28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sparta Prague lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sparta Prague 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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sparta Prague heard it as anything else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chancel Mbemba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sparta Prague lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Sparta Prague close the window on a squad of their own making
24 in and 17 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.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Sparta Prague hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Successful dribbles: 34. 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 have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sparta Prague can pretend not to have heard.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Sparta Prague did not have in the autumn.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Karabec 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 name of Daniel Kerl has come up in conversations Sparta Prague were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
17 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“I did not go to Viktoria Plzen to sit and watch. I want to come back to Sparta Prague and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Alexandr Sojka
Successful dribbles: 43. 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 board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 119th minute. Jihlava will replay every second of the added time for a week.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sparta Prague have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Filip Panák 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 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.
In brief
SquadWords at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Kano Pillars waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sparta Prague is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 15 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chancel Mbemba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
8.30. 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.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Matěj Ryneš was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.23. 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.
Filip Panák and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Adam Karabec 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 watch every Sparta Prague game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Viktoria Plzen runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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 Andy Irving is on it.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Sparta Prague hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chancel Mbemba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Afimico Pululu 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.
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.
Add another name to the list: Mlada Boleslav have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Jiri Brabec. The answer from Sparta Prague has not changed — yet.
Marked 8.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Andy Irving was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.03. 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.
Two goals and a mark of 8.80 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sparta Prague will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The offer from DC United for Matej Malenšek 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 is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jan Kuchta wants continental football; whether Sparta Prague can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Filip Panák was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The name of Josimar Alcócer has come up in conversations Sparta Prague were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sparta Prague have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Garang Kuol had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Sparta Prague will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have shaken hands with Slovacko; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sparta Prague 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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 15 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
In brief
SquadWords at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sparta Prague will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Position 3, 64 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.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sparta Prague heard it as anything else.
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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chancel Mbemba 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Tomas Sima 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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Alexandr Sojka
The dugoutAdam Karabec knocks on the manager’s door
The dugoutKi-Jana Hoever has become a man the manager trusts
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sparta Prague will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
He is 18, he is averaging 6.56, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Filip Panák 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 15 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
24 appearances and 1 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
The chase for Alexandr Bužek ended with $2.4M changing hands and Slovan Liberec out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Afimico Pululu wants continental football; whether Sparta Prague can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Filip Panák 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.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chancel Mbemba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Andy Irving is on it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Ondřej Pavlík
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sparta Prague have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Viktoria Plzen pay $5.6M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
The fee is $2.6M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Zbrojovka Brno drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Sparta Prague have gone to Slovan Liberec 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Martin Gjorgievski is living that version at Sparta Prague, and it tends to show in the first month.
Sparta Prague asked and Mlada Boleslav said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
Bari did not want to sell and the number is why they did. $8.9M for Michele Cerofolini, and the expectation that arrives with him is the kind no amount of settling-in period softens.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sparta Prague have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sparta Prague can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Sparta Prague have done the hard part with Viktoria Plzen, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zbrojovka Brno have kept their man, and Sparta Prague go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The offer from Viktoria Plzen for John Mercado 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.
Sparta Prague have gone to Bari 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.
Sparta Prague have gone to Zbrojovka Brno 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.
Sparta Prague have gone to Al-Riyadh 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.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Filip Panák 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 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Qualification is secured, and next season the big floodlit nights are continental ones. For the players it is a stage; for the accounts it is a lifeline; for the supporters it is passports.
Not a month, not a run of form — a whole season of being the best 20-year-old anybody in this division could put on a pitch. This is the honour that gets mentioned for the rest of his career.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Sparta Prague had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sparta Prague heard it as anything else.
Filip Panák 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chancel Mbemba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nobody at Sparta Prague 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sparta Prague, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 May 2027
Elias Cobbaut returns from a loan that gave him nothing
3 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.02, 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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Afimico Pululu 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: 19. 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sparta Prague, and 1 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout24 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Daniel Masopust to a room that had heard them before.
Position 3, 64 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 kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Sparta Prague had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sparta Prague 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 Andrej Kostić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Sparta Prague know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
In brief
The dugoutOndřej Pavlík knocks on the manager's door
Andy Irving and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chancel Mbemba 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 watch every Sparta Prague game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Bohemians 1905 runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matěj Ryneš signs something — a contract at Sparta Prague or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
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 Afimico Pululu has written the date down.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Sivert Mannsverk’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
The language is coming and there is somebody to talk to in the dressing room. A footballer who feels at home plays like one, and it never shows up in a scouting report.
In brief
SquadTobias Guddal is the talk of the training ground
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. John Mercado wants continental football; whether Sparta Prague can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Filip Panák 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 Afimico Pululu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Sparta Prague game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Viktoria Plzen runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until John Mercado signs something — a contract at Sparta Prague or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
A season average of 7.02 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Sparta Prague know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Andy Irving 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chancel Mbemba 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sparta Prague, and 1 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at Sparta Prague 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. Sparta Prague know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jan Paluska trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sparta Prague 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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chancel Mbemba 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.
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 Matěj Ryneš is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Filip Panák 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 Matej Malenšek was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not go to Bohemians 1905 to sit and watch. I want to come back to Sparta Prague and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
Nobody at Sparta Prague 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sparta Prague, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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 Jan Fortelný has written the date down.
Filip Panák 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.
“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 Sparta Prague, and 4 appearances in 34 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at Sparta Prague 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tobias Guddal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.02, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Andy Irving and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Chancel Mbemba 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 am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sparta Prague, and 1 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
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 Sivert Mannsverk is on it.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Position 3, 64 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.
Malmo FF paid $2.8M and Sparta Prague took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
19 goals in 21 games at Legia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sparta Prague updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Andy Irving was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 18 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
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 Matěj Ryneš is on 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 Afimico Pululu has written the date down.
The name of Jakub Surovčík has come up in conversations Sparta Prague were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Filip Panák was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“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 Sparta Prague, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ki-Jana Hoever signs something — a contract at Sparta Prague 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 Sparta Prague. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sparta Prague have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pavel Kadeřábek and Sparta Prague agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Chancel Mbemba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Sparta Prague, and 4 appearances in 30 say he has earned the hearing.
In brief
The dugoutJohn Mercado has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutJan Paluska knocks on the manager's door
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Sparta Prague can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Sparta Prague, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Nobody at Sparta Prague 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 John Mercado trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
16 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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Andrej Kostić, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 10.00
A mark of 10.00 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.
19 goals in 21 games at Legia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sparta Prague updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Filip Panák 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 Chancel Mbemba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Sparta Prague 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sparta Prague, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Sparta Prague would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
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 Jaroslav Zelený has written the date down.
Sparta Prague spent the window trying to move Jaroslav Zelený on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 8 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Afimico Pululu 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 Santiago Eneme-Bocari was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Sparta Prague game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Viktoria Plzen runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Chancel Mbemba
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sparta Prague have lost him in all but the paperwork.
15 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.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
A brace, and Andy Irving takes the afternoon — 8.37
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andy Irving provided it, and the 8.37 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The offer from HNK Rijeka for Alexandr Sojka 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.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 3 signed and 3 gone
That is the business done at Sparta Prague until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sparta Prague heard it as anything else.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sparta Prague can pretend not to have heard.
Al-Diriyah did not want to sell and the number is why they did. $3.2M for Chancel Mbemba, and the expectation that arrives with him is the kind no amount of settling-in period softens.
Sparta Prague have gone to Viktoria Plzen 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.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Sparta Prague have paid $10.9M for Afimico Pululu, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
6 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.
14 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The chase for Alexandr Sojka ended with $5.3M changing hands and Viktoria Plzen out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Sparta Prague asked and Viktoria Plzen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Sparta Prague scored in the 96th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The offer went to Al-Hazem 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.
$5.3M on the table at Viktoria Plzen. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Wigan Athletic have kept their man, and Sparta Prague go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
$3.2M was the most the club would pay and Al-Riyadh 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jakub Surovčík and Sparta Prague agree another 3 years.
Filip Panák 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.
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 Sparta Prague have had the benefit of it.
The offer went to Al-Riyadh 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.
$2.9M was the most the club would pay and Jablonec 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.
Sparta Prague asked and Viktoria Plzen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
In brief
SquadAt 19, Andrej Kostić is already the best thing here
Player ratingsThe derby has a name on it: John Mercado
Bohemians 1905 will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sparta Prague were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
48 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Andrej Kostić, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.43
A mark of 8.43 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.88 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
12 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.
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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3‑0, and Andy Irving took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Sparta Prague tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A brace, and Andy Irving takes the afternoon — 8.38
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Andy Irving provided it, and the 8.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Jan Paluska 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 injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
8.52. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jan Fortelný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Jihlava will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sparta Prague were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Andrej Kostić did not need any: 8.67, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 19 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.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Andy Irving was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.32. 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.
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrej Kostić 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
SquadDefences have started doubling up on Andy Irving
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emmanuel Uchenna Aririerisim and Sparta Prague agree another 4 years.
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.
10 goals in 12 games at Legia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Sparta Prague updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Loïc Mbe Soh was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Position 3, 38 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.
Successful dribbles: 28. 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.
Andy Irving 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 Jan Fortelný was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Josimar Alcócer provided it, and the 8.02 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
7.84, 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.
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.
Filip Panák 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.
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
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.
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.
Filip Panák 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.
He is 19 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.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Marked 8.18 — 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 Sparta Prague game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Viktoria Plzen runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Joao Grimaldo
Half the programme played, position 4, 31 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Sparta Prague dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jan Fortelný 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Daniel Masopust to a room that had heard them before.
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.
After 14 games, Sparta Prague finally taste it again
The first defeat in 14 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Viktoria Plzen; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andrej Kostić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The young player of the month award goes to a 19-year-old at Sparta Prague who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Daniel Masopust to a room that had heard them before.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Ki-Jana Hoever is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Andrej Kostić did not need any: 8.02, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Filip Panák and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A goal on 90 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Jan Fortelný falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I watch every Sparta Prague game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Viktoria Plzen runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
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.
Teplice will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sparta Prague were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Andy Irving 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.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Andrej Kostić 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 easiest signature of my career.” Santiago Eneme-Bocari and Sparta Prague agree another 3 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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 19 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.
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
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.
Filip Panák 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 matches without defeat, and then Jablonec. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Jan Fortelný 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.
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.
1‑0 against Slavia Prague, and the songs went on long after the whistle. League positions come and go; days like this get retold at family dinners for years.
Filip Panák 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 Andrej Kostić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Sparta Prague, and 2 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
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.
3 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.
Sparta Prague asked and Viktoria Plzen said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑0 win over Bohemians 1905, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
3 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Andrej Kostić 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.
Marked 8.28 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Matěj Ryneš was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.01. 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.
The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Andrej Kostić did not need any: 8.03, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.23, and nobody on the pitch better.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Sparta Prague close the window on a squad of their own making
17 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Mlada Boleslav have kept their man, and Sparta Prague go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Andy Irving 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
This is not cover and nobody is pretending it is. $2.4M has been paid because Jan Paluska is straightforwardly better than what was already here, and the club has decided to stop waiting.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.97 for the rest of 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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Lášek 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.
$2.4M on the table at Viktoria Plzen. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Matej Malenšek has just signed for Sparta Prague, and for once the answer mattered.
The chase for Matej Malenšek ended with $1.0M changing hands and Jablonec out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Sparta Prague have gone to PAOK 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.93 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The offer from Jihlava for Ondřej Pavlík 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 shirt still fits. Jan Fortelný is back at Sparta Prague, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Sparta Prague offered $860.0K; Teplice said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Andy Irving 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.
Sparta Prague and Teplice have settled on $630.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt 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 Sparta Prague this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Filip Twardzik has just signed for Sparta Prague, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Sparta Prague training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Lášek 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.
Andy Irving 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.
Still no offer on the table, and Matěj Ryneš’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad3 Aug 2026
9 new faces, and Sparta Prague 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Loïc Mbe Soh was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.