Marked for Facundo Pons
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Dec 2029
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.
Market10 Dec 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings10 Dec 2029
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Dec 2029
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli 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.
Match8 Dec 2029
2‑3 to Catanzaro, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad10 Dec 2029
6 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad10 Dec 2029
The manager makes an example of Matteo Cotali
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings10 Dec 2029
The one thing Giuseppe Caso could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Market10 Dec 2029
The Fabio Gerli story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fabio Gerli signs something — a contract at Modena or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Dec 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market3 Dec 2029
Tom Wingate hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Modena can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Dec 2029
A season average of 7.21 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Modena know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad3 Dec 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match1 Dec 2029
2‑3 to Juve Stabia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings3 Dec 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Nov 2029
Facundo Pons hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Modena can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Nov 2029
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.
Market12 Nov 2029
“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.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings12 Nov 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings12 Nov 2029
Marked 8.81 — 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.
Squad12 Nov 2029
The manager makes an example of Facundo Pons
“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.
Squad12 Nov 2029
6 goals and a season average of 7.31. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match10 Nov 2029
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market22 Oct 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Francesco Zampano will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Modena the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market22 Oct 2029
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Marked 8.74 — 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 ratings22 Oct 2029
Marked 8.63 — 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.
Match20 Oct 2029
Three points for Modena, 1‑0 the final word against Südtirol in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad22 Oct 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market15 Oct 2029
“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 Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Oct 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Modena may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
Marked 8.90 — 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 ratings15 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.20 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad15 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francesco Zampano, and the manager let it.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Oct 2029
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad24 Sep 2029
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.
Market24 Sep 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Modena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market24 Sep 2029
“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 Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match22 Sep 2029
Juventus left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad24 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Pons, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market24 Sep 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alessandro Sersanti signs something — a contract at Modena or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market17 Sep 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Modena can pretend not to have heard.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
“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.
Match15 Sep 2029
It needed Facundo Pons to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Monza, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Shots: 13, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Market17 Sep 2029
The Fabio Gerli story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fabio Gerli signs something — a contract at Modena or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market20 Aug 2029
“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 Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market20 Aug 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad20 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli 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.
Squad20 Aug 2029
The medical room confirms 43 days on the sidelines for Ousmane Niang, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market20 Aug 2029
Modena have made Leandro Chichizola available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Aug 2029
“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 Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market13 Aug 2029
Modena say no — this time
The offer from Lumezzane for Francesco Zampano 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.
Market13 Aug 2029
“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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
At 21, Federico Tonti is already the best thing here
An average of 7.16 in a first team he is several years too young for. Modena have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Aug 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Modena know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Aug 2029
“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 Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market6 Aug 2029
Modena say no — this time
The offer from Malmo FF for Simone Santoro 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.
Market6 Aug 2029
Giuseppe Caso wants to know where this is going
“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 Modena hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli 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.
Market6 Aug 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Modena will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Facundo Pons knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Modena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market9 Jul 2029
“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 Modena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market9 Jul 2029
Modena say no — this time
The offer from Novara for Federico Tonti 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.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Leandro Chichizola commits to Modena for another 2 years.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Modena
Fabio Gerli 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.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“I want to play”: Paolo Ceppi speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Market9 Jul 2029
The Fabio Gerli talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Modena know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jun 2029
Davide Adorni hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Modena can pretend not to have heard.
Market18 Jun 2029
The name of Federico Tonti has come up in conversations Modena were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad18 Jun 2029
A season average of 7.16 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Modena know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Fabio Gerli in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Modena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market18 Jun 2029
Experience through the door at Modena
Facundo Pons arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Davide Adorni knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Modena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
Interim Coach has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Pisa can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market4 Jun 2029
Partizan come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Pisa did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market4 Jun 2029
“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 Pisa, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Pisa
Samuele Angori 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.
Market4 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mateus Lusuardi and Pisa agree another 5 years.
Market4 Jun 2029
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Pisa, another week without a signature from Luca Falbo.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Ante Vuković knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Pisa, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
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Boardroom
$13.4M taken back off the Pisa table
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The terraces
The stands have heard the Mattéo Tramoni talk too
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Boardroom
The Pisa dressing room answers
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 May 2029
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.
Squad14 May 2029
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market14 May 2029
“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.
Squad14 May 2029
Tempers go at Pisa
Mattéo Tramoni 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.
Match12 May 2029
Still nobody has beaten Pisa
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Player ratings14 May 2029
A masterclass from Giovane
Marked 9.12 — 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.
Squad14 May 2029
Giovane is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.38 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match12 May 2029
It finished 2‑1, and it was Giovane’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Pisa.
Player ratings14 May 2029
Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Feb 2029
The small margins put Austria Wien out
Out, 1‑2 to Red Bull Salzburg, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Abubakr Barry was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Marked 8.90 — 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Noah Botic gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad26 Feb 2029
5 goals and a season average of 7.38. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Frans Krätzig asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The terraces26 Feb 2029
Everybody has an opinion about Alejo Sarco
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Marked 5.45, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Feb 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Manfred Fischer and Austria Wien agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Feb 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Austria Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Uriel Iehara gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market5 Feb 2029
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Abubakr Barry’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“I want to play”: Facundo Pons speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Market5 Feb 2029
The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Didier Amou-Djaba arrives at Austria Wien with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom5 Feb 2029
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad5 Feb 2029
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market5 Feb 2029
“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 Pisa hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Pisa
Mattéo Tramoni was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match3 Feb 2029
Three points for Pisa, 2‑1 the final word against Lecce in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Loan watch5 Feb 2029
“I watch every Pisa game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Austria Wien runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
A performance of 8.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Dec 2028
61 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad25 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Austria Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Uriel Iehara, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market18 Dec 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Abubakr Barry 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.
Squad18 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Karim Onisiwo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad4 Dec 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match2 Dec 2028
Lazio made Pisa work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Loan watch4 Dec 2028
“I did not go to Austria Wien to sit and watch. I want to come back to Pisa and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 12 matches say the rest.
Squad4 Dec 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Henrik Meister, and the manager let it.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Oliver Christensen knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Market4 Dec 2028
The name of Mattéo Tramoni keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Pisa say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad4 Dec 2028
1 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 9. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Oct 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Austria Wien may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Oct 2028
A one-man rearguard from Salko Hamzić
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad16 Oct 2028
26 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad16 Oct 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Austria Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Sep 2028
A one-man rearguard from Salko Hamzić
There were 11 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market11 Sep 2028
Kelvin Boateng has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Austria Wien they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad11 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Austria Wien this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
A performance of 9.08 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“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.
Match9 Sep 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Red Bull Salzburg leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Alejo Sarco leaves them behind him
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
The terraces11 Sep 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Stefan Schimmer
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Sep 2028
Pisa say no — this time
The offer from Austria Wien for Facundo Pons 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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gabriele Piccinini and Pisa agree another 4 years.
Squad4 Sep 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
A performance of 9.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pietro Beruatto, and the manager let it.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Match2 Sep 2028
Pisa share the spoils with Venezia
A 2‑2 draw with Venezia leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Pisa will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
The one thing Andrej Kostić could not do
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Aug 2028
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Pisa
Henrik Meister 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicholas Bonfanti, and the manager let it.
Match26 Aug 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Market28 Aug 2028
He is 20, and nobody at Pisa signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Market28 Aug 2028
Wolfsberger AC are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Pisa will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Henrik Meister asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Market28 Aug 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Pisa know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Aug 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market14 Aug 2028
Adrian Raychev has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Pisa they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Pisa
Mattéo Tramoni 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.
Market14 Aug 2028
Pisa get their man
The chase for Davide Zadek ended with $59.0K changing hands and Lecco out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad14 Aug 2028
İsak Vural has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Pisa will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Squad14 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Leonardo Loria
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom7 Aug 2028
The caretaker keeps it: Interim Coach confirmed
A month of looking elsewhere ended where it started. He already knows every name in the building; the rest of it he now has to prove in public.
Market7 Aug 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market7 Aug 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Pisa heard it as anything else.
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Malthe Højholt commits to Pisa for another 3 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nicholas Bonfanti trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 Jul 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Pisa may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Pisa
Mattéo Tramoni 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.
Market31 Jul 2028
Wolfsberger AC are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Pisa will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad31 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mattia Sala, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Jul 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Pisa have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market24 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pisa can pretend not to have heard.
Market24 Jul 2028
The name of Nicholas Bonfanti has come up in conversations Pisa were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Squad24 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 20 days on the sidelines for İsak Vural, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch24 Jul 2028
“I did not go to Audace Cerignola to sit and watch. I want to come back to Pisa and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 5 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market17 Jul 2028
Only the photograph left for Adrian Raychev
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adrian Raychev will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Pisa the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Pisa
Mattéo Tramoni 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Pisa are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leonardo Loria, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Pressure builds in the Pisa boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market26 Jun 2028
Business is business: Idrissa Touré goes
Juve Stabia paid $6.2M and Pisa took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market26 Jun 2028
Club Brugge come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Pisa did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market26 Jun 2028
The phone has started ringing about Filip Stojilković again, and this time the name on the line is Santos. Pisa are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad26 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jun 2028
51 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jun 2028
Pisa say no — this time
The offer from Aalborg for Simone Scuffet 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Pisa
Mattéo Tramoni 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mattia Sala commits to Pisa for another 4 years.
Market19 Jun 2028
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Market19 Jun 2028
Louis Buffon is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Pisa has been clear about where Louis Buffon stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom8 May 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad8 May 2028
11 goals and a season average of 7.49. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad8 May 2028
Tempers go at Pisa
Mattéo Tramoni 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.
Match6 May 2028
Modena made Pisa work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Juan Guillermo Cuadrado and Pisa agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Marked 8.89 — 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 ratings8 May 2028
A performance of 8.67 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Marked 8.61 — 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.
Squad8 May 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Pisa are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The caretaker keeps it: Federico Bruno confirmed
A month of looking elsewhere ended where it started. He already knows every name in the building; the rest of it he now has to prove in public.
Squad7 Feb 2028
There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Ante Vuković: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Pisa have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market7 Feb 2028
Pisa say no — this time
The offer from Dolomiti Bellunesi for Lorenzo Tosi 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pisa this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Marked 9.37 — 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.
Match5 Feb 2028
Three points for Pisa, 2‑1 the final word against Palermo in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Loan watch7 Feb 2028
“I watch every Pisa game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Middlesbrough runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.