From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Nov 2029
2‑7 to Radnicki 1923, 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.
Market5 Nov 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nikola Vasiljević will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Javor-Matis the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad5 Nov 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Javor-Matis have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad5 Nov 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marios Ilia and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years.
Squad5 Nov 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 4 saves does not settle it either way.
Player ratings5 Nov 2029
Marked 8.09 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Boardroom5 Nov 2029
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.
Market5 Nov 2029
He is 20, and nobody at Javor-Matis signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 Oct 2029
Mladost Lucani will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑2, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Javor-Matis were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Market29 Oct 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Javor-Matis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 Oct 2029
97 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad29 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.91, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.99, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad29 Oct 2029
“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.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Oct 2029
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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Oct 2029
“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.
Match20 Oct 2029
TSC left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad22 Oct 2029
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
5.12 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Market22 Oct 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Javor-Matis know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match15 Oct 2029
Every point is an argument now for Javor-Matis
Position 16 and 7 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.
Match13 Oct 2029
No end in sight to Javor-Matis's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Javor-Matis has to find a result from somewhere.
Market15 Oct 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market15 Oct 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Javor-Matis they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Dušan Pantelić 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.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
A performance of 9.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.37, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad15 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bayéré Junior Loué, and the manager let it.
Match13 Oct 2029
A 2‑2 draw with Novi Pazar leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Oct 2029
8 matches without a win for Javor-Matis
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Javor-Matis are no longer polite ones.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market8 Oct 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Javor-Matis they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Market8 Oct 2029
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Oddgeir Ingi Friðbjörnsson is a Javor-Matis player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad8 Oct 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jesús Molina and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match6 Oct 2029
Spartak Subotica left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 Oct 2029
The manager makes an example of Milan Ilić
“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.
Player ratings8 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Sep 2029
7 matches without a win for Javor-Matis
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Javor-Matis are no longer polite ones.
Market1 Oct 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market1 Oct 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Javor-Matis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Oct 2029
126 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad1 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Sep 2029
1‑3 to OFK Beograd, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings1 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.70 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad1 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad1 Oct 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Sep 2029
0‑3 to Radnicki Nis, 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.
Match22 Sep 2029
No end in sight to Javor-Matis's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Javor-Matis has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Benjamin Kololli, and the manager let it.
Boardroom24 Sep 2029
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Market24 Sep 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Javor-Matis know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Shots: 4, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad24 Sep 2029
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Javor-Matis would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Sep 2029
Every point is an argument now for Javor-Matis
Position 14 and 6 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.
Match15 Sep 2029
5 matches without a win for Javor-Matis
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Javor-Matis are no longer polite ones.
Market17 Sep 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bogdan Matijašević will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Javor-Matis the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 Sep 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
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.
Match15 Sep 2029
Dušan Pantelić scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑4 to Vojvodina, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Marked 8.82 — 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
“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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Sep 2029
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.
Market10 Sep 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Javor-Matis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match8 Sep 2029
No end in sight to Javor-Matis's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Javor-Matis has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad10 Sep 2029
“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.
Player ratings10 Sep 2029
Marked 8.64 — 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.
Player ratings10 Sep 2029
Marked 8.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad10 Sep 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hugo Gonzalez and Javor-Matis agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Match8 Sep 2029
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Sep 2029
The offer from Zeleznicar Pancevo for Bogdan Matijašević 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.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Benjamin Acquah 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.
Market3 Sep 2029
The name of Nikola Vasiljević has come up in conversations Javor-Matis were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marko Bjeković, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Marked 8.71 — 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.
Match1 Sep 2029
A 1‑1 draw with Napredak leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Benjamin Kololli trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The terraces3 Sep 2029
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match22 Aug 2029
0‑3 against Vojvodina, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The terraces27 Aug 2029
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings27 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.85 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market27 Aug 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Javor-Matis will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad27 Aug 2029
“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.
Boardroom27 Aug 2029
Nobody left the Javor-Matis 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.
Match25 Aug 2029
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Aug 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Aug 2029
It finished 3‑1, and it was Aleksa Radonjić’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Javor-Matis.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
A performance of 8.98 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Marked 8.79 — 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“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.
Market20 Aug 2029
The phone has started ringing about Alexandr Urban again, and this time the name on the line is OFK Beograd. Javor-Matis are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market20 Aug 2029
A conversation is coming this week. Javor-Matis will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Player ratings20 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 Aug 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Javor-Matis may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings13 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match11 Aug 2029
4 matches without a win for Javor-Matis
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Javor-Matis are no longer polite ones.
Squad13 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match11 Aug 2029
Zeleznicar Pancevo left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Aug 2029
The manager makes an example of Petróleo
“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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match4 Aug 2029
0‑4 to Partizan, 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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Petróleo signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Petróleo and Javor-Matis agree another 1 years.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“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.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom6 Aug 2029
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 terraces6 Aug 2029
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings6 Aug 2029
A mark of 4.46 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 4 saves does not settle it either way.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Jul 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Match28 Jul 2029
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dušan Pantelić, and the manager let it.
Market30 Jul 2029
Radnicki 1923 are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Javor-Matis will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
A performance of 8.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad30 Jul 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings30 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Jul 2029
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market30 Jul 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Javor-Matis know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Jul 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market23 Jul 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bogdan Matijašević will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Javor-Matis the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Dušan Pantelić 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.
Market23 Jul 2029
As if he never left: Petar Tadic returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Petar Tadic is a Javor-Matis player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market23 Jul 2029
As if he never left: Ivan Petrovic returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Ivan Petrovic is a Javor-Matis player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Player ratings23 Jul 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad23 Jul 2029
“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.
Match21 Jul 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad23 Jul 2029
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Jul 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Market16 Jul 2029
Radnicki Nis are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Javor-Matis will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Jul 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market9 Jul 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Javor-Matis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dušan Pantelić commits to Javor-Matis for another 2 years.
Squad9 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Dušan Ristić gets it from the manager
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Jul 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Javor-Matis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
The scrutiny sharpens at Javor-Matis
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Javor-Matis is running low.
Market2 Jul 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Market2 Jul 2029
The bid was some way short and Javor-Matis did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Dušan Pantelić and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Jul 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market25 Jun 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market25 Jun 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bogdan Matijašević will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Javor-Matis the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad25 Jun 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jun 2029
43 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market25 Jun 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Boubacari Doucouré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market25 Jun 2029
1 months left and the two sides are nowhere near each other. Every week this drags on takes money off what Javor-Matis could get for him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jun 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Market18 Jun 2029
A conversation is coming this week. Javor-Matis will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad18 Jun 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jallal-Dine Yansané and Javor-Matis agree another 3 years.
Market18 Jun 2029
Javor-Matis have made Marko Bjeković available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market18 Jun 2029
Petróleo 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jun 2029
$1.5M from Vojvodina for Nemanja Žunić. Money is money, but the dressing room has lost the man it looked to.
Market11 Jun 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Benjamin Acquah 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.
Market11 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Marios Ilia called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Javor-Matis that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Jun 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
Pressure builds in the Javor-Matis boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market4 Jun 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Javor-Matis is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
Marko Bjeković is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Javor-Matis has been clear about where Marko Bjeković stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 May 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad28 May 2029
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 May 2029
The medical room confirms 71 days on the sidelines for Dušan Ristić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market28 May 2029
Angel Cubas is 19, and Javor-Matis have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad28 May 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Angel Cubas and Javor-Matis agree another 3 years.
Squad28 May 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 May 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad21 May 2029
Stefan Milošević 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.
Market21 May 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Boubacari Doucouré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market21 May 2029
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Veis Yıldız may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Squad21 May 2029
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Boardroom21 May 2029
12 graduates from an academy now rated 7 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 May 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 May 2029
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 May 2029
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Javor-Matis has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 May 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Javor-Matis
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market7 May 2029
Only the photograph left for Dušan Ristić
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dušan Ristić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Javor-Matis the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad7 May 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Stefan Milošević and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 May 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 May 2029
Javor-Matis will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Apr 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad30 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Apr 2029
The medical room confirms 100 days on the sidelines for Dušan Ristić, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Apr 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad23 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market23 Apr 2029
At 35, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
Market23 Apr 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Boubacari Doucouré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad23 Apr 2029
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Javor-Matis would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Lazar Mićić has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Lazar Mićić keeps the shirt for now, at Javor-Matis's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Apr 2029
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Javor-Matis has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Stefan Vidaković has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Apr 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Market9 Apr 2029
Dušan Ristić has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Javor-Matis they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marios Ilia and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Benjamin Acquah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“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.
Market9 Apr 2029
David Jablonský is 38 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Apr 2029
Dušan Ristić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marios Ilia and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad2 Apr 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Mar 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hedgardo Marín, and the manager let it.
Market26 Mar 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Boubacari Doucouré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Marios Ilia called up by his country
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Javor-Matis that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Javor-Matis that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Mar 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Hedgardo Marín asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Mar 2029
Bisnat Mbala hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Benjamin Acquah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Hedgardo Marín knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Mar 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Lazar Mićić commits to Javor-Matis for another 4 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Feb 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Home is on Italo's mind
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Javor-Matis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad26 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Ensar Brunčević
“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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Mateja Zuvić asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market26 Feb 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Boubacari Doucouré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Feb 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Feb 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Feb 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Defensive actions: 28, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad12 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
A performance of 9.58 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match10 Feb 2029
It finished 2‑0, and it was Nemanja Žunić’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Javor-Matis.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Hedgardo Marín
“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.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Marked 8.71 — 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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
The team sheet said everything about Mateja Zuvić
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 Mateja Zuvić.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Feb 2029
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against TSC, and it could have been more.
Market5 Feb 2029
Dušan Ristić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 Feb 2029
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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Javor-Matis may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
A performance of 8.98 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.63, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
A performance of 8.47 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Jan 2029
Javor-Matis are in real trouble now
Position 14, 26 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Market29 Jan 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Stefan Milošević 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.
Player ratings29 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match27 Jan 2029
Novi Pazar left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 Jan 2029
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Hedgardo Marín will call it something else in private.
Squad29 Jan 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefan Vidaković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market29 Jan 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Boubacari Doucouré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 Jan 2029
Lucas From hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Benjamin Acquah commits to Javor-Matis for another 4 years.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.48 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Marko Bjeković asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
The one thing Mateja Zuvić could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Jan 2029
1‑4 against OFK Beograd, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market15 Jan 2029
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match13 Jan 2029
No end in sight to Javor-Matis's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Javor-Matis has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“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.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom15 Jan 2029
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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Javor-Matis, and it is a cruel one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Jan 2029
The offer from Cukaricki for Nemanja Žunić 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.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market8 Jan 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match6 Jan 2029
5 matches without a win for Javor-Matis
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Javor-Matis are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 25 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad8 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market8 Jan 2029
Dimitrije Stevanović has left for Partizan in a $720.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Lucas From gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
7 goals and a season average of 7.36. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Jan 2029
Every point is an argument now for Javor-Matis
Position 14 and 22 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.
Market1 Jan 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad1 Jan 2029
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.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match30 Dec 2028
4 matches without a win for Javor-Matis
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Javor-Matis are no longer polite ones.
Squad1 Jan 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match30 Dec 2028
Vojvodina left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Mateja Zuvić gets it from the manager
“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.
Squad1 Jan 2029
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Bayéré Junior Loué will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Dec 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Match23 Dec 2028
Cukaricki left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad25 Dec 2028
“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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Italo wants to go home
“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 Javor-Matis know it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Dec 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Stefan Milošević 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.
Match16 Dec 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“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.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Dec 2028
Dušan Ristić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Dec 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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 Dec 2028
“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.
Match9 Dec 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad11 Dec 2028
7 goals and a season average of 7.37. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings11 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market4 Dec 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Dec 2028
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.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dušan Pantelić and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match2 Dec 2028
IMT made Javor-Matis work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“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.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.67, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Nov 2028
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Dimitrije Stevanović: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Match22 Nov 2028
Crvena Zvezda go through and Javor-Matis go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
A defender's afternoon for Nemanja Žunić
Defensive actions: 34. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market27 Nov 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad27 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas From, and the manager let it.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
The kick that got away from Marios Ilia
Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
A mark of 7.78, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market20 Nov 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad20 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 Nov 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.48, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match18 Nov 2028
A 2‑1 win over Partizan, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings20 Nov 2028
A performance of 8.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad20 Nov 2028
6 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad20 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dušan Ristić, and the manager let it.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Mateja Zuvić finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Javor-Matis have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Market20 Nov 2028
Javor-Matis have let the market know Dimitrije Stevanović can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Nov 2028
Every point is an argument now for Javor-Matis
Position 14 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.
Market13 Nov 2028
Dušan Ristić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Match11 Nov 2028
Crvena Zvezda left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Nov 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Milošević, and the manager let it.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
A performance of 8.59 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Nov 2028
5 goals and a season average of 7.24. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Nov 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad6 Nov 2028
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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Marko Bjeković in trouble away from the ground
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Stefan Milošević was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Nov 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bayéré Junior Loué and Javor-Matis agree another 4 years.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
A performance of 9.27 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
Marked 8.85 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
Marked 8.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Oct 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad30 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Vidaković, and the manager let it.
Match28 Oct 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Marios Ilia. 1‑0 against Mladost Lucani, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
A defender's afternoon for Nemanja Žunić
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad30 Oct 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bayéré Junior Loué trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Oct 2028
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.
Market23 Oct 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad23 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Home is on Italo's mind
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Javor-Matis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 18 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match16 Oct 2028
Every point is an argument now for Javor-Matis
Position 16 and 8 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.
Match14 Oct 2028
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.
Market16 Oct 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad16 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Oct 2028
“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.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 8.61 — 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.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.62, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
One of those days for Lucas From
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.31, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Oct 2028
7 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.
Market9 Oct 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Aleksa Čolović: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Javor-Matis have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stefan Milošević and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years.
Squad9 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match7 Oct 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Marko Bjeković knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market9 Oct 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Boubacari Doucouré’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Oct 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match30 Sep 2028
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.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 28 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Stefan Milošević commits to Javor-Matis for another 2 years.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad2 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Ensar Brunčević
“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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Sep 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Veis Yıldız: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Javor-Matis have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match23 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Javor-Matis's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Javor-Matis has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Stefan Milošević was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“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.
Match23 Sep 2028
Radnicki Nis left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The terraces25 Sep 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Sep 2028
6 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market18 Sep 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match16 Sep 2028
No end in sight to Javor-Matis's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Javor-Matis has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Match16 Sep 2028
Vojvodina left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas From, and the manager let it.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Kayode Saliman knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kayode Saliman trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Sep 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market11 Sep 2028
The deal that would have taken Dimitrije Stevanović to TSC has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Javor-Matis with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Marked 8.81 — 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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“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.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Nobody could get near Lucas From
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match9 Sep 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Cukaricki leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market11 Sep 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Javor-Matis know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market4 Sep 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Market4 Sep 2028
Add another name to the list: TSC have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Dimitrije Stevanović. The answer from Javor-Matis has not changed — yet.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Stefan Milošević 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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“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.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
2.88 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Marked 7.72 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Javor-Matis had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 15 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match2 Sep 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Napredak will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match23 Aug 2028
A 1‑0 win over Vojvodina, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market28 Aug 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad28 Aug 2028
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.
Market28 Aug 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Javor-Matis they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“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.
Match26 Aug 2028
0‑1 to Radnik Surdulica, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.25 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Italo: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Javor-Matis have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market21 Aug 2028
Kotaro Honda hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Milošević, and the manager let it.
Match19 Aug 2028
A bad afternoon for Javor-Matis against IMT
0‑1 to IMT, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market14 Aug 2028
Everyone has stopped pretending: TSC will make the call about Dimitrije Stevanović this week. Javor-Matis have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“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 Javor-Matis know it.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Marked 7.90 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Javor-Matis had the best player on the pitch.
Squad14 Aug 2028
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Defensive actions: 13. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market7 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
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.
Match5 Aug 2028
1‑2 to Partizan, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“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.
Player ratings7 Aug 2028
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Veis Yıldız and Javor-Matis agree another 4 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
The captaincy has been taken off Boubacari Doucouré. Javor-Matis will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Market7 Aug 2028
Javor-Matis have made Alexandr Urban available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jul 2028
The offer from TSC for Dimitrije Stevanović 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.
Market31 Jul 2028
Dušan Ristić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Marked 9.97 — 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.
Player ratings31 Jul 2028
Marked 9.02 — 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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikola Vasiljević, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad31 Jul 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Jul 2028
Kotaro Honda hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Match22 Jul 2028
5 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.
Market24 Jul 2028
The name of Dimitrije Stevanović has come up in conversations Javor-Matis were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Benjamin Acquah 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.
Market24 Jul 2028
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Miroslav Radonjic is a Javor-Matis player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market24 Jul 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“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.
Match22 Jul 2028
Radnicki 1923 left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Jul 2028
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market17 Jul 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Javor-Matis know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Jul 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Lucas From gets it from the manager
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Jul 2028
Nemanja Žunić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Market3 Jul 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Javor-Matis they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad3 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jun 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market26 Jun 2028
The name of Dimitrije Stevanović has come up in conversations Javor-Matis were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad26 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Jun 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hugo Gonzalez commits to Javor-Matis for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jun 2028
The offer from Partizan for Dimitrije Stevanović 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.
Market12 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Stefan Milošević was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Javor-Matis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A window away with the national side, and a shirt at Javor-Matis that briefly doubles as an advertisement. A call-up flatters the player and the club that built him in the same breath.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jun 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Market5 Jun 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Javor-Matis will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikola Vasiljević, and the manager let it.
Market5 Jun 2028
Italo is 20, and Javor-Matis have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Squad5 Jun 2028
A new face in his position, and Dušan Pantelić suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Javor-Matis have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 May 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexandr Urban, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 May 2028
Dušan Ristić hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 May 2028
Lucas From gets it from the manager
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad15 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 May 2028
Marko Bjeković knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market8 May 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Dušan Pantelić commits to Javor-Matis for another 2 years.
Squad8 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 May 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market1 May 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 May 2028
Benjamin Acquah 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Apr 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Lucas From
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Apr 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Abdoulaye Konaté and Javor-Matis agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Apr 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad10 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Apr 2028
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Javor-Matis are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Market10 Apr 2028
He is 19, and nobody at Javor-Matis signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Lucas From knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lucas From trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Apr 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Lucas From knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Stefan Milošević keeps the shirt for now, at Javor-Matis's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Mar 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Marko Bjeković knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market20 Mar 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Benjamin Acquah was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Marko Bjeković asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Mar 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kayode Saliman, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Mar 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Stefan Milošević and Javor-Matis agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad6 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Feb 2028
The small margins put Javor-Matis out
Out, 0‑2 to Radnicki Nis, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Market28 Feb 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
The terraces28 Feb 2028
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Match23 Feb 2028
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.
Squad28 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefan Milošević, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Lazar Mićić is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.38 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad28 Feb 2028
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Feb 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Lucas From asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Feb 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Boubacari Doucouré was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“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.
Squad14 Feb 2028
The team sheet said everything about Lucas From
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 Lucas From.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.62 on the card, and the Javor-Matis support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 Feb 2028
Kotaro Honda hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Stefan Milošević 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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match5 Feb 2028
TSC left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Alexandr Urban
“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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“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 Javor-Matis know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market31 Jan 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
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.
Match29 Jan 2028
0‑2 to Novi Pazar, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hugo Travassos and Javor-Matis agree another 3 years.
Squad31 Jan 2028
5 goals and a season average of 7.39. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad31 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Milan Ilić
“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.
Market31 Jan 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Javor-Matis know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
A defender's afternoon for Nemanja Đokić
Defensive actions: 33. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Defensive actions: 30, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market24 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Kayode Saliman: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Javor-Matis have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match22 Jan 2028
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Javor-Matis have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad24 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
“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 Javor-Matis know it.
Match22 Jan 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Bayéré Junior Loué. 2‑0 against Spartak Subotica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Marked 8.57 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Jan 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Stefan Vilotić: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Javor-Matis have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market17 Jan 2028
Add another name to the list: Partizan have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Dimitrije Stevanović. The answer from Javor-Matis has not changed — yet.
Match15 Jan 2028
Still nobody has beaten Javor-Matis
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad17 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match15 Jan 2028
OFK Beograd made Javor-Matis work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad17 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Lucas From
“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.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Marked 8.20 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jan 2028
Thiago Santi hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Javor-Matis can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Jan 2028
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.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 Jan 2028
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Javor-Matis did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.24, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“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.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
A performance of 8.59 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Jan 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market3 Jan 2028
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market3 Jan 2028
The offer from TSC for Dimitrije Stevanović 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.
Match1 Jan 2028
No end in sight to Javor-Matis's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Javor-Matis has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad3 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Jan 2028
Marked 9.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Lazar Mićić is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.33 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match1 Jan 2028
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Dec 2027
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Dec 2027
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.
Match25 Dec 2027
5 matches without a win for Javor-Matis
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Javor-Matis are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“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.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Marked 8.64 — 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.
Squad27 Dec 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Javor-Matis pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match25 Dec 2027
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market20 Dec 2027
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match18 Dec 2027
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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Javor-Matis this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikola Vasiljević, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Marko Bjeković knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Javor-Matis, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 2027
“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 Javor-Matis, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 2027
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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Marko Bjeković and Javor-Matis agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Boubacari Doucouré 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.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
A performance of 8.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad13 Dec 2027
“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.
Match11 Dec 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The terraces13 Dec 2027
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.