31 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Maringá lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
12 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“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 The request is on a desk at Maringá, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Coritiba have kept their man, and Maringá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Level with 89 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Maringá had all but put away. Portuguesa will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Mateus Oliveira 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan 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.
Maringá asked and Remo said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Fluminense is saying, and nobody at Maringá is enjoying the guessing.
The phone has started ringing about Vinicius Lago again, and this time the name on the line is Goiatuba. Maringá are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fortaleza have kept their man, and Maringá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“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 Maringá, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Paysandu for Matheus Moraes 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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Maringá have done the hard part with Londrina, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Maringá asked and Santos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
At 36, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“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 Maringá, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Maringá is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Vitinho has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá 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 Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I watch every Maringá game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Barcelona de Ilhéus runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Matheus Moraes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Amazonas? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
Matheus Moraes 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 most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Maringá will quote 18 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Felipe Saraiva 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rhuan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Matheus Moraes has been around long enough to know what the spring feels like when it goes wrong, and he can feel it. A dressing room that is frightened plays like one.
This is not rotation. Aderlan has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Maringá is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan 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 easiest signature of my career.” Francisco Cifuentes and Maringá agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
“I watch every Maringá game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Flora runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Wellington trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
$2.5M is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
He is going to Lillestrom, the club has $2.5M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Maringá can pretend not to have heard.
Guilherme Nunes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Felipe Saraiva 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.
9 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 Barcelona de Ilhéus to sit and watch. I want to come back to Maringá and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 11 matches say the rest.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Maringá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Matheus Moraes 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 watch every Maringá game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Pyunik runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Maringá are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“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 Maringá, and it is not being withdrawn.
Matheus Moraes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Felipe Saraiva 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 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Guilherme Pira signs something — a contract at Maringá or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutEnzo Saggia knocks on the manager's door
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Maringá can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá 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 Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
9 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rhuan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
30 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Maringá lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Maringá can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Maringá people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Ronald and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Maringá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
37 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Maringá lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Maringá, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
9 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Maringá know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Maringá lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Thiago Gigena had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Matheus Moraes 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 Jan 2028
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lucas Perdomo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Maringá has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
MatchNothing left to play for but pride at Maringá
54 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Maringá lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Matheus Moraes 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 Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Caldas have kept their man, and Maringá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Thiago Santos has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Igor Lima has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
61 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Maringá lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Maringá, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Sampaio Corrêa for Matías Draghi was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The offer went to Aparecidense 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.
Matheus Moraes 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. 18 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Jequié have kept their man, and Maringá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Barcelona de Ilhéus waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Maringá is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $15.0K — a club that wants Lucero Lanterna enough to be asked twice.
Vinicius Barreta 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 Felipe Saraiva was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Matías Draghi
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $35.0K — a club that wants Lucero Lanterna enough to be asked twice.
Agustín Sant'Anna 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 offer went to Luverdense 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.
Maringá offered $27.0K; Ferroviária 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Maringá asked and Nacional said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Julio Rodrigues 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 Nov 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan 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.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 37 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Maringá is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Sérgio Mendes after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Julio Rodrigues and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Enzo Saggia has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Julio Rodrigues. 2‑0 against Volta Redonda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sérgio Mendes on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Maringá can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guilherme Nunes 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 Maringá 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Heliardo’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Maringá needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Vinicius Barreta 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Elivélton.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Sérgio Mendes was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Maringá dressing room was either.
Vinicius Barreta 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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Criciúma will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Luan Follmer has pre-agreed a move to Maringá, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Sérgio Mendes left the room before anybody could ask which.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
15 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Maringá lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Maringá will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Maringá can pretend not to have heard.
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Julio Rodrigues 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 Guilherme Nunes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Capital will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Valentín Morelini has pre-agreed a move to Maringá, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Maringá lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 8.75 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Agustín Sant'Anna was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guilherme Nunes 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.
Botafogo will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Kauã Branco has pre-agreed a move to Maringá, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
The goal that put Portuguesa ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Maringá equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
The words a physio says slowly. 31 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Maringá will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
0‑3 to Avaí, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
The bid was some way short and Maringá did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Deadline passes with 1 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Maringá 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 paperwork is done long before the player is. Guilherme Pires has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Maringá have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Maringá can tell you which week it ends in.
The words a physio says slowly. 39 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Maringá will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Maringá can pretend not to have heard.
Maringá have gone to Vasco da Gama 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.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $200.0K — a club that wants JP Abreu enough to be asked twice.
Add another name to the list: Sumgayit have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Thiago Gigena. The answer from Maringá has not changed — yet.
The offer went to Ituano 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 46 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 58 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.02 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $9.0K — a club that wants Jonatas Paulista enough to be asked twice.
Julio Rodrigues 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.
Maringá offered $68.0K; Novorizontino 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guilherme Nunes 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 words a physio says slowly. 53 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Maringá will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Julio Rodrigues will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Maringá escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Edison Negueba was one of the reasons people came, and $3.2M does not replace that by itself.
Maringá asked and Sport Recife said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 62 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Maringá will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Altos had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The name of Edison Negueba has come up in conversations Maringá were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Agustín Sant'Anna 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.
69 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Maringá lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Julio Rodrigues 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 Guilherme Nunes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 76 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 89 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Vinicius Barreta and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guilherme Nunes 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.
Maringá asked and Braga said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The words a physio says slowly. 84 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 96 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer went to Athletico Paranaense 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.
Athletico Paranaense wanted more than $520.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Maringá lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Maringá will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Agustín Sant'Anna and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guilherme Nunes is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Maringá has been clear about where Jerfesson stands, which is more than many ever get.
98 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Maringá lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Julio Rodrigues 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guilherme Nunes is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
106 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Maringá lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
0‑4 to GAS, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Successful dribbles: 32. 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.
Julio Rodrigues 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.
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.
The dugout17 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 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Sérgio Mendes to a room that had heard them before.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Matías Draghi
113 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Maringá lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Agustín Sant'Anna 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guilherme Nunes 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.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Sérgio Mendes on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The words a physio says slowly. 120 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
9 matches without defeat, and then Operário Ferroviário. Nobody at the ground pretended it would go on forever; nobody expected it to stop here either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
128 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Maringá lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Vinicius Barreta 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 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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Maringá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Sérgio Mendes after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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.
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 8.11 — 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.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
BoardroomMaringá turn down the training-ground plan
SquadThe division's best last weekend was a Maringá man
Agustín Sant'Anna 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Maringá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Maringá. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Maringá that is a harder question to answer.
Vinicius Barreta and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aderlan 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Cristiano Assis has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rhuan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Maringá, another week without a signature from Wellington.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Aaron Icaza is living that version at Maringá, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aderlan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Maringá has been clear about where Edison Negueba stands, which is more than many ever get.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The name of Edison Negueba has come up in conversations Maringá were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Julio Rodrigues 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 Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The medical room confirms 36 days on the sidelines for Enzo Saggia, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan 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.
Agustín Sant'Anna 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Márcio Assis has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vinicius Lago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Maringá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Maringá know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Matías Draghi has written the date down.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Maringá will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan 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.
Wictor Gabriel is 20, and Maringá have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Maringá than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
The chase for Vinicius Barreta ended with $430.0K changing hands and Figueirense out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Maringá asked and APOEL said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A loan enquiry to Barracas Central: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
$1.7M was the most the club would pay and Cruzeiro 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.
The offer went to Figueirense 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The fee is $48.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Bragantino drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
9 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vinicius Lago was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
$5.0M was the most the club would pay and Operário Ferroviário 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.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Maringá had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Maringá and Bragantino have settled on $48.0K. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Samuel Correia 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Maringá has been clear about where Robertinho stands, which is more than many ever get.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Mateus Oliveira is living that version at Maringá, and it tends to show in the first month.
$1.6M on the table at Cruzeiro. 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. Sport Recife have kept their man, and Maringá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $1.8M — a club that wants Kaique Kenji enough to be asked twice.
Guilherme Nunes 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.
Mateus Oliveira was the name on every phone-in, and the club has gone and signed him for $1.9M. For one week the board can do no wrong, which is a week most boards never get.
In brief
SquadWords at Maringá training over how hard people work
“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 Maringá, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá 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 Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Maringá can tell you which week it ends in.
9 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Julio Rodrigues trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Maringá know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Maringá. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Maringá has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Vitinho has just signed for Maringá, and for once the answer mattered.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Maringá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
14 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout26 Oct 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 Sérgio Mendes to a room that had heard them before.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against São Bernardo.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Lucas Sena has, at Maringá, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
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.
Diego Riquelme is 15, and Maringá have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Maringá, another week without a signature from Lucas Sena.
José Luis Chunga arrives at 35 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Guilherme Nunes’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Maringá needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Thiago Gigena has, at Maringá, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Julio Rodrigues 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.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Maringá know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
“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 dugout5 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Sérgio Mendes chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Maringá can pretend not to have heard.
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.
Santos will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Kenay has pre-agreed a move to Maringá, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Lucas Perdomo 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: 17. 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.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Sérgio Mendes chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Guilherme Nunes and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Maringá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Dudu has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Maringá have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
At 21 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Antônio Rocha has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Danilo Guimarães has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Maringá will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Enzo Saggia has just signed for Maringá, and for once the answer mattered.
Guilherme Nunes 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.
Marcílio Dias will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Pedro das Neves has pre-agreed a move to Maringá, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Maringá are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Pedro das Neves is 20, and Maringá have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Maringá, and both men came out saying it was fine.