Advan Kadušić 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 Rocco Vata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Istra 1961 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. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Istra 1961. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Position 6, 21 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.
Advan Kadušić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rocco Vata is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emil Frederiksen trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Marino Bulat has written the date down.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rene Hrvatin commits to Istra 1961 for another 4 years.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Josip Radošević 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.
Aleks Stojaković 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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Istra 1961 will quote 19 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
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 Istra 1961, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rocco Vata 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 Istra 1961 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 Israel Isaac Ayuma is on it.
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.
Advan Kadušić 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 Rocco Vata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Istra 1961 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. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
Position 6 on 21 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.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 21 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Josip Radošević 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 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.
Marked 7.28 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Istra 1961 had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Tomislav Petkovic was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Istra 1961 dressing room was either.
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 was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 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 Rocco Vata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
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 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.
Successful dribbles: 42. 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.
Aleks Stojaković had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Lokomotiva Zagreb were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Aleks Stojaković provided it, and the 8.65 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Advan Kadušić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Rocco Vata 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.
Advan Kadušić 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rocco Vata. 1‑0 against HNK Gorica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Istra 1961 told Rocco Vata something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Tomislav Petkovic could afford to be generous.
In brief
The dugoutThe team sheet said everything about Toni Ruso
Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rocco Vata 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.
Aleks Stojaković 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.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Istra 1961 know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
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 Josip Radošević.
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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Tomislav Petkovic to a room that had heard them before.
Successful dribbles: 38. 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.
A performance of 9.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rocco Vata 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.
Aleks Stojaković was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 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.
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.
Advan Kadušić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Josip Radošević 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 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Robbe Quirynen. 1‑0 against Slaven Belupo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings11 Oct 2027
Robbe Quirynen was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.02. 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.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Istra 1961 know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
“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 Istra 1961, and 0 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
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 Petkovic kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Josip Radošević and Istra 1961 agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rocco Vata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Raul Kumar 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.
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Silvio Goričan was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.15. 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 dugout4 Oct 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 1‑2 Tomislav Petkovic left the room before anybody could ask which.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Dominik Celija has come out of that comparison in the side, and Istra 1961 have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rocco Vata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
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 used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dinamo Zagreb in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Two goals and a mark of 9.32 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Istra 1961 and HNK Rijeka in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rocco Vata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Rocco Vata 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: Rocco Vata. 1‑0 against NK Varazdin, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Israel Isaac Ayuma and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad13 Sep 2027
9 new faces, and Istra 1961 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.
“I watch every Istra 1961 game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at NK Osijek runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
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 Petkovic, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Teo Žiković
The dugoutDanijel Đurić has become a man the manager trusts
Successful dribbles: 40. 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.
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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 24 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at Istra 1961 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: NK Osijek keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Rocco Vata 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.
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.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and HNK Gorica spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
$3.7M on the table at Deportivo Tachira. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and HNK Gorica were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Everything agreed with NK Osijek, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
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.
Aleks Stojaković 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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 26. 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 Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Rocco Vata 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.
Istra 1961 asked and FK Senica said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Istra 1961, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Tomislav Petkovic was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Istra 1961 dressing room was either.
Nobody at Istra 1961 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Debrecen keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
$150.0K was the most the club would pay and HNK Rijeka 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Rocco Vata 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.
Marino Bulat 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 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.
10 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.
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.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: FK Senica keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Istra 1961 have gone to HNK Rijeka 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.
Advan Kadušić 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Josip Radošević 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.
The deal with FK Senica 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.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Rocco Vata from Watford for $23.0M, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rocco Vata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Istra 1961 can tell you which week it ends in.
Istra 1961 asked and HNK Rijeka said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The offer went to Watford this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Istra 1961 had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Krasnodar, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Istra 1961
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Josip Radošević was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Marcelo Knezevic 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 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 Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Darijo Knezevic and Istra 1961 agree another 3 years.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Silvio Goričan signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Danijel Đurić is on it.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Dominik Kúdelčík arrives from Slovan Liberec with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
A season-long look at somebody else’s player: Toni Ruso arrives from Hajduk Split with something to prove and a return ticket in the drawer. Good loans make everybody richer; this one starts Saturday.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Istra 1961 can pretend not to have heard.
The shirt still fits. Dino Špehar is back at Istra 1961, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
8 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 deal with Segesta 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.
Istra 1961 asked and Sesvete said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Istra 1961 will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The deal with HNK Rijeka 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Istra 1961 asked and Altach said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Marino Bulat and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Karlo Sentić has improved at 26, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Besart Abdurahimi is 36 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mohamed Nasraoui signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Diego Saina is on it.
In brief
The dugoutIvan Šaranić knocks on the manager's door
Rudes have accepted the money. What Istra 1961 do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The fee is $490.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Slaven Belupo drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Advan Kadušić 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 21 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.
Istra 1961 asked and NK Osijek said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Samuli Miettinen and Istra 1961 agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Lokomotiva Zagreb 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Istra 1961 has been clear about where Jan Paus-Kunšt stands, which is more than many ever get.
Position 3, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The clubs have shaken hands with Slaven Belupo; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Vinko Rozić was one of the reasons people came, and $4.7M does not replace that by itself.
The shirt still fits. Marino Bulat is back at Istra 1961, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
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.
Advan Kadušić 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.
Sesvete wanted more than $7.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan 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 deal with HNK Vukovar 1991 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 Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Istra 1961 offered $30.0K; Lokomotiva Zagreb 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.
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 no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Stipe Bjelica has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Antonio Rebic 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.
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Istra 1961 will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mohamed Nasraoui signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nobody at Istra 1961 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 manager plants his flag on Advan Kadušić
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Josip Elez
SquadAdvan Kadušić is training like a man with a point to make
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 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 Silvio Goričan 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 Damir Tadic is on 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 Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Istra 1961 game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sibenik runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Istra 1961, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nobody at Istra 1961 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
SquadRene Hrvatin has seen what the next man earns
SquadThe training reports on Jan Paus-Kunšt are not good
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Robbe Quirynen and Istra 1961 agree another 4 years.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Aleksa Todorović has moved up it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Raul Kumar trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Vinko Rozić 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Vinko Rozić 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Silvio Goričan signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutDamir Tadic has become a man the manager trusts
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 Istra 1961 game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at HNK Rijeka runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vinko Rozić signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Danijel Đurić is on it.
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Istra 1961 the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Jan Paus-Kunšt on the training pitch
“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 Istra 1961, and it is not being withdrawn.
Dante Stipica 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan 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 Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 Istra 1961 will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Vinko Rozić 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
6 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vinko Rozić signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutDanijel Đurić has become a man the manager trusts
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Istra 1961 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 Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Istra 1961 would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
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.
Vinko Rozić 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.
Vinko Rozić 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 Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Silvio Goričan signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to 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.
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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Montevideo City Torque keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Dante Stipica 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.
Squad15 Feb 2027
7 new faces, and Istra 1961 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.
“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 Istra 1961, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dominik Celija was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vinko Rozić signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutDanijel Đurić has become a man the manager trusts
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Istra 1961 have done the hard part with Montevideo City Torque, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Dante Stipica 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 Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Istra 1961 are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Istra 1961 would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
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 Diego Saina is on it.
A season-long audition: Lokomotiva Zagreb still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Istra 1961's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Istra 1961 can pretend not to have heard.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 5 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Istra 1961 have done the hard part with Lokomotiva Zagreb, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Istra 1961 had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Persik, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Vinko Rozić 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan 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.
Istra 1961 asked and Montevideo City Torque 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 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 Istra 1961 know it.
A loan enquiry to Montevideo City Torque: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Vasco da Gama is saying, and nobody at Istra 1961 is enjoying the guessing.
Vinko Rozić 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sesvete have kept their man, and Istra 1961 go back to a list with one name crossed off 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Silvio Goričan signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Damir Tadic is on it.
Everything agreed with Hajduk Split, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Vinko Rozić and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
5 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Istra 1961 are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Vinko Rozić signs something — a contract at Istra 1961 or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
The offer from Lucko for Ivan Šaranić 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 Istra 1961 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 Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Istra 1961 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.
Boardroom11 Jan 2027
Nobody left the Istra 1961 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 dugout11 Jan 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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Tomislav Petkovic to a room that had heard them before.
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 Istra 1961 have had the benefit of it.
Advan Kadušić 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: HNK Rijeka will make the call about Raul Kumar this week. Istra 1961 have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Dinamo Zagreb 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.
A loan enquiry to Lokomotiva Zagreb: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ivan Šaranić, and the manager let it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dominik Celija 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.
In brief
BoardroomOpen for business: Istra 1961 enter the window
Vinko Rozić 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 Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Istra 1961 would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ivan Šaranić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 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 Dominik Celija was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Istra 1961 are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“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 Istra 1961, and it is not being withdrawn.
Vinko Rozić 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 footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Solomon Obed has, at Istra 1961, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Something was said to Robbe Quirynen and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rene Hrvatin trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Position 3, 32 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.
Vinko Rozić 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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 Damir Tadic is on it.
Two hours a week with a tutor, which is the least glamorous thing at Istra 1961 and the one that decides whether a foreign signing is still here in two years.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
1 for Josip Radošević, marked 7.71, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Tomislav Petkovic after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer 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 Istra 1961 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.
HNK Rijeka next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
The first defeat in 4 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Slaven Belupo; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Slaven Belupo scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
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.
Vinko Rozić 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 Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“I did not go to Sibenik to sit and watch. I want to come back to Istra 1961 and fight for my place.” 10 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
The dugout9 Nov 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 Petkovic kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
There is exactly one of these per career and it does not usually go like this. 1 on the scoresheet, 8.33 beside the name, and a crowd that had never seen him before chanting it by the end.
Match31 Oct 2026
Vinko Rozić wins it after the whistle should have gone
91 minutes played. Vinko Rozić found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and HNK Gorica went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Position 2, 28 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.
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.
Isaac 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 board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 96th minute. NK Osijek will replay every second of the added time for a week.
NK Osijek made Istra 1961 work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Vinko Rozić was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.91. 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan 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.
12 goals and a season average of 7.28 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Isaac was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.19. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Jan Paus-Kunšt
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout19 Oct 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 Tomislav Petkovic to a room that had heard them before.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Vinko Rozić has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Istra 1961 know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutRobbe Quirynen asks for a word with the manager
The terracesThe Vinko Rozić rumours reach the terraces
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.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
A brace, and Vinko Rozić takes the afternoon — 9.02
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vinko Rozić provided it, and the 9.02 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Vinko Rozić 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 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.
6 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.
The dugout12 Oct 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 Petkovic, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Vinko Rozić 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.
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.
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.
The first defeat in 8 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Hajduk Split; the supporters will say both, in that order, all 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
7.99, 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
A point taken on 94 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Niko Šepić
7Edition
The Istra 1961 Post
14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondentUpbeat
Match12 Sep 2026
Silvio Goričan wins it after the whistle should have gone
91 minutes played. Silvio Goričan found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Slaven Belupo went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Istra 1961 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Silvio Goričan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 2‑1 win over Slaven Belupo, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Istra 1961 will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Silvio Goričan was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.02. 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 deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 15 arrived, 4 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
$26.0K was the most the club would pay and Hajduk Split 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.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Istra 1961 did not have in the autumn.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Istra 1961 training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Silvio Goričan 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.
A 2‑1 win over Lokomotiva Zagreb, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
Marked 8.08 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
Player ratingsVinko Rozić was on a different afternoon to everybody else
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Franko Kolić was one of the reasons people came, and $2.0M does not replace that by itself.
Istra 1961 offered $670.0K; HNK Rijeka 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.
The offer went to Lokomotiva Zagreb this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Istra 1961 asked and Gornik Zabrze said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
NK Osijek will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Istra 1961 were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The offer from HNK Rijeka for Franko Kolić 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.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Antonio Maurić was one of the reasons people came, and $1.9M does not replace that by itself.
The offer went to HNK Rijeka this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Istra 1961 this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer went to Hajduk Split this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
In brief
Transfer targetsNo deal for Noel Bodetić at that price
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Istra 1961 people have started saying his name in the past tense.
$250.0K on the table at HNK Rijeka. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Vinko Rozić 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 Nasraoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Istra 1961 asked and Dinamo 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.
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.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Istra 1961 will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 90th minute. HNK Vukovar 1991 will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. HNK Rijeka have kept their man, and Istra 1961 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Darijo Knezevic 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. Hrvoje Perisic 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.
Vinko Rozić 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 Mohamed Nasraoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Legia have kept their man, and Istra 1961 go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vinko Rozić. 1‑0 against Dinamo Zagreb, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
24 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
In brief
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Vinko Rozić