From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 37. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 7.76 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Púchov
Victor Udoh 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Púchov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Filip Lesniak is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Samuel Bossiwa 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
A 1‑0 win over Baník Lehota pod Vtáčnikom, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomáš Vantruba, and the manager let it.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 106% of the Púchov income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
A promise honoured at Púchov
Something was said to Victor Udoh and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match24 Oct 2026
MSK Zilina B left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Viktor Rusnak left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A touch he did not mean and a goal that goes in the book with his name against it. Púchov will not blame him tonight and he will not need them to.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market26 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Samuel Gladiš signs something — a contract at Púchov or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Oct 2026
Púchov throw away a 2-goal lead
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Dukla Banská Bystrica the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Púchov will enjoy reviewing.
Match17 Oct 2026
7 unbeaten for Púchov
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Púchov did not have in the autumn.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Alex Húdok is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Oskar Jelínek
“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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Púchov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristo Hussar 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.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
The cruellest goal, and it is Oskar Jelínek's
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Púchov will not try tonight.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Púchov may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Róbert Mazáň in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Púchov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Púchov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Filip Lesniak is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adrián Knurovský, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Oct 2026
24 new faces, and Púchov are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
A promise honoured at Púchov
Something was said to František Kóša and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Oct 2026
Púchov are in among the leaders
Position 3 and 14 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
No sign of nerves from František Kóša at 20 — 8.00
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. František Kóša did not need any: 8.00, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match3 Oct 2026
Whatever happens, Púchov do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Ivan Rehák
“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.
Match3 Oct 2026
A point taken on 90 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 118% of everything Púchov earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match3 Oct 2026
It needed František Kóša to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Zlate Moravce, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
He is 20 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match26 Sep 2026
Three points for Púchov, 1‑0 the final word against Stará Ľubovňa in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Púchov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristo Hussar 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Nobody on the pitch touched Victor Udoh
7.55, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Púchov had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Victor Udoh has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Púchov will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Viktor Rusnak on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Samuel Bednár
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Victor Udoh, 21, steals the show — 7.75
Marked 7.75 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Up for the corner, and Nicolas Martinek delivers — 7.63
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Nicolas Martinek scored, was marked 7.63, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad21 Sep 2026
24 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Alex Húdok is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Púchov
Victor Udoh and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Púchov
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Filip Lesniak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match19 Sep 2026
Three points for Púchov, 2‑1 the final word against Šamorín in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
Púchov supporters have found a favourite in Victor Udoh
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Victor Udoh 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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Sep 2026
Púchov say no — this time
The offer from Metalurh Zaporizhzhia for Oskar Jelínek was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market14 Sep 2026
“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.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Púchov
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Púchov are no longer polite ones.
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a goal for Púchov
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Púchov
Victor Udoh 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Púchov
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Filip Lesniak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Oskar Jelínek
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Púchov know which stage they are at.
In brief
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Squad
24 new faces, and Púchov are still learning each other
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Match
No goals between Púchov and Slávia TU Košice
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 36 in, 11 out at Púchov
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 36 arrived, 11 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Samuel Bossiwa commits to Púchov for another 4 years.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Púchov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kristo Hussar 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
František Kóša is the division's best young player this month
At 20 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Púchov will try very hard not to make too much of it.
Market7 Sep 2026
He is 20, and nobody at Púchov signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Market7 Sep 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Alex Húdok gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Aug 2026
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Zdeněk Říha commits to Púchov for another 3 years.
Match29 Aug 2026
3 matches without a goal for Púchov
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Púchov
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Filip Lesniak was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
The afternoon belonged to Róbert Mazáň
A mark of 7.41, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Viktor Rusnak was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Púchov dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 40. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kristian Mazuch
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Púchov lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match19 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Púchov
0‑2 against MFK Skalica, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad24 Aug 2026
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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 54 days on the sidelines for Tomáš Vantruba, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Púchov had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Ústí nad Labem, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
Miloš Kapur gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Partizani Tirana: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
5 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Match15 Aug 2026
9‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Kristian Mazuch
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Púchov lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
František Kóša, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 9.82
A mark of 9.82 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad17 Aug 2026
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Age has not caught Jozef Dolný yet — 8.24
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.24 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Róbert Mazáň in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Púchov this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Aug 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Púchov and Slovan Bratislava U21, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. MSK Zilina have kept their man, and Púchov go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Aug 2026
Kristian Mazuch damages knee ligaments — 35 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
A hiding for Púchov
Beaten 0‑3 by Petržalka, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Filip Lesniak gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Filip Lesniak has just signed for Púchov, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The deal with AS Trencin 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Filip Lesniak commits to Púchov for another 2 years.
Market10 Aug 2026
The shirt still fits. Ľuboslav Levai is back at Púchov, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Púchov
Róbert Mazáň 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.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Púchov asked and MFK Ruzomberok said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Miroslav Kucka 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Oskar Jelínek commits to Púchov for another 4 years.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Púchov
Nicolas Martinek and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces3 Aug 2026
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Púchov training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Štěpán Marcaník 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
No place for Tomáš Vantruba in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Púchov are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
AS Trencin have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
In brief
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Transfer targets
A loan move for František Kóša is in the works
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Player ratings
Štěpán Marcaník stands above it all
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict