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zbrojovka Brno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Tomáš Břečka asks to leave Zbrojovka Brno

“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jakub Pokorný 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Jakub Selnar

“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.

In brief

36 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

5 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban damages knee ligaments — 39 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 39 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.

Boardroom

Martin Masopust has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Zbrojovka Brno can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zbrojovka Brno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Aleksa Marković is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Zbrojovka Brno is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jakub Pokorný 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 dugout

Patrik Čavoš gets it from the manager

“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 dugout

The manager's exit leaves Jaromír Zmrhal exposed

Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Jaromír Zmrhal is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.

Squad

Jaromír Zmrhal loses the armband

The captaincy has been taken off Jaromír Zmrhal. Zbrojovka Brno will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.

In brief

35 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Zbrojovka Brno boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Adam Hrdina is a better footballer than he was

Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Patrik Žitný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Denis Granečný

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Denis Granečný, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Oliver Velich knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Oliver Velich trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

34 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

22 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Denis Granečný keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zbrojovka Brno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

No hiding place for Jakub Janetzký

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jakub Janetzký, and the manager let it.

Market

Daniel Vašulín linked with a move away

The name of Daniel Vašulín keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zbrojovka Brno say nothing, which says plenty.

Squad

Amadou Danté goes off with his country

A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. Zbrojovka Brno would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.

Squad

Country calls for Karel Pojezný

He goes off to be somebody else’s player for a fortnight. Zbrojovka Brno lose him for the window and would like him returned in the condition he left.

In brief

33 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

15 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jakub Pokorný 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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Patrik Žitný 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.

Squad

Zbrojovka Brno lose Adam Jakubkovič

36 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

The dugout

Petr Mareš gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

A season on the outside for Žan-Luk Leban

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Zbrojovka Brno has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

The dugout

The manager makes Jakub Pokorný a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zbrojovka Brno. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

32 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

8 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Aleksa Marković

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aleksa Marković will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Zbrojovka Brno the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Jaromír Zmrhal signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jaromír Zmrhal and Zbrojovka Brno agree another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Patrik Žitný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

$5.0M taken back off the Zbrojovka Brno table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

The dugout

The manager makes Stanislav Hofmann a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Zbrojovka Brno. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

In brief

31 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

1 Mar 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Zbrojovka Brno turn down Atvidaberg for Adam Hrdina

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Zbrojovka Brno boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

The dugout

Rigino Cicilia keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zbrojovka Brno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban 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.

Market

Adam Hrdina is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Zbrojovka Brno has been clear about where Adam Hrdina stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

No hiding place for Filip Vedral

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Filip Vedral, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Zbrojovka Brno, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

Colin Andrew moves up the pecking order

Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Zbrojovka Brno than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.

In brief

30 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Martin Gjorgievski says no to Orebro

“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Martin Gjorgievski had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.

Squad

A fracture rules Albert Mezník out for 14 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zbrojovka Brno will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Daniel Vašulín in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Martin Gjorgievski is the real thing at 21

A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Zbrojovka Brno know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Rigino Cicilia gets it from the manager

“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 dugout

Adam Hrdina knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Adam Hrdina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Market

Daniel Vašulín linked with a move away

The name of Daniel Vašulín keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Zbrojovka Brno say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

A door opens for Jakub Pokorný

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.

In brief

29 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

15 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

22 days out for Albert Mezník after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zbrojovka Brno will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Orebro join the queue for Martin Gjorgievski

Add another name to the list: Orebro have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Martin Gjorgievski. The answer from Zbrojovka Brno has not changed — yet.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Market

One of our own: Michal Cerny joins the Zbrojovka Brno first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Michal Cerny is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno promote Patrik Masopust from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Patrik Masopust 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.

Market

One of our own: Filip Holes joins the Zbrojovka Brno first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Filip Holes is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Squad

Patrik Žitný 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 dugout

A promise honoured at Zbrojovka Brno

Something was said to Martin Rymarenko and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.

The dugout

Filip Vedral knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Filip Vedral trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

28 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Zbrojovka Brno win it in stoppage time

The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 94th minute. Bohemians 1905 will replay every second of the added time for a week.

Squad

29 days out for Albert Mezník after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zbrojovka Brno will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

Both of them Daniel Vašulín's — 8.96

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.96, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Market

Aleksa Marković has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Zbrojovka Brno they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Daniel Vašulín sends Zbrojovka Brno past Bohemians 1905

It finished 3‑2, and it was Daniel Vašulín’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Zbrojovka Brno.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Metalist tell Zbrojovka Brno: Peter Itodo is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno are shipping goals every week

Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.

The terraces

One of their own: Afolabi Soliu

He is 21 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.

In brief

27 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

1 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Albert Mezník breaks a bone — 36 days out

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.

Market

Jakub Selnar puts it in writing

“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 Zbrojovka Brno, and it is not being withdrawn.

Boardroom

Deadline passes with 1 signed and 1 gone

That is the business done at Zbrojovka Brno 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.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jakub Pokorný 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.

Player ratings

Amadou Danté beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno rebuffed over Jakub Świerczok

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pogon have kept their man, and Zbrojovka Brno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno come up short against Jablonec

Jablonec left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Žan-Luk Leban

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Dominik Preisler 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

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • The dugout Adam Hrdina dropped after a run of poor form
  • The terraces Everybody has an opinion about Žan-Luk Leban
26 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

A hiding for Zbrojovka Brno

Beaten 2‑6 by Slavia Prague, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

10 saves: Adam Hrdina was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

45 days out for Albert Mezník after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Zbrojovka Brno will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Terms done: Aleksa Marković is going

Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dukla Prague waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Zbrojovka Brno is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.

Market

Jan Juroška hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zbrojovka Brno can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Martin Gjorgievski at 21 — 7.85

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Martin Gjorgievski did not need any: 7.85, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Remember the name: Martin Gjorgievski

He is 21, he is averaging 7.09, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.

Squad

A falling-out at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Martin Gjorgievski among the goals in a wild afternoon

8 goals in one match, Martin Gjorgievski on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Zbrojovka Brno and Slavia Prague.

In brief

25 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

A hiding for Zbrojovka Brno

Beaten 2‑5 by Sparta Prague, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

Albert Mezník breaks a bone — 53 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Market

Filip Blecha moves on

Bohemians 1905 pay $560.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Match

Nobody could stop scoring

7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Zbrojovka Brno and Sparta Prague in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno rebuffed over Javohir Esonqulov

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Merani have kept their man, and Zbrojovka Brno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

The dugout

Jakub Pokorný gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Patrik Žitný 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.

Boardroom

Inquest at Zbrojovka Brno

The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.

In brief

24 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Albert Mezník breaks a bone — 60 days out

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.

Player ratings

Martin Rymarenko scores twice — 9.27

Two goals and a mark of 9.27 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.

Player ratings

Martin Gjorgievski, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.02

A mark of 8.02 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Match

7 unbeaten for Zbrojovka Brno

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Zbrojovka Brno did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno get the job done against Pribram

A 3‑1 win over Pribram, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Martin Gjorgievski

At 21 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.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno settle it inside twenty minutes

2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Pribram spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.

In brief

23 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Albert Mezník breaks a bone — 68 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 68 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Transfer targets

Mohamed Yasser due for a Zbrojovka Brno medical

Everything agreed with Bohemians 1905, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Zbrojovka Brno

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Player ratings

Amadou Danté beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Transfer targets

Pogon tell Zbrojovka Brno: Jakub Świerczok is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno are at home on the road

3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno find a way past Jihlava

Jihlava made Zbrojovka Brno work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Bienvenue Kanakimana

Marked 8.36 — 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.

In brief

22 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Amadou Danté was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 37. 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.

Squad

A fracture rules Albert Mezník out for 76 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Zbrojovka Brno will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Squad

Daniel Vašulín in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Remember the name: Martin Gjorgievski

He is 21, he is averaging 7.04, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Filip Vedral

“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 dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Adam Hrdina

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.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Martin Masopust was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Zbrojovka Brno dressing room was either.

Match

Point won or two lost for Zbrojovka Brno?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Banik Ostrava? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

In brief

21 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Amadou Danté

Successful dribbles: 35. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Albert Mezník breaks a bone — 84 days out

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.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno get the job done against Dukla Prague

A 1‑0 win over Dukla Prague, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Daniel Vašulín stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.76 on the card, and the Zbrojovka Brno support went home talking about one name.

The dugout

The form table has caught Adam Hrdina

Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.

The dugout

Martin Masopust has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Martin Masopust on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

Looking ahead

Karel Pojezný goes back to face Banik Ostrava

Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Karel Pojezný’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Zbrojovka Brno needing him to play as if none of it matters.

Market

The Daniel Vašulín talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Zbrojovka Brno know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

20 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Albert Mezník breaks a bone — 92 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 92 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

No mercy from Zbrojovka Brno

Zlin will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Zbrojovka Brno were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Martin Gjorgievski at 21 — 8.04

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Martin Gjorgievski did not need any: 8.04, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Match

The drought breaks for Zbrojovka Brno

10 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Zlin were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

The dugout

Petr Mareš keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zbrojovka Brno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Player ratings

Daniel Vašulín was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.33. 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.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Patrik Čavoš 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 dugout

A satisfied Martin Masopust

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, Martin Masopust could afford to be generous.

In brief

19 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

10 matches without a win for Zbrojovka Brno

The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Zbrojovka Brno are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

Bienvenue Kanakimana beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakub Pokorný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina gets it from the manager

“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.

Squad

Patrik Žitný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina dropped after a run of poor form

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.

Squad

Martin Gjorgievski named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Martin Gjorgievski is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Squad

A step back for Petr Mareš at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

The dugout

Jakub Pokorný knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jakub Pokorný trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

18 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

12 saves: Žan-Luk Leban was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 12 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Match

No end in sight to Zbrojovka Brno's wait for a win

9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Zbrojovka Brno has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Martin Gjorgievski at 21 — 8.04

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Martin Gjorgievski did not need any: 8.04, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

A falling-out at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Martin Gjorgievski is the real thing at 21

A season average of 7.00 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Zbrojovka Brno know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.

Player ratings

Amadou Danté was unplayable

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.

Squad

A row about effort at Zbrojovka Brno

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Žan-Luk Leban was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The terraces

Zbrojovka Brno supporters have found a favourite in Martin Gjorgievski

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Martin Gjorgievski has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

The dugout

Somebody else is better right now than Adam Hrdina

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.

In brief

17 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Zbrojovka Brno

8 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.

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban stands alone

8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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 terraces

One of their own: Žan-Luk Leban

He is 23 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.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno come up short against Viktoria Plzen

Viktoria Plzen left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Stanislav Hofmann

“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.

Squad

Patrik Čavoš 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 dugout

Martin Masopust: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

No place in the plan for Adam Hrdina

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.

In brief

16 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

7 matches without a win for Zbrojovka Brno

The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Zbrojovka Brno are no longer polite ones.

The dugout

Tadeáš Stoppen keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Zbrojovka Brno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Bienvenue Kanakimana

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Nobody on the pitch touched Alexis Alégué

7.83, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Zbrojovka Brno had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno share the spoils with Slovacko

A 2‑2 draw with Slovacko leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Adam Carlén gets it from the manager

“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 dugout

Martin Masopust: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

In brief

15 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

6 matches without a win for Zbrojovka Brno

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Zbrojovka Brno are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Martin Gjorgievski at 21 — 7.86

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Martin Gjorgievski did not need any: 7.86, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Player ratings

Bienvenue Kanakimana runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Žan-Luk Leban

“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.

Match

The half-term report on Zbrojovka Brno

Position 13, 12 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.

Match

Martin Gjorgievski rescues a point for Zbrojovka Brno

It needed Martin Gjorgievski to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Mlada Boleslav, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Martin Masopust on the draw

“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.

In brief

14 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Amadou Danté runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 37. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

No end in sight to Zbrojovka Brno's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Zbrojovka Brno has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

Teplice take the points off Zbrojovka Brno

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný reaches 200 appearances

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.

The dugout

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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Martin Masopust to a room that had heard them before.

Squad

Martin Gjorgievski named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Martin Gjorgievski is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

The dugout

No hiding place for Patrik Čavoš

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Patrik Čavoš, and the manager let it.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina does not fit this one

Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Jaromír Zmrhal

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Mlada Boleslav in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

In brief

13 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Žan-Luk Leban

There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Match

The wait goes on for Zbrojovka Brno

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.

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban 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.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno leaking at the back

4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Match

A bad afternoon for Zbrojovka Brno against Bohemians 1905

0‑2 to Bohemians 1905, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

100 appearances for Martin Gjorgievski

100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

The dugout

Jakub Pokorný gets it from the manager

“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 dugout

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 Martin Masopust left the room before anybody could ask which.

Player ratings

Amadou Danté beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 13. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

12 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Jablonec punish Zbrojovka Brno for switching off

2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Oliver Velich will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Zbrojovka Brno escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Adam Hrdina 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.

Player ratings

Alexis Alégué beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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 dugout

A promise honoured for Žan-Luk Leban

It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Zbrojovka Brno told Žan-Luk Leban something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.

Match

Oliver Velich rescues a point for Zbrojovka Brno

It needed Oliver Velich to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Jablonec, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The dugout

No hiding place for Petr Mareš

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Petr Mareš, and the manager let it.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Martin Masopust was not hiding it after 2‑2, and nobody in the Zbrojovka Brno dressing room was either.

The dugout

The plan did not have a place for Adam Hrdina

Nobody at Zbrojovka Brno 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.

In brief

11 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

A hiding for Zbrojovka Brno

Beaten 0‑4 by Slavia Prague, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban keeps Zbrojovka Brno in it on his own

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.

Squad

Adam Hrdina in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Adam Carlén stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Adam Carlén and Zbrojovka Brno agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

The dugout

No hiding place for Stanislav Hofmann

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stanislav Hofmann, and the manager let it.

Boardroom

Doors closed at Zbrojovka Brno

The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.

Squad

13 new faces, and Zbrojovka Brno 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.

The dugout

Martin Masopust: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

Adam Hrdina left out for tactical reasons at Zbrojovka Brno

The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

In brief

10 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Martin Gjorgievski, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.95

A mark of 7.95 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Squad

Real improvement from Adam Hrdina at Zbrojovka Brno

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Adam Hrdina is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Daniel Vašulín in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban 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.

Match

Martin Gjorgievski’s goal not enough for Zbrojovka Brno

Martin Gjorgievski scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Sparta Prague, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

200 appearances for Daniel Vašulín

200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

The dugout

Martin Masopust answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

The dugout

Patrik Čavoš gets it from the manager

“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.

Player ratings

The chances came and went for Daniel Vašulín

8 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.

In brief

9 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Martin Gjorgievski at 21 — 8.28

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Martin Gjorgievski did not need any: 8.28, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Player ratings

Amadou Danté runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Match

Oliver Velich the difference as Zbrojovka Brno beat Pribram

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oliver Velich. 3‑1 against Pribram, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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 terraces

Zbrojovka Brno supporters have found a favourite in Martin Gjorgievski

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Martin Gjorgievski has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno settle it inside twenty minutes

2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Pribram spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.

The dugout

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.” Martin Masopust, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

The dugout

No hiding place for Rigino Cicilia

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rigino Cicilia, and the manager let it.

In brief

8 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Martin Gjorgievski at 21 — 8.07

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Martin Gjorgievski did not need any: 8.07, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Daniel Vašulín 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.

Player ratings

Alexis Alégué beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno see off Jihlava

Three points for Zbrojovka Brno, 3‑2 the final word against Jihlava in a contest settled by the finer margins.

The dugout

No hiding place for Žan-Luk Leban

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Žan-Luk Leban, and the manager let it.

Match

Jihlava blown away early

There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. Jihlava tried to reorganise, Zbrojovka Brno did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.

Player ratings

Oliver Velich was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.36. 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.

The dugout

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.” Martin Masopust, on a 3‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

The dugout

The plan did not have a place for Adam Hrdina

Nobody at Zbrojovka Brno 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.

In brief

7 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Denis Granečný beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

The Sigma Olomouc deal is off

Everything was agreed until it was not, and Jakub Klíma reports back to Zbrojovka Brno with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.

Squad

Žan-Luk Leban 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.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno come up short against Banik Ostrava

Banik Ostrava left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

200 appearances for Jan Juroška

200 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Stanislav Hofmann

“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.

Squad

13 new faces, and Zbrojovka Brno 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.

The dugout

Martin Masopust: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

Patrik Žitný dropped after a run of poor form

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.

In brief

6 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Zbrojovka Brno close the window on a squad of their own making

6 in and 4 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.

Market

Filip Blecha’s move to Bohemians 1905 falls through

The deal that would have taken Filip Blecha to Bohemians 1905 has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Zbrojovka Brno with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.

Market

Zbrojovka Brno say no — this time

The offer from Slovan Liberec for Jakub Janetzký 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.

Player ratings

Bienvenue Kanakimana beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A falling-out at Zbrojovka Brno

Adam Hrdina and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Žan-Luk Leban 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.

Market

Jakub Klíma attracts admirers

The name of Jakub Klíma has come up in conversations Zbrojovka Brno were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno come up short against Dukla Prague

Dukla Prague left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný is no longer first choice

The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Jakub Pokorný has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.

In brief

5 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Zbrojovka Brno tear Zlin apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Zlin, and it could have been more.

Market

Vaduz come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Zbrojovka Brno did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Player ratings

Martin Gjorgievski, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.95

A mark of 7.95 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Market

Tomáš Břečka hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zbrojovka Brno can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Bienvenue Kanakimana

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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 terraces

One of their own: Martin Gjorgievski

He is 21 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 dugout

Jakub Pokorný gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

The drought breaks for Zbrojovka Brno

5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Zlin were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

In brief

4 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The small margins put Zbrojovka Brno out

Out, 0‑3 to Banik Ostrava, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Player ratings

Jakub Selnar beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 32. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

The terraces

A cup embarrassment at Banik Ostrava follows Zbrojovka Brno home

0-3. Going out of a cup is one afternoon; going out like that is a week of phone-ins, and the manager will hear every one of them.

Market

Filip Blecha puts it in writing

“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 Zbrojovka Brno, and it is not being withdrawn.

Match

No end in sight to Zbrojovka Brno's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Zbrojovka Brno has to find a result from somewhere.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno come up short against Sigma Olomouc

Sigma Olomouc left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Words at Zbrojovka Brno training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jakub Pokorný 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.

Transfer targets

Panathinaikos tell Zbrojovka Brno: Kostas Kotsaris is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

No clean sheets in sight for Zbrojovka Brno

4 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.

In brief

3 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Chastening afternoon for Zbrojovka Brno

A 1‑4 beating by Slovan Liberec was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.

Player ratings

Alexis Alégué runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno rebuffed over Matouš Trmal

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Teplice have kept their man, and Zbrojovka Brno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Jakub Pokorný in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Business is business: Danijel Kolarić goes

Bohemians 1905 paid $210.0K and Zbrojovka Brno took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Squad

Filip Vedral 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.

Squad

100 appearances for Adam Hrdina

100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

Boardroom

Nobody left the Zbrojovka Brno 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.

Squad

Zbrojovka Brno are still strangers to each other

13 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.

In brief

2 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Adam Hrdina

There were 9 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno bid $860.0K for Matouš Trmal

The offer went to Teplice 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.

Transfer targets

Mohammed Galadima turns down Zbrojovka Brno

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.

Squad

Words exchanged at Zbrojovka Brno

Jakub Pokorný 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.

Transfer targets

Zbrojovka Brno rebuffed over Jan Bačkovský

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Dukla Prague have kept their man, and Zbrojovka Brno go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

Bienvenue Kanakimana signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Bienvenue Kanakimana commits to Zbrojovka Brno for another 4 years.

Match

Viktoria Plzen take the points off Zbrojovka Brno

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Market

One of our own: Petr Holes joins the Zbrojovka Brno first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Petr Holes is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Vaclav Darida steps up from the Zbrojovka Brno academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Vaclav Darida 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.

In brief

1 Edition

The Zbrojovka Brno Herald

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Zbrojovka Brno say no — this time

The offer from Akron for Oliver Velich 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.

Squad

Alexis Alégué signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alexis Alégué commits to Zbrojovka Brno for another 4 years.

Squad

Daniel Vašulín in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zbrojovka Brno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Zbrojovka Brno count the cost of losing Stanislav Hofmann

20 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Jaromír Zmrhal 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 dugout

Adam Hrdina gets it from the manager

“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.

Match

Zbrojovka Brno rescue it on 92 minutes

Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 92. Slovacko had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.

Market

Talks stall between Zbrojovka Brno and Jaromír Zmrhal

“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.

Market

Nobody at Zbrojovka Brno has picked up the phone to Jakub Pokorný

49 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

In brief