bigmattb28 Activity
The final seven minutes felt like a cup final and not an opening day fixture, certainly not a league match in August. A cup final. Every challenge was cheered, every clearance celebrated and every attack greeted by a roar from one end of the sta...
The celebrations for Krecak's goal had barely finished when the game produced another twist. By now, nobody inside the stadium should have been surprised. This match had abandoned normality somewhere around the second equaliser. Every time one team s...
The wait felt endless, for Velež, for Sarajevo, for everyone inside the stadium. Eventually the protests died away, the referee wasn't changing his decision. The ball was placed on the spot, and Salihović stepped forward. Not Mujić w...
The problem with good teams is that they don't stay rattled for long, that's why they win matches, that's why they challenge for trophies. And that's why FK Sarajevo were considered one of the favourites for the league title before a ball had even been ki...
The reaction this time was even better. There was frustration after the goal, of course there was, players exchanged words and a few arms were thrown into the air. The travelling supporters behind the goal fell silent. But unlike earlier in the match...
The optimism lasted less than a minute, football could be cruel like that. One good team talk. One positive mood. One belief filled walk back onto the pitch. Then a single mistake. Velež kicked off the second half, the plan was simple enough, start q...
The rest of the first half swung back and forth, but for the first time in the game it was Velež asking the questions. The equaliser had changed something. Confidence. Belief. Maybe even surprise, because once Sarajevo discovered Velež weren't going...
The discussion about Vukašin Ješić barely had time to settle before Velež responded. And that, more than anything, pleased Scott. Not the goal itself, but the reaction, because weaker teams often spent ten minutes feeling sorry for themselves after c...
The opening fifteen minutes had been uncomfortable viewing. Not disastrous, not chaotic, just uncomfortable. The kind of start that made managers shift in their seats and assistants stop making jokes. FK Sarajevo had begun exactly as expected....
The coach carrying the players from Mostar rolled through the streets of Sarajevo beneath a grey August sky. Nobody on board was talking much, some listened to music, some stared out of the window, a few younger players kept checking their phones de...
The decision came the following morning. Bojan Lugonja arrived at the training ground early and asked to speak with Scott and Marcin before training, the meeting lasted less than fifteen minutes. Not because it wasn't important, because he'd already made...
Just caught up with this again mate, I'm same as you, go from blasting FM and writing up the posts for ages then give it a rest for weeks sometimes months at a time. No pressure on you to write mate your stories are always wroth the wait.
The departure was confirmed with remarkably little fuss. There were no dramatic goodbyes, no emotional speeches. Just a handshake in Scott's office, a genuine embrace with Peter, and a final walk around the training ground before Benson Hedilazio climbed...
The call from Marcin came just after eight in the morning. Scott hadn't even finished his first coffee ‘we've got him’ Scott put the mug down ‘Plovdiv?’ ‘No’. A pause ‘the replacement’ That got his attention. An hour later, the pa...
Mróz stared at Scott for another few seconds before finally letting out a breath through his nose and shaking his head ‘you really don’t ease people into things, do you?’ Scott smirked ‘no point’ Another pause, then finally ‘alright, I’ll do it’...
The request for the meeting came through just after breakfast. Short. Formal. György Eperjesi, the under 19’s manager, wanted to speak with Scott and Wojciech Mroz together. No explanation, no context, which usually meant there already was one. ...
The third signing felt different again. Not polished like Ante Krecak, not instinctive in the way Mirsad Ramic appeared to be. This one felt unfinished. Which, to Scott, was sometimes better Almir Hodzic arrived from FK Jedinstvo Bihać on a free tran...
Love it mate. Keep it up.
Ante Krecak, central midfielder, had been about fitting into the team, about function, about what they needed to become. Mirsad Ramic, center forward, was something else entirely. He arrived without ceremony, without expectation. Though he had m...
Part seven - Control & Consequence The noise around the World Cup faded quicker than expected, articles stopped circulating and opinions moved on. But the work didn’t. That first day back at training didn’t feel like celebration,...
The final was not decided by dominance, it was decided by control. There were moments where the game threatened to break, where structure faltered and where the outcome felt as though it might drift beyond design. Matt Clarke ensure...
If Evan James represents certainty, then Marcus Alderson represents something else entirely. Possibility. Selected 15th overall in the 2020 MLS Draft by Vancouver Whitecaps, Alderson was not expected to define anything. Not immediately, not at...
Structure Travels Further Than TalentBy Emir Hadžić. 18 July 2022. The biggest surprise of the World Cup in China was not a result. It was a pattern. The Canada national football team did not dominate possession, and likewise the USA did not out...
Structure Isn’t Enough. By Emir Hadžić, Mostar Arena Sport. 30 June 2022. There is a certain type of manager who thrives in chaos, and then there is Scott Lańkowski. Disciplined. Organised. Precise. At Velež Mostar those qualities brought i...
The coffee on the table hadn’t started to cool off before the next piece of news arrived. The new seasons fixtures. On the same day as the pre-season predictions from the pundits, with the same timing. Almost like football never gave you space to breathe,...
The new season didn’t arrive with noise, more like it just crept in, quietly, inevitably. The office felt slightly different now. Same table and same chairs, but a different weight. Marcin had the report open in front of him, fingers resting on...
Well consider me hooked man!!
Another name from the 2020 MLS draft class is on the move, and it’s getting to the point where you almost expect it now. Ryan Joachim, the 2020 MLS Rookie of the Year, is leaving Orlando City SC to join CF Monterrey for €21 million. Not bad for the 6...
Paris Saint-Germain have, unsurprisingly, decided they won’t be left not throwing money around, sending €48 million for José Fernando from Vitória. Now, compared to some of their previous transfers this one actually has some logic behind it. Fernando...
Back to Arsenal and they’ve also dipped into the ever reliable MLS to Mexico to Europe pipeline, paying €21.5 million to Tigres UANL for full back Andrew Aguado. Now this is a proper journey. He was drafted 2nd overall by the New York Red Bulls in 20...
On the way out, Liverpool have managed to pull off one of the more impressive bits of business this window, selling Tobias Svendsen to Schalke for €18 million. Now this is a player who arrived from Molde for €4 million and barely featured, 15 appeara...
Diego Galván might just be one of the few transfers in this window that actually makes sense, which is saying something. Picked first overall in the MLS draft of 2018, snapped up by Burnley for just €8 million in the 19/20 season, and three seasons l...
Transfer window summer 2022 The first ‘what on earth is going on here then?’ transfer of the summer sees Joshua King leave Lazio after three solid seasons to join Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia. On paper, it’s respectable enough, 102 appearanc...
Big news out of the Primeira Liga in Portugal, as for the first time since the 2000/01 season, none of Benfica, Sporting Lisbon or FC Porto have won the title. Instead, it’s CD Nacional standing at the top of the pile. A proper earthquake...
Summer 2022 review At the top of the Premier League it was business as usual, well mostly. Manchester City reclaim the title in ruthless fashion, winning 30 games and racking up 94 points along the way. Efficient, relentless and about as enjoyab...
So the final that absolutely nobody predicted, and if they did they’re lying to you. The United States vs Portugal and it didn’t take long for things to get interesting. The States came flying out of the blocks, and after just 7 minutes Cameron Carte...
It all looked very routine at first. Spain went 2–0 up with Mikel Merino and Paco Alcácer doing exactly what everyone expected, efficient, controlled, job done. Except, it wasn’t. Because somehow The States decided they weren’t finished. Two go...
Argentina edged past arch rivals England to set up a semi final clash with holders and other arch rivals Brazil. The Argies came flying out of the blocks and stunned everyone, racing into a 2-0 lead inside five minutes. And of course it had to be Pau...
And just like that the Canadian fairytale turned into a full blown rampage. Canada didn’t just beat Croatia, they absolutely tore them apart. It ended 4–0 and that flattered Croatia. No tension or nerves from Canada, just a ruthless dismantling of a...
World Cup 2022 The 2022 FIFA World Cup in China kicked off and before anything sensible could happen, football decided to go completely off the rails. Let’s start with the absurd. In the final game of Group A, Canada needed just a draw against H...
The conversation slowed after that. Not because there was nothing left to say but because they’d reached the point where it didn’t need forcing. ‘For what it’s worth’ Emir said ‘I think Canada will surprise people’ Scott gave a faint shrug ‘they...
Scott didn’t rush it. He looked past Emir for a second, like he was mapping it out in his head rather than answering a question ‘the group games are different’ he said eventually ‘they’re not about being the best team, they’re about managing moments’ Emir...
They didn’t meet in an office, that would’ve made it formal. Structured. Easier to control. Instead, it was a café just off a side street in Mostar, quiet, half full, the kind of place where conversations stayed at the table and didn’t travel. E...
The room felt smaller than it had any right to be for a moment like this. A few rows of chairs, a couple of cameras set up too close together. Microphones angled toward the table like they were waiting to catch something slipping. On the wall behind...
The dressing room was louder than before. Not chaotic like earlier in the season, not frantic, because this was different. Words were bouncing off the walls, laughter cutting through it. Players talking over each other, replaying moments, shouting na...
The noise from the away end rolled down onto the pitch like a wave breaking. Louder than it had been all afternoon. Different now. Not tension and not hope, but certainty. Scarves spinning. Voices cracking. People climbing barriers just to get c...
The clock ticked louder now. Eighty minutes, then eighty five. Every throw in took a second longer, every free kick placed with care. The crowd noise from the handful of away fans came in waves, anticipation, belief, something building toward releas...
The dressing room wasn’t panicked, but it wasn’t calm either. Scott didn’t raise his voice ‘too loose and we’re not looking confident when we’ve got the ball’ he said simply. A few heads nodded, because they felt it too. Peter added, sharp...
The game never felt settled,not from the first whistle. Away at Podgrmec Sanski Most, the pitch felt tighter, the air heavier, every touch carrying more weight than it should. Velež Mostar started well enough, moving the ball, finding spaces, but not...
The corridor outside the dressing room was quieter than it should have been. Muted, like the noise from the stadium hadn’t quite reached this far yet. Scott stood still for a moment, hands in his pockets, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.&nb...