Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sint-Truiden will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they 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 The request is on a desk at Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Ryotaro Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Taiga Hata 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Heerenveen have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Sint-Truiden have gone to Charleroi 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.
Ryotaro Ito 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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Sint-Truiden and Club Brugge in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Ryotaro Ito 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 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. KV Kortrijk have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sint-Truiden will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they 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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sint-Truiden heard it as 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 Sint-Truiden 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 Taiga Hata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Sint-Truiden can tell you which week it ends in.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Shogo Taniguchi is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Ryotaro Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Sint-Truiden
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilias Sebaoui 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. Jason Alderweireld 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. Adnan De Ketelaere 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. Youri Castagne is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Youri Onana has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Work is signed off on a capacity of 8704. It is the sort of decision a club is judged on twenty years later, by people who were not there when it was taken.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ebbe De Vlaeminck and Sint-Truiden agree another 5 years.
Ryotaro Ito 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shogo Taniguchi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Michaël Heylen has written the date down.
Charleroi did not take him to make up a number: they want him playing. For Shion Shinkawa that is worth more than another season of watching from Sint-Truiden's bench, and everyone involved has said so out loud.
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Ryotaro Ito 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.
Sint-Truiden asked and KV Kortrijk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taiga Hata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Waasland-Beveren wanted more than $3.1M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrés Ferrari and Sint-Truiden 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 Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 17 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Alquimedes Peralta has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Sint-Truiden have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. OH Leuven have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
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 Joedrick Pupe is on it.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
Ryotaro Ito 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 24 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Taiga Hata 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.
Nobody at Sint-Truiden 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Sissako trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Oumar Diouf had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Ryotaro Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Oumar Diouf commits to Sint-Truiden for another 4 years.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Pablo Ospina has improved at 24, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Sint-Truiden. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sint-Truiden can pretend not to have heard.
Add another name to the list: Groningen have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Oumar Diouf. The answer from Sint-Truiden has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Isaías Delpupo and Sint-Truiden agree another 4 years.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Taiga Hata was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The loan was meant to give him football. 4 games and 0 goals later he is back at Sint-Truiden no further forward, and everybody involved will explain why it was not their doing.
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 Joedrick Pupe is on it.
Qualification is done, and next season the floodlights come on for something bigger. A stage for the players, oxygen for the accounts and a passport for everybody else.
Ryotaro Ito 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Zinho Vanheusden trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Nathanaël Mbuku is on it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sint-Truiden they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ryotaro Ito 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Sint-Truiden game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at KV Oostende runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sint-Truiden, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Taiga Hata signs something — a contract at Sint-Truiden or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Sint-Truiden. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Taiga Hata has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.42, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 May 2027
Taiga Hata 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.
Nobody at Sint-Truiden 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Sissako trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sint-Truiden know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Yannick Reuten has written the date down.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Position 3, 61 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.
Ryotaro Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
Ilias Sebaoui 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 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.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Mickaël Nanizayamo has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
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 Joedrick Pupe is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Abdoulaye Sissako trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Ryotaro Ito 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
10 goals in 33 games at Gijón — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sint-Truiden updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Michaël Heylen has written the date down.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sint-Truiden they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ryotaro Ito 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Taiga Hata 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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
8 goals in 32 games at Gijón — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sint-Truiden updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Yannick Reuten has written the date down.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Ilias Sebaoui’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.42, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Sint-Truiden 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shogo Taniguchi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mickaël Nanizayamo and Sint-Truiden agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I watch every Sint-Truiden game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Heracles runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Something was said to Lazaros Tsioliaridis and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Shogo Taniguchi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Ryotaro Ito 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.” Robert-Jan Vanwesemael and Sint-Truiden agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Taiga Hata 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lazaros Tsioliaridis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sint-Truiden the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ryotaro Ito 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sint-Truiden, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.42, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Ryotaro Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 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.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shogo Taniguchi and Sint-Truiden agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about 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 Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Taiga Hata 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 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sint-Truiden know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
6 goals in 26 games at Gijón — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sint-Truiden updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sint-Truiden can pretend not to have heard.
Ryotaro Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Sint-Truiden has been clear about where Visar Musliu stands, which is more than many ever get.
Nobody at Sint-Truiden will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sint-Truiden know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Shogo Taniguchi has written the date down.
5 goals in 25 games at Gijón — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sint-Truiden updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
In brief
The dugoutVisar Musliu knocks on the manager's door
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sint-Truiden is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ryotaro Ito 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Leo Kokubo has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Sint-Truiden.
The dugout22 Feb 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 0‑1 Nacer Mignolet left the room before anybody could ask which.
After 12 games, Sint-Truiden finally taste it again
The first defeat in 12 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Racing Genk; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Squad15 Feb 2027
At 21, Keisuke Goto is already the best thing here
An average of 7.42 in a first team he is several years too young for. Sint-Truiden have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Werder Bremen have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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 Shogo Taniguchi.
“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 Sint-Truiden, and 4 appearances in 27 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout15 Feb 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 0‑1 Nacer Mignolet left the room before anybody could ask which.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Keisuke Goto did not need any: 7.92, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Anderlecht have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Lois Kompany has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Toby Doku 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.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 11 matches without defeat is a foundation Sint-Truiden did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Keisuke Goto, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.02
A mark of 8.02 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The clubs have shaken hands with Racing Genk; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Sint-Truiden close the window on a squad of their own making
3 in and 4 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.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
The chase for Ebbe De Vlaeminck ended with $280.0K changing hands and KV Kortrijk out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Ryotaro Ito was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
“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 Sint-Truiden, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Keisuke Goto, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.55
A mark of 8.55 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Samed Baždar was one of the reasons people came, and $14.4M does not replace that by itself.
Ryotaro Ito and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Olympiacos have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Successful dribbles: 30. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The offer from Le Havre AC for Taiga Hata was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The offer went to Racing Genk this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
A season average of 7.38 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Sint-Truiden know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Ryotaro Ito and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Sint-Truiden asked and Sampdoria said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Sint-Truiden have made the call to Olympiacos. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Heracles waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sint-Truiden is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Position 2, 53 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.
A season average of 7.38 with 21 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Keisuke Goto, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.12
A mark of 8.12 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The phone has started ringing about Samed Baždar again, and this time the name on the line is Heidenheim. Sint-Truiden are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
9 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Keisuke Goto did not need any: 8.18, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
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. Sint-Truiden will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
The deal with Casa Pia 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.
Ryotaro Ito 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 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.
Shogo Taniguchi 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 unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
“I watch every Sint-Truiden game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at OH Leuven runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
8 on the bounce on the road for Sint-Truiden. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Keisuke Goto, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.11
A mark of 8.11 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Shogo Taniguchi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Keisuke Goto did not need any: 8.69, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
4 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 Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
A 2‑0 win over KAA Gent, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Sissako 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
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Samed Baždar at his very best
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Sint-Truiden scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
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.
Shogo Taniguchi 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sint-Truiden can pretend not to have heard.
Shogo Taniguchi 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A brace, and Ilias Sebaoui takes the afternoon — 8.19
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ilias Sebaoui provided it, and the 8.19 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Sint-Truiden and Club Brugge in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Match21 Nov 2026
After 6 games, Sint-Truiden finally taste it again
The first defeat in 6 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Club Brugge; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Two goals and a mark of 8.74 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
4 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Ilias Sebaoui 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 hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Keisuke Goto did not need any: 8.31, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
5 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.
7.79, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Shogo Taniguchi 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.66, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Keisuke Goto, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.67
A mark of 7.67 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
Shogo Taniguchi and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Two goals and a mark of 9.39 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.53, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Keisuke Goto, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.04
A mark of 8.04 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
At 21, Keisuke Goto is already the best thing here
An average of 7.13 in a first team he is several years too young for. Sint-Truiden have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Sint-Truiden and Lokeren, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 Sint-Truiden 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 Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ilias Sebaoui. 2‑0 against OH Leuven, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
18 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Shogo Taniguchi 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: Samed Baždar. 1‑0 against Zulte Waregem, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Sissako 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 ratings12 Oct 2026
Samed Baždar was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.15. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Niels Verburgh and Sint-Truiden agree another 3 years.
In brief
The dugoutLeo Kokubo dropped after a run of poor form
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Mouscron kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Sint-Truiden will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Shogo Taniguchi 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Keisuke Goto is the division's best young player this month
At 21 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. Sint-Truiden will try very hard not to make too much of it.
He is 21, he is averaging 7.05, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Marked 8.33 — 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 brace, and Ryotaro Ito takes the afternoon — 8.55
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ryotaro Ito provided it, and the 8.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Keisuke Goto did not need any: 8.49, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ryotaro Ito. 3‑2 against KV Oostende, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Sissako 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.
Shogo Taniguchi 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.
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Ilias Sebaoui 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Sint-Truiden are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Sint-Truiden asked and Standard Liege said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Sint-Truiden close the window on a squad of their own making
17 in and 2 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.
Shogo Taniguchi 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ilias Sebaoui 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 not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Sint-Truiden are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Arbnor Muja is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
A 1‑0 win over Charleroi, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A brace, and Samed Baždar takes the afternoon — 8.65
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Samed Baždar provided it, and the 8.65 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Shakhtar have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdoulaye Sissako 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 94. KAA Gent had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Two goals and a mark of 8.63 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Shion Shinkawa did not need any: 7.73, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sporting CP is saying, and nobody at Sint-Truiden 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 Sint-Truiden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Westerlo made Sint-Truiden work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Heracles have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Oumar Diouf had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The offer from OH Leuven for Alouis Diriken 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.
Sint-Truiden had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Haladas, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Ryotaro Ito 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: Keisuke Goto. 3‑2 against Waasland-Beveren, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilias Sebaoui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Ryotaro Ito at his very best
Player ratingsTaiga Hata was on a different afternoon to everybody else
2Edition
The Sint-Truiden Chronicle
10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondentCrisis
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A brace, and Keisuke Goto takes the afternoon — 8.33
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Keisuke Goto provided it, and the 8.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
$3.3M on the table at Club Brugge. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Youssef Challouk has, at Sint-Truiden, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
$1.0M was the most the club would pay and Zulte Waregem were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Sint-Truiden and Club Brugge, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The name of Oumar Diouf has come up in conversations Sint-Truiden were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
In brief
SquadWords at Sint-Truiden training over how hard people work
“The easiest signature of my career.” Shogo Taniguchi and Sint-Truiden agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Shogo Taniguchi 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Ilias Sebaoui 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Monza have kept their man, and Sint-Truiden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The name of Isaías Delpupo has come up in conversations Sint-Truiden were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 9 actions, 6.61, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.