Sheriff Sinyan 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.
“I watch every CFR Cluj game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Astra runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Day 13 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Marius Deac recited it perfectly.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicolae Sula will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CFR Cluj the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CFR Cluj is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Meriton Korenica 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and CFR Cluj know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CFR Cluj they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CFR Cluj is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Meriton Korenica 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at CFR Cluj, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicolae Sula will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CFR Cluj the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Meriton Korenica 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at CFR Cluj can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joakim Nilsson will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CFR Cluj the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with André Moreira: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Sheriff Sinyan 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and CFR Cluj know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; CFR Cluj are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CFR Cluj is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CFR Cluj, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. CFR Cluj will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CFR Cluj, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Ilija Mašić again, and this time the name on the line is FCSB. CFR Cluj are listening politely and promising nothing.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CFR Cluj, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Jonathan Menéndez may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Viitorul for Nicolae Sula 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at CFR Cluj has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The name of Mihai Popa has come up in conversations CFR Cluj were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CFR Cluj, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The offer from FCSB for Luka Zahovič 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Andrei Cordea 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and CFR Cluj know it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Adrian Păun obliged against Viitorul. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is CFR Cluj.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.00 — 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.
Meriton Korenica 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and André Moreira trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
In brief
The terracesEverybody has an opinion about Sheriff Sinyan
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
Andrei Cordea was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and CFR Cluj know it.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Meriton Korenica 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and CFR Cluj know it.
Marked 8.58 — 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.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Andrei Cordea 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.
Shots: 4. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.15 — 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.
Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
The deal that would have taken Luka Zahovič to Viitorul has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to CFR Cluj with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Andrei Cordea 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.
Willy Semedo is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.77 — 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.
It needed Zoran Mitrov to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Dinamo Bucharest, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Joakim Nilsson is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The name of Octavian Vâlceanu has come up in conversations CFR Cluj were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Meriton Korenica 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.
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
0‑3 to Pandurii, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Mihai Popa knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
The offer from Dinamo Bucharest for Răzvan Barstan 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.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The shirt still fits. Paul Maxim is back at CFR Cluj, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Andrei Deac is a CFR Cluj player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Bogdan Man is a CFR Cluj player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The phone has started ringing about Răzvan Barstan again, and this time the name on the line is Dinamo Bucharest. CFR Cluj are listening politely and promising nothing.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at CFR Cluj has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
A new face in his position, and Luka Zahovič suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. CFR Cluj have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
A season-long audition: Vojvodina still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are CFR Cluj's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CFR Cluj is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Astra will make the call about Daniel Dumbravanu this week. CFR Cluj have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Universitatea Craiova will make the call about Ilija Mašić this week. CFR Cluj have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CFR Cluj, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Viitorul paid $2.3M and CFR Cluj took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CFR Cluj is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The offer from Astra for Alin Fică 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. CFR Cluj will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Karlo Muhar was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Andrei Cordea’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at CFR Cluj the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Christopher Braun will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CFR Cluj the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
“I watch every CFR Cluj game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Voluntari runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at CFR Cluj would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at CFR Cluj would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
In brief
SquadDejan Lovren asks for a word with the manager
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at CFR Cluj has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CFR Cluj, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CFR Cluj they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Meriton Korenica 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.
“I watch every CFR Cluj game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Voluntari runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every CFR Cluj game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at FCSB runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Christopher Braun will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CFR Cluj the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Facundo Rodríguez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at CFR Cluj, and 0 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every CFR Cluj game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at FCSB runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Meriton Korenica 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.
Marked 8.16 — 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.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at CFR Cluj, and 0 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and CFR Cluj will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Komnen Andrić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market14 Feb 2028
The window shut and Simão Rocha is still in the building
CFR Cluj spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Alin Fică reports back to CFR Cluj with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
Facundo Rodríguez 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.
Onne de Flart is 19, and CFR Cluj have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at CFR Cluj would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
A new face in his position, and Nemanja Gudelj suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. CFR Cluj have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Yokohama F. Marinos for Luka Zahovič 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.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Denis Crişan has his answer from CFR Cluj; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at CFR Cluj has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Meriton Korenica 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.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. CFR Cluj will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. CFR Cluj will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
André Moreira 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.
Add another name to the list: Universitatea Craiova have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ilija Mašić. The answer from CFR Cluj has not changed — yet.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at CFR Cluj has been clear about where Simão Rocha stands, which is more than many ever get.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CFR Cluj, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Luka Zahovič has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luka Zahovič trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and CFR Cluj will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Komnen Andrić obliged against Petrolul. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is CFR Cluj.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Some 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
Marked 8.96 — 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Meriton Korenica. 2‑1 against Dinamo Bucharest, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
Marked 8.46 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at CFR Cluj, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.04 — 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.
Marked 8.96 — 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.
Meriton Korenica 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.
Marked 8.12 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
Marked 9.27 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.74 — 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.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“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 CFR Cluj, and it is not being withdrawn.
Meriton Korenica 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CFR Cluj have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: FCSB have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Nicolae Sula. The answer from CFR Cluj has not changed — yet.
Nemanja Gudelj was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The name of Ilija Mašić has come up in conversations CFR Cluj were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
Marked 9.13 — 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.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. CFR Cluj have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Botosani? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Shots: 5. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CFR Cluj know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Meriton Korenica was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The shirt still fits. Adrian Puscas is back at CFR Cluj, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The shirt still fits. Nicusor Bancu is back at CFR Cluj, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Alexandru Man is back at CFR Cluj, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Dejan Lovren trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 3, 27 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The offer from Philadelphia Union for Sheriff Sinyan 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nemanja Gudelj 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at CFR Cluj has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Luka Zahovič has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CFR Cluj can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CFR Cluj this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.