Kevin Kauber and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Kuressaare can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zakaria Beglarishvili is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Paide left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout17 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Artur Teniste to a room that had heard them before.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Daniil Rudenko is on it.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Sander Ristna will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Kuressaare the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Kevin Kauber and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Lukka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Position 8, 5 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
“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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Artur Teniste after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It will be explained as a change for the team and it may even be one. Nobody who has worn one believes that, and neither does the man who has just had it taken away.
Nobody at Kuressaare will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 25 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gregor Rõivassepp provided it, and the 8.75 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Tammeka were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Karl-Romet Nõmm was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zakaria Beglarishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Gregor Rõivassepp has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Artur Teniste on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 33 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Karl-Romet Nõmm 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 Apr 2027
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Lukka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kuressaare is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Kuressaare can tell you which week it ends in.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Out, 0‑2 to Harju JK Laagri, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sander Ristna is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kuressaare can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Artur Teniste left the room before anybody could ask which.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Kevin Kauber and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Marco Lukka falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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; Kuressaare are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Karl-Romet Nõmm is on it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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; Kuressaare are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Kevin Kauber was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kuressaare they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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; Kuressaare are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zakaria Beglarishvili is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Kuressaare will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Artur Teniste was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Kuressaare dressing room was either.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kuressaare have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
3 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Lukka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Ken Marin is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sander Kallaste is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Karl-Romet Nõmm and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“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 Kuressaare know it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zakaria Beglarishvili is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 91 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Karl-Romet Nõmm 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Antoni Kociniewski has just signed for Kuressaare, and for once the answer mattered.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kuressaare they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Lukka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
8 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and FC Tallinn waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kuressaare is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Guilherme Miranda is living that version at Kuressaare, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Zakaria Beglarishvili is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Kuressaare were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
He is 20, and nobody at Kuressaare signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
He is 20, and nobody at Kuressaare signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Nobody at Kuressaare will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 114 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kuressaare, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Kuressaare close the window on a squad of their own making
4 in and 0 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Kevin Kauber and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Zakaria Beglarishvili was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Flora have kept their man, and Kuressaare go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Kuressaare know which stage they are at.
Nobody at Kuressaare will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 123 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The fee is $110.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Tammeka drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Karl-Romet Nõmm 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.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Vladislav Kreida from Flora for $710.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Lukka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Kuressaare were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have shaken hands with Flora; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The deal with Tammeka is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Flora is saying, and nobody at Kuressaare is enjoying the guessing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Nõmme United have kept their man, and Kuressaare go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Marco Lukka falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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 Kuressaare know it.
Nobody at Kuressaare will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutMarco Lukka asks for a word with the manager
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kuressaare, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and FC Tallinn waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kuressaare is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Vaprus keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Mathias Palts is on it.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Karl-Romet Nõmm and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Sander Ristna is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Kuressaare can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Kevin Kauber was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
In brief
SquadWords at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Kevin Kauber and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Marco Lukka falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Karl-Romet Nõmm and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
In brief
SquadWords at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
The dugoutKarl-Romet Nõmm has become a man the manager trusts
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Karl-Romet Nõmm was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gregor Rõivassepp is on it.
In brief
The dugoutMarco Lukka asks for a word with the manager
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Tammeka will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. David Epton has pre-agreed a move to Kuressaare, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Kevin Kauber and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ítalo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mathias Palts is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Lukka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
21 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
At 17 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
In brief
SquadTiaguinho falls out with a teammate over standards
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Karl-Romet Nõmm and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Lukka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Marco Lukka
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Karl-Romet Nõmm was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Marco Lukka falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Tiaguinho and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Mattis Karis has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Kuressaare have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Lukka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Joonas Kait has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kuressaare lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 25 arrived, 9 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
The offer from FC Tallinn for Sander Ristna 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.
Karl-Romet Nõmm was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tiaguinho falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Kuressaare will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Kuressaare lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kuressaare will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Fadiga Badjie is 20, and Kuressaare 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.
A 2‑1 win over Harju JK Laagri, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Gregor Rõivassepp did not need any: 7.98, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Karl-Romet Nõmm and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Kuressaare were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Kuressaare know which stage they are at.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kuressaare will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Kevin Kauber is living that version at Kuressaare, and it tends to show in the first month.
This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $28.0K has been paid because Mattias Sapp is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kuressaare this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Lukka was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Karol Kait is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Markus Allast has, at Kuressaare, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Karl-Romet Nõmm and Kuressaare agree another 4 years.
The shirt still fits. Markus Allast is back at Kuressaare, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Mathias Palts is a Kuressaare player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Karl-Romet Nõmm 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.
Kuressaare have gone to Paide with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Kuressaare training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Lukka is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.