There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ouadjih Khelfaoui provided it, and the 8.61 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad22 Sep 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ouadjih Khelfaoui. 3‑1 against JS Saoura, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.75 — 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.
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.
Nobody at CS Constantine will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.95 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad15 Sep 2031
5 new faces, and CS Constantine 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.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.46 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“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 CS Constantine, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
11 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad8 Sep 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Omar Benrahma 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ali Mahrez 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CS Constantine can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from CR Belouizdad for Issam Abdelhamid Naim 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Messala Merbah and CS Constantine agree another 1 years.
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.
“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; CS Constantine are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fadi Ben Abdelkader is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brahim Dib trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad11 Aug 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
Squad11 Aug 2031
Haythem Atbi has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The captaincy has been taken off Djihad Bizimana. CS Constantine will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The offer from CR Belouizdad for Issam Abdelhamid Naim 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CS Constantine can pretend not to have heard.
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Jul 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. CS Constantine will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CS Constantine can pretend not to have heard.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad14 Jul 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fadi Ben Abdelkader 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.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mostafa Berkane signs something — a contract at CS Constantine or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
MarketThe clock does Brahim Dib’s negotiating for him
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CS Constantine can pretend not to have heard.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Djihad Bizimana and CS Constantine agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Yaw Dankwah has just signed for CS Constantine, and for once the answer mattered.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad7 Jul 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Ovie Ejaria 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
SquadWords at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CS Constantine will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sid Ahmed Maatellah will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Sid Ahmed Maatellah has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fethallah Tahar and CS Constantine agree another 1 years.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at CS Constantine has been clear about where Mpho Mathekgane stands, which is more than many ever get.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason CS Constantine will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fethallah Tahar and CS Constantine agree another 1 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad26 May 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at CS Constantine will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Olympique de Marseille have made their interest known and CS Constantine have to have a conversation they never wanted. A manager other clubs ask about is a manager whose next contract costs more.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CS Constantine they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 May 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at CS Constantine will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ouadjih Khelfaoui signs something — a contract at CS Constantine or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
MarketThe clock does Messala Merbah’s negotiating for him
CS Constantine did not want this conversation and are having it anyway. A manager wanted elsewhere is a manager whose next contract talk just became more expensive.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ovie Ejaria and CS Constantine agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadDjihad Bizimana falls out with a teammate over standards
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Apr 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dadi Mouaki 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad14 Apr 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
CS Constantine have received the call every well-run club eventually receives — somebody bigger has noticed Enrico Peretti. Saying no is easy; keeping him convinced is the actual work.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at CS Constantine, another week without a signature from Brahim Dib.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Abdelhak Benaceur and CS Constantine agree another 3 years.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Zakaria Bouhalfaya is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
CS Constantine did not want this conversation and are having it anyway. A manager wanted elsewhere is a manager whose next contract talk just became more expensive.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at CS Constantine can tell you which week it ends in.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad31 Mar 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah 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.
14 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Issam Abdelhamid Naim will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad17 Mar 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.40 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 14 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Monaco have made their interest known and CS Constantine have to have a conversation they never wanted. A manager other clubs ask about is a manager whose next contract costs more.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.06 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Paradou left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Mar 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at CS Constantine pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CS Constantine have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CS Constantine they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
0‑1 to ES Ben Aknoun, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 Feb 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He 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.
8 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ouadjih Khelfaoui signs something — a contract at CS Constantine or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Brahim Dib will call it something else in private.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Feb 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Zakaria Bouhalfaya signs something — a contract at CS Constantine or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
MarketThe window shut and Rafik Zaimeche is still in the building
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.41 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine 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: Ovie Ejaria. 2‑1 against CR Belouizdad, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Issam Abdelhamid Naim and CS Constantine agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
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.
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Abdelhak Bennacer leaves CS Constantine the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad20 Jan 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
13 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. USM Alger defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ouadjih Khelfaoui signs something — a contract at CS Constantine or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Haythem Atbi and CS Constantine agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The goal that put ASO Chlef ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when CS Constantine equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.37 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Zakaria Bouhalfaya, and the manager let it.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Haythem Atbi 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.
8.71. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
Player ratingsHaythem Atbi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.95 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
22 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
8.56. 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.
16 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad9 Dec 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
0‑3 to ES Setif, 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Djihad Bizimana and CS Constantine agree another 2 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
ES Mostaganem will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. CS Constantine were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ouadjih Khelfaoui provided it, and the 8.58 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.76 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.17 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ejike Ikwu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine the goodbyes have quietly begun.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
22 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rafik Zaimeche, and the manager let it.
Player ratings11 Nov 2030
Ben Elliott was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.41. 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 easiest signature of my career.” Fethallah Tahar and CS Constantine agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.45 — 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.
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
Marked 8.85 — 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 1‑0 win over Olympique Akbou, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
17 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Nobody at CS Constantine will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ouadjih Khelfaoui signs something — a contract at CS Constantine or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ejike Ikwu will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Ejike Ikwu has his answer from CS Constantine; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Walid Khermouche provided it, and the 8.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Zakaria Bouhalfaya and CS Constantine agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Oct 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
8.50. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.95 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.09 — 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 won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 6.43, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.04 at 36, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Issam Abdelhamid Naim will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad23 Sep 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fethallah Tahar. 1‑0 against JS Saoura, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mostafa Berkane and CS Constantine agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 32 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Fethallah Tahar and CS Constantine agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad9 Sep 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
Marked 8.26 — 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 Walid Khermouche to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against MC El Bayadh, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Sep 2030
7 academy players handed senior numbers at CS Constantine
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
At 33 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Ismail Belmadi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Abdelkader Benaceur has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Said Haddad has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Said Slimani is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
BoardroomNo investment in the facilities at CS Constantine
BoardroomThe CS Constantine production line keeps running
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Issam Abdelhamid Naim will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad26 Aug 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 32 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
In brief
SquadDjihad Bizimana falls out with a teammate over standards
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Aug 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. CS Constantine will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Jul 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dadi Mouaki is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Ovie Ejaria 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 Issam Abdelhamid Naim has come up in conversations CS Constantine were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad15 Jul 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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 easiest signature of my career.” Abdelhak Cherir and CS Constantine agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He is going to JS Kabylie, the club has $1.3M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
JS Kabylie paid $1.3M and CS Constantine took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The shirt still fits. Abdelkrim Oukali is back at CS Constantine, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Thereso Chuene is living that version at CS Constantine, and it tends to show in the first month.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
6 arrivals, an average age nobody would call a squad, and a set of parents being shown around a building their sons will spend more time in than at home. The scouting has already happened; today is only the paperwork.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CS Constantine lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The phone has started ringing about Fares Nechat again, and this time the name on the line is JS Kabylie. CS Constantine are listening politely and promising nothing.
Ovie Ejaria 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rafik Zaimeche, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Jul 2030
Dadi Mouaki 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.
22 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CS Constantine lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: ES Setif have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Issam Abdelhamid Naim. The answer from CS Constantine has not changed — yet.
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.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ronald Sichenje and CS Constantine agree another 2 years.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CS Constantine lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from Olympique Akbou for Fares Nechat 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.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad17 Jun 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. CS Constantine lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Abdessamad Bounaama has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fouad Rahmani and CS Constantine agree another 4 years.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The phone has started ringing about Fares Nechat again, and this time the name on the line is JS Kabylie. CS Constantine are listening politely and promising nothing.
Ovie Ejaria 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
SquadWords at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fadi Ben Abdelkader and CS Constantine agree another 3 years.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CS Constantine they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad20 May 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostafa Berkane is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at CS Constantine will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Djihad Bizimana and CS Constantine agree another 2 years.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad6 May 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria 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
SquadWords at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brahim Dib trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostafa Berkane is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around CS Constantine they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad11 Mar 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
Marked 8.92 — 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Robert Ndip Tambe and CS Constantine agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostafa Berkane 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CS Constantine have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ouadjih Khelfaoui provided it, and the 8.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Marked 5.79. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A 1‑0 win over ES Ben Aknoun, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fethallah Tahar and CS Constantine agree another 1 years.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Commercial news is the news nobody sings about and everything else is paid for with. The board will call it a partnership; the accountants will call it the difference between this squad and a smaller one.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 11 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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.
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.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad21 Jan 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.02 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.65 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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. CS Constantine will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Zakaria Bouhalfaya 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.
Squad7 Jan 2030
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Djihad Bizimana 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fethallah Tahar. 2‑1 against ASO Chlef, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Two goals and a mark of 8.58 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.72 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. JS Saoura spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Ovie Ejaria was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostafa Berkane 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ouadjih Khelfaoui. 2‑0 against MB Rouissat, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Issam Abdelhamid Naim and CS Constantine agree another 3 years.
Djihad Bizimana had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and MC El Bayadh were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.59 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Gabriel Moulero has just signed for CS Constantine, and for once the answer mattered.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at CS Constantine is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. CS Constantine told Mostafa Berkane something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Messala Merbah and CS Constantine agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about 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 CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
26 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against ES Setif? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 8 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Robert Ndip Tambe signs something — a contract at CS Constantine or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mohamed Abdelmoumene Kadri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CS Constantine the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Nassim L'Ghoul scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Paradou, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mostafa Berkane 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. CS Constantine know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CS Constantine this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Marked 8.10 — 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Shots: 8. 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 17 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.
Ovie Ejaria 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.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Words at CS Constantine training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Messala Merbah 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.