“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 The request is on a desk at OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at OFK Beograd, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
“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 The request is on a desk at OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from TSC for Vasilije Grbović was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Shots: 6. 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.
“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 The request is on a desk at OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
Miloš Pantović 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 name of Vasilije Grbović has come up in conversations OFK Beograd were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Radnicki Nis will make the call about Vasilije Grbović this week. OFK Beograd have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Fedir Zadorozhnyi may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Dragan Tegeltija is a OFK Beograd player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Marked 9.31 — 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.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and OFK Beograd have had the benefit of it.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Miloš Pantović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.43 — 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.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Miloš Pantović 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Marko Alčevski knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
“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.
The terraces10 Dec 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.” 7 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” OFK Beograd have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 10.00 — 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.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mass Sise trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” OFK Beograd have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 9.19 — 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.
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around OFK Beograd are no longer polite ones.
The terraces12 Nov 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.” 7 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Miloš Pantović 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.
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.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
It needed Janko Jevremović to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Spartak Subotica, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Lucas Alario will call it something else in private.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 8.84 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mass Sise. 3‑2 against Cukaricki, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.92 — 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.
Marked 8.51 — 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.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 9.35 — 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.
Marked 8.95 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The shirt still fits. Jeremi Iwanicki is back at OFK Beograd, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Marked 8.51 — 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.
Zeleznicar Pancevo will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑2, every duel lost, and a long ride home. OFK Beograd were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 9.20 — 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.
Shots: 12. 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.26 — 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.
Novi Pazar go through and OFK Beograd go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” OFK Beograd have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at OFK Beograd, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Miloš Pantović 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 easiest signature of my career.” Alexandre Richard and OFK Beograd agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 10.00 — 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.
The name of Vasilije Grbović has come up in conversations OFK Beograd were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Marked 8.30 — 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.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hervé Touré will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Stefan Tadic is a OFK Beograd player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
The shirt still fits. Nemanja Grujic is back at OFK Beograd, 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. Novak Tadic is a OFK Beograd player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Aleksej Vukičević. 2‑1 against Spartak Subotica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The offer from Radnicki Nis for Ethan Hoard was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at OFK Beograd, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marco Underwood and OFK Beograd agree another 4 years.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Uroš Stojanović has his answer from OFK Beograd; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ethan Hoard will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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 name of Vasilije Grbović has come up in conversations OFK Beograd were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
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.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Radnicki Nis will make the call about Ethan Hoard this week. OFK Beograd have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Janko Jevremović 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.
The deal that would have taken Nedeljko Stojišić to Radnicki 1923 has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to OFK Beograd with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at OFK Beograd that is a harder question to answer.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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 easiest signature of my career.” Joel Godoy Gill and OFK Beograd agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hervé Touré will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vasilije Grbović will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” OFK Beograd have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Blendi Idrizi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
BoardroomOFK Beograd sign a deal worth $256.2K a year
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vasilije Grbović will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” OFK Beograd have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Miloš Pantović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hervé Touré will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vasilije Grbović will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Miloš Pantović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ethan Hoard trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Miloš Pantović 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 deal that would have taken Ethan Hoard to Cukaricki has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to OFK Beograd with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at OFK Beograd, and 1 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
The name of Ethan Hoard has come up in conversations OFK Beograd were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hervé Touré will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 8.54 — 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.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Partizan paid $3.2M and OFK Beograd took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Javor-Matis will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. OFK Beograd were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The offer from Napredak for Vasilije Grbović was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every OFK Beograd game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at MSK Zilina runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hervé Touré will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. OFK Beograd will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Léo Agostinho will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at OFK Beograd pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
It needed Stefan Nikolić to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Zeleznicar Pancevo, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hervé Touré will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Marko Alčevski knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“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 OFK Beograd know it.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Milan Rodić will call it something else in private.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.10 — 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.
Marked 8.50 — 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.
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 Miloš Pantović.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.29 — 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.
Marked 8.83 — 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Milan Rodić will call it something else in private.
Position 2, 25 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Marko Alčevski knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.99 — 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.
Marked 8.54 — 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.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Vasilije Grbović will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.24 — 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.
“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 OFK Beograd know it.
“I watch every OFK Beograd game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at MSK Zilina runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Miloš Pantović 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 deal that would have taken Ethan Hoard to Cukaricki has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to OFK Beograd with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Marked 9.05 — 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Yehor Nazaryna. 2‑0 against Zeleznicar Pancevo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Léo Agostinho will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.09, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Radnicki 1923 go through and OFK Beograd go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
The offer from Ventspils for Vasilije Grbović 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.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 8.69 — 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.
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.
5 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 9.19 — 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nemanja Krsmanović. 2‑1 against Radnicki 1923, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.21 — 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.
“I watch every OFK Beograd game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at MSK Zilina runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Add another name to the list: Cukaricki have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ethan Hoard. The answer from OFK Beograd has not changed — yet.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Miloš Pantović 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.
A 4‑2 win over Mladost Lucani, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 9.00 — 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.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Léo Agostinho will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Marked 9.08 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Stefan Nikolić and OFK Beograd agree another 4 years.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Marked 8.54 — 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hervé Touré will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Vojvodina paid $1.1M and OFK Beograd took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
The shirt still fits. Novak Savic is back at OFK Beograd, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Fedir Zadorozhnyi. 2‑0 against Spartak Subotica, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Aleksa Cvetković and OFK Beograd agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Stefan Nikolić trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Miloš Gordić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Pogon have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sebastián Bucio. The answer from OFK Beograd has not changed — yet.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Walter Montoya will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at OFK Beograd has been clear about where Nemanja Krsmanović stands, which is more than many ever get.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Aleksa Cvetković trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Aleksej Vukičević signs something — a contract at OFK Beograd or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sebastián Bucio and OFK Beograd agree another 4 years.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Cukaricki will make the call about Hervé Touré this week. OFK Beograd have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at OFK Beograd has been clear about where Hervé Touré stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Walter Montoya will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at OFK Beograd has been clear about where Ethan Hoard stands, which is more than many ever get.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Miloš Gordić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Vasilije Grbović and OFK Beograd agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Walter Montoya will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Miloš Gordić will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
Miloš Pantović 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what OFK Beograd can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Walter Montoya will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around OFK Beograd the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Miloš Pantović 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around OFK Beograd 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 OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
In brief
SquadVoices raised on the OFK Beograd training ground
“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 OFK Beograd, and it is not being withdrawn.
Miloš Pantović 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at OFK Beograd this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 OFK Beograd know it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at OFK Beograd, and both men came out saying it was fine.