A brace, and Fran Topić takes the afternoon — 9.09
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Fran Topić provided it, and the 9.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dubrava can pretend not to have heard.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Dubrava have had the benefit of it.
The offer from HNK Gorica for Josh Kelly 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: HNK Rijeka have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Melvin Rémy. The answer from Dubrava has not changed — yet.
In brief
Player ratingsLukas Buić ran the middle of the pitch — 6.93
Amet Korça and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Toni Kolega 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.
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“I watch every Dubrava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Hrvatski Dragovoljac runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tomislav Juranovic after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Dubrava pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
In brief
SquadThe division's best last weekend was a Dubrava man
Ivan Miličević 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.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Dubrava will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ante Matić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Amet Korça 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 95. Karlovac 1919 had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
21 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Two goals and a mark of 9.11 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Dubrava and Orijent 1919 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Fran Topić 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ante Matić 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Dubrava, and 2 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 3‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tomislav Juranovic after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Bo Geens
Amet Korça was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bernardo Matić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Dubrava has been clear about where Amine Boushaba stands, which is more than many ever get.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dubrava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Dubrava would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Successful dribbles: 55. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava 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: Fran Topić. 1‑0 against Grobnican, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ante Matić 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.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.12 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I did not go to Hrvatski Dragovoljac to sit and watch. I want to come back to Dubrava and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 17 matches say the rest.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Toni Kolega was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Josip Silić, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Tomislav Juranovic to a room that had heard them before.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ivan Miličević is on it.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Dubrava will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 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.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Toni Kolega 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.
Ivan Miličević and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Three points for Dubrava, 1‑0 the final word against Hrvace in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Josh Kelly was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.12. 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 words a physio says slowly. 28 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bernardo Matić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Amet Korça is on it.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Dubrava will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Boško Jemo’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Dubrava needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Going 2 down does something to a side, and what it usually does is finish them. Not here. Dubrava rebuilt the afternoon goal by goal, and BSK Bijelo Brdo had no answer to any of it.
Two goals and a mark of 9.63 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Position 3, 14 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.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.79 for the rest of it.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Toni Kolega was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Minute 93, against Dinamo Zagreb, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dubrava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.03 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Amet Korça was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cerro Largo have kept their man, and Dubrava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Fran Topić 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fran Topić. 1‑0 against Opatija, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Toni Kolega 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Dubrava are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Dubrava told Ante Matić something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Dubrava close the window on a squad of their own making
22 in and 9 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Dubrava asked and Central Espanol said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I watch every Dubrava game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Hrvatski Dragovoljac runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ante Matić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Dubrava know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from NK Osijek for Boško Jemo 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 Dubrava can pretend not to have heard.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The 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.
Dubrava asked and Central Espanol said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Toni Kolega is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 63 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dubrava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
A brace, and Fran Topić takes the afternoon — 9.15
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Fran Topić provided it, and the 9.15 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bernardo Matić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Dubrava asked and Cerro Largo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Central Espanol have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 72 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dubrava 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Dubrava, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dubrava have done the hard part with Admira Wacker, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Central Espanol have kept their man, and Dubrava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“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 Dubrava, and it is not being withdrawn.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Dubrava and Karlovac 1919 in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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.
Dubrava asked and Almirante Brown said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
A brace, and Boško Jemo takes the afternoon — 9.02
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Boško Jemo provided it, and the 9.02 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dubrava may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Up for the corner, and Jafar Bynoe delivers — 7.84
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Jafar Bynoe scored, was marked 7.84, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dubrava can pretend not to have heard.
Bo Geens and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Dubrava and Rudes in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Three points for Dubrava, 4‑2 the final word against Rudes in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Dubrava
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Ivan Zaverukha and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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 now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Tacuarembo have kept their man, and Dubrava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Dubrava have made the call to Central Espanol. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Dubrava has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dubrava will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bernardo Matić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Dubrava asked and Slovan Bratislava said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Dubrava have made the call to Central Espanol. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Šimun Šabijan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dubrava will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Orijent 1919 pay $140.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Amet Korça was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
7 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.
Dylan Nzamba is 20, and Dubrava 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.
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 124 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Dubrava people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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 now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cibalia have kept their man, and Dubrava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Amet Korça 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.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
Position 4, 33 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
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. Dubrava will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Everything agreed with Boston River, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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 now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Legia have kept their man, and Dubrava go back to a list with one name crossed off 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Dubrava know which stage they are at.
Everything agreed with NK Varazdin, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: HNK Rijeka keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The phone has started ringing about Josip Cundeković again, and this time the name on the line is Grobnican. Dubrava are listening politely and promising nothing.
Dubrava asked and Jarun Zagreb said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Miličević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dubrava can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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.
Ivan Miličević 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.
Dubrava have made the call to HNK Rijeka. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Dubrava would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Dubrava, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Dubrava had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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.
Amet Korça 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.
25 games, 0 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Dubrava now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Josh Kelly is on it.
33 points from position 4. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaloyan Bozhkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ivan Miličević is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stjepan Davidović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 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 Dubrava will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Stjepan Davidović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The 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 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 Dubrava will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Dubrava the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Benjamin Van der Ackerveken and Dubrava agree another 2 years.
Luka Pasariček was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Miličević 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.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Dubrava than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Josh Kelly is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stjepan Davidović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ivan Miličević is on it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stjepan Davidović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Luka Pasariček is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amet Korça trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Bo Geens and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
8 new faces, and Dubrava 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.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dubrava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Stjepan Davidović 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.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Josh Kelly is on it.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Dubrava, another week without a signature from Josh Kelly.
Position 4 on 33 points, and the places that carry a European ticket are close enough to count. Seasons like this are decided by two results in April, and the club knows which two.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dubrava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Stjepan Davidović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bernardo Matić 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 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava 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 Dubrava 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.
In brief
The dugoutLuka Pasariček asks for a word with the manager
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stjepan Davidović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Luka Pasariček 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.
9 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.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Amet Korça is on it.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Dubrava has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Bo Geens was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Stjepan Davidović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Dubrava know it.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaloyan Bozhkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bernardo Matić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Amet Korça 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 manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Amet Korça is on it.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Dubrava would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Where he used to play does most of his talking for him at Dubrava. The room defers to it, the kids study it, and the only thing that can puncture it is a bad month.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Dubrava know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dubrava have done the hard part with Nürnberg, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Stjepan Davidović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Dubrava asked and BSK Bijelo Brdo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaloyan Bozhkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
9 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Dubrava will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 9 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Jafar Bynoe has, at Dubrava, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
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.
Dubrava asked and Legia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Dubrava know which stage they are at.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Jeliano Berchem has just signed for Dubrava, and for once the answer mattered.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Bo Geens was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Dubrava are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Dubrava have made the call to Olimpija Ljubljana. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Hajduk Split is saying, and nobody at Dubrava is enjoying the guessing.
Bo Geens and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Amine Boushaba is living that version at Dubrava, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Miličević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Two goals and a mark of 9.21 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: another club keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
The name of Josip Cundeković has come up in conversations Dubrava were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Boško Jemo 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Orijent 1919 have kept their man, and Dubrava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Luka Pasariček and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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 Dubrava, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dubrava have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Dubrava had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Miličević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Cibalia left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ante Matić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Luka Pasariček is on it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
4 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Boško Jemo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Luka Pasariček 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: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Boško Jemo 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.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Nobody at Dubrava 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dugopolje in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Boško Jemo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ivan Miličević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Minute 91, against Sesvete, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Melvin Rémy has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Kaloyan Bozhkov is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Kaloyan Bozhkov, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.29
A mark of 8.29 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Boško Jemo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 18 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Tomislav Juranovic, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sesvete in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Melvin Rémy
Bo Geens and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Boško Jemo 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Tomislav Juranovic left the room before anybody could ask which.
Bo Geens 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ante Matić 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 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.
Karlovac 1919 next, and one man in the Dubrava dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Boško Jemo did not need any: 8.17, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Boško Jemo 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Tomislav Juranovic could afford to be generous.
Kaloyan Bozhkov, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.94
A mark of 7.94 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Boško Jemo 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 18 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The young player of the month award goes to a 19-year-old at Dubrava who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Boško Jemo has come out of that comparison in the side, and Dubrava have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava 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.
13 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Tomislav Juranovic kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Josh Kelly obliged against Jarun Zagreb. 2‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Dubrava.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A brace, and Josh Kelly takes the afternoon — 8.63
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Josh Kelly provided it, and the 8.63 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Position 3 and 17 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Matija Tunjić, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.92
A mark of 7.92 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Lukas Zahora is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Boško Jemo 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 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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 Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Boško Jemo 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.
Something was said to Raúl Torrente and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Dubrava are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Luka Pasariček signs something — a contract at Dubrava or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Lukas Zahora did not need any: 10.00, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
8 goals in one match, Lukas Zahora on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Dubrava and Opatija.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Benjamin Van der Ackerveken and Dubrava agree another 2 years.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Boško Jemo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaloyan Bozhkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Cibalia kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Dubrava will be asked about the last half hour all week.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Luka Pasariček provided it, and the 8.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Lukas Zahora, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.66
A mark of 7.66 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Boško Jemo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Tomislav Juranovic was not hiding it after 3‑3, and nobody in the Dubrava dressing room was either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Boško Jemo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Dubrava asked and Slaven Belupo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Amet Korça and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He 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 6.66, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Tomislav Juranovic left the room before anybody could ask which.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Lukas Buić’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Dubrava needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Luka Pasariček scored, was marked 7.98, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaloyan Bozhkov was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Josh Kelly and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Tomislav Juranovic could afford to be generous.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Dubrava will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
That is the business done at Dubrava until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Josh Kelly is living that version at Dubrava, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Boško Jemo 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.
Dubrava asked and Rodina said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Melvin Rémy 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.
At 19 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Dubrava will try not to make too much of it.
Hrvace next, and one man in the Dubrava dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
It is the least glamorous business a club does and the reason seasons do not collapse in February. Josh Kelly is here for the weeks when three men are injured and somebody still has to play.
7.78, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Boško Jemo 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.
Dubrava asked and Lokomotiv Plovdiv said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
11 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“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 Dubrava, and it is not being withdrawn.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.90 for the rest of it.
Bo Geens 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: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ante Matić 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Luka Pasariček provided it, and the 8.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The name of Ivan Miličević has come up in conversations Dubrava were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Universitatea Craiova is saying, and nobody at Dubrava is enjoying the guessing.
23 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.
Luka Pasariček and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Ante Matić 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.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Boško Jemo did not need any: 7.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.97 for the rest of it.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Šimun Šabijan is living that version at Dubrava, and it tends to show in the first month.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dubrava have done the hard part with Universitatea Craiova, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Amet Korça 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 Aug 2026
Words at Dubrava training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ivan Miličević 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 now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Pandurii have kept their man, and Dubrava go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Boško Jemo 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dubrava this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ante Matić 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.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Dubrava know it, and so does everybody who watches him.