13 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.
63 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ES Ben Aknoun can tell you which week it ends in.
71 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
12 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.
The terraces11 Oct 2027
The mood at ES Ben Aknoun has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
“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 The request is on a desk at ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
81 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
10 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Akram Djahnit and ES Ben Aknoun agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Akram Djahnit was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The words a physio says slowly. 89 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
0‑5 against USM Khenchela, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
9 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Ben Aknoun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ES Ben Aknoun can tell you which week it ends in.
Abdeljalil Saâd 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.
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 21 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
Abdeljalil Saâd 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
104 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Ben Aknoun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Akram Djahnit 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.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 111 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 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 ES Ben Aknoun people have started saying his name in the past tense.
6 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 8 signed and 6 gone
That is the business done at ES Ben Aknoun 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.
The deal with USM Alger is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alaa Eddine Aissani is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Akram Djahnit 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
Boardroom2 academy graduates step up at ES Ben Aknoun
The words a physio says slowly. 119 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 ES Ben Aknoun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Badis Bouamama is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
ES Ben Aknoun have gone to Paradou with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
ES Ben Aknoun offered $67.0K; Paradou said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. ES Setif have kept their man, and ES Ben Aknoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 126 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 52 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
ES Ben Aknoun and USM Alger have settled on $84.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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 has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ES Ben Aknoun is running low.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 59 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Mohamed Shehata has just signed for ES Ben Aknoun, and for once the answer mattered.
Akram Djahnit 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.
ES Ben Aknoun have gone to Paradou with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason ES Ben Aknoun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
ES Ben Aknoun asked and ASO Chlef 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 ES Ben Aknoun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ES Ben Aknoun can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Dealt with internally, which is the phrase a club uses when it would rather nobody asked twice. He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday.
$67.0K was the most the club would pay and Paradou were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Housseyn Selmi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason ES Ben Aknoun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
30 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
ES Ben Aknoun have gone to Paradou with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
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 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.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
$290.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason ES Ben Aknoun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces19 Jul 2027
Supporters turn on the $290.0K sale of Lounas Adjout
He is going to Olympique Akbou, the club has $290.0K 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.
ES Ben Aknoun and ES Mostaganem have settled on $110.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Akram Djahnit 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 words a physio says slowly. 29 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Ben Aknoun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have shaken hands with Paradou; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Akram Djahnit 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.
ES Ben Aknoun have made the call to USM Alger. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at ES Ben Aknoun, another week without a signature from Islam Chahrour.
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Ben Aknoun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Position 15 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Karim Brahimi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Housseyn Selmi 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. ASO Chlef have kept their man, and ES Ben Aknoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason ES Ben Aknoun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around ES Ben Aknoun people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Abdeljalil Saâd 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 Mohamed Benchaira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at ES Ben Aknoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Ben Aknoun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The words a physio says slowly. 68 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.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ES Ben Aknoun is running low.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Paradou is saying, and nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
ES Ben Aknoun asked and CS Constantine 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 Housseyn Selmi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. ES Ben Aknoun will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
75 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 Abdeljalil Saâd trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at ES Ben Aknoun. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
82 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Karim Brahimi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with USM Alger is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Benchaira 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at ES Ben Aknoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
89 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
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 bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
96 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom24 May 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at ES Ben Aknoun
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason ES Ben Aknoun will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Akram Djahnit 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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutAziz Benabdi knocks on the manager’s door
104 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mohamed Benchaira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Position 15 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
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.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Housseyn Selmi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 40 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Akram Djahnit was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdeljalil Saâd trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ES Ben Aknoun is running low.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mohamed Benchaira 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 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdeljalil Saâd trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Akram Djahnit 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at ES Ben Aknoun, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Position 15 and 20 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Akram Djahnit and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdeljalil Saâd 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fateh Talah trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Akram Djahnit has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” ES Ben Aknoun 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 ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Hachoud 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 watch every ES Ben Aknoun game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at CS Constantine runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun know 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 ES Ben Aknoun will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
In brief
The dugoutFateh Talah knocks on the manager's door
The dugoutSaid Mandi without the man who signed him
35Edition
The ES Ben Aknoun Gazette
29 Mar 2027
From our football correspondentCrisis
The terraces29 Mar 2027
The mood at ES Ben Aknoun has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 20 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abdeljalil Saâd was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Housseyn Selmi 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 ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Nobody left the ES Ben Aknoun dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Karim Brahimi left the room before anybody could ask which.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
A mark of 7.64 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.
Mohamed Benchaira 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 Housseyn Selmi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
7.43, 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Akram Djahnit and ES Ben Aknoun agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdeljalil Saâd is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom1 Mar 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at ES Ben Aknoun
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, 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.” ES Ben Aknoun have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Akram Djahnit 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.
“I watch every ES Ben Aknoun game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at ES Setif runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 96th minute. MC El Bayadh will replay every second of the added time for a week.
A mark of 8.16 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.
Akram Djahnit 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 Housseyn Selmi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. ES Ben Aknoun told Mohamed Benchaira something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑5 against CS Constantine, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Position 15 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim Hachoud 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 manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout15 Feb 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 0‑5 defeat, delivered by Karim Brahimi to a room that had heard them before.
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun can pretend not to have heard.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. MC El Bayadh moved on, Mohamed Souibaâh reports back to ES Ben Aknoun, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Housseyn Selmi 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.
Abderrahmane Hachoud 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Kheireddine Boussouf.
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces1 Feb 2027
The mood at ES Ben Aknoun has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around ES Ben Aknoun people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ES Ben Aknoun is running low.
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
ES Ben Aknoun close the window on a squad of their own making
1 in and 2 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.
35 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what ES Ben Aknoun 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 ES Ben Aknoun 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. Ali Tarek has just signed for ES Ben Aknoun, and for once the answer mattered.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. CS Constantine have kept their man, and ES Ben Aknoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ibrahim Hachoud was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 43 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.06 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. ES Ben Aknoun have done the hard part with USM Alger, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Abdeljalil Saâd 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Housseyn Selmi 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. JS Kabylie have kept their man, and ES Ben Aknoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The words a physio says slowly. 51 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 9 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun 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 here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Karim Brahimi left the room before anybody could ask which.
58 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
8 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ES Ben Aknoun can tell you which week it ends in.
Akram Djahnit 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.
ES Ben Aknoun asked and MC El Bayadh 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: 32. 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 7 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Akram Djahnit 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kheireddine Boussouf, and the manager let it.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Nobody left the ES Ben Aknoun dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Karim Brahimi to a room that had heard them before.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
The stands have turned
“Enough is enough. We have watched this for months.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off to it, and the message was not aimed at any one of them.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 6 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at ES Ben Aknoun can tell you which week it ends in.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
Half the programme played, position 15, 10 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Diaa Eddine Mechid 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 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout7 Dec 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 Karim Brahimi left the room before anybody could ask which.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Akram Djahnit
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun 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 ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout30 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 0‑2 Karim Brahimi left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Billal Boukaroum was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Looking aheadA test against the best for ES Ben Aknoun
32 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
6 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Karim Brahimi to a room that had heard them before.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against ASO Chlef in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Karim Brahimi after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Billal Boukaroum 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 squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Housseyn Selmi’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and ES Ben Aknoun needing him to play as if none of it matters.
46 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A brace, and Akram Djahnit takes the afternoon — 8.14
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Akram Djahnit provided it, and the 8.14 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.57 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Akram Djahnit 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between ES Ben Aknoun and MC El Bayadh, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.21 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 ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 2‑2, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
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.
60 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Mohamed Benchaira 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 squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Mohamed Benchaira’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and ES Ben Aknoun needing him to play as if none of it matters.
67 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
200 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Kheireddine Boussouf’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and ES Ben Aknoun needing him to play as if none of it matters.
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.
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.
74 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 81 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 board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 97th minute. Paradou will replay every second of the added time for a week.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Abdeljalil Saâd provided it, and the 9.04 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Akram Djahnit 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Abdeljalil Saâd. 3‑2 against Paradou, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
87% of the income goes out in wages at ES Ben Aknoun
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 88 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
“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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
9 new faces, and ES Ben Aknoun 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
95 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun 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 ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Karim Brahimi after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against USM Khenchela in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at ES Ben Aknoun. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The words a physio says slowly. 104 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Karim Brahimi after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ibrahim Hachoud’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and ES Ben Aknoun needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Nobody at ES Ben Aknoun is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
“If we are going to be beaten, let it not be because somebody in here could not be bothered.” He stood up and said it in front of everybody, which is a thing a squad remembers about a man for years.
ES Ben Aknoun spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
112 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. ES Ben Aknoun lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
ES Ben Aknoun close the window on a squad of their own making
14 in and 0 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at ES Ben Aknoun this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Abdeljalil Saâd had ES Ben Aknoun level again within 4 minutes, and JS Kabylie never got to play with a lead at all.
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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
In brief
BoardroomES Ben Aknoun say no to the training-ground money
The words a physio says slowly. 119 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.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
ES Ben Aknoun asked and Warri Wolves said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against JS Kabylie in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The words a physio says slowly. 127 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.
“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 ES Ben Aknoun, and it is not being withdrawn.
Mohamed Benchaira 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.
134 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. ES Ben Aknoun lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Al Ahly keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Akram Djahnit 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.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
ES Ben Aknoun had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Stade Malien, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. USM Alger have kept their man, and ES Ben Aknoun go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Adel Belmadi is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Yacine Bensebaini 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Youcef 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.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Said Mandi 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.
Where he used to play does most of his talking for him at ES Ben Aknoun. The room defers to it, the kids study it, and the only thing that can puncture it is a bad month.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Akram Djahnit and ES Ben Aknoun agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Akram Djahnit 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at ES Ben Aknoun training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Housseyn Selmi is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad3 Aug 2026
7 new faces, and ES Ben Aknoun 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.