53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Vasco da Gama lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Vasco da Gama have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
1 for Lucas Freitas, marked 7.95, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vasco da Gama they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vasco da Gama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jun 2030
Lucas Piton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings3 Jun 2030
Nuno Moreira was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.55. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
1‑4 against Fluminense, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Vasco da Gama is running low.
“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 The request is on a desk at Vasco da Gama, and it is not being withdrawn.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 Vasco da Gama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Words at Vasco da Gama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Gómez is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Vasco da Gama are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Michael Dokunmu 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.
Player ratings31 Dec 2029
Michael Dokunmu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.37. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vasco da Gama is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vasco da Gama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Nov 2029
Lucas Piton falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Vasco da Gama is running low.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nuno Moreira and Vasco da Gama agree another 3 years.
“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.
Cauan Barros 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Wenderson has just signed for Vasco da Gama, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad5 Nov 2029
Words at Vasco da Gama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Piton 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 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Michael Dokunmu 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.
Player ratings5 Nov 2029
Michael Dokunmu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 89th, and Paysandu spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Claudio Spinelli and Vasco da Gama agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Paulo Henrique 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.
Paysandu made Vasco da Gama work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings8 Oct 2029
Michael Dokunmu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.87. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“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.
Squad8 Oct 2029
Thiago Mendes falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Michael Dokunmu provided it, and the 8.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Cauan Barros 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 Sep 2029
Words at Vasco da Gama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulo Henrique 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Michael Dokunmu. 2‑1 against Atlético Mineiro, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrés Gómez signs something — a contract at Vasco da Gama or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pablo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vasco da Gama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vasco da Gama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 23 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.
Marked 8.54 — 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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Words at Vasco da Gama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Thiago Mendes is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vasco da Gama 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.
“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; Vasco da Gama are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I did not go to Flamengo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Vasco da Gama and fight for my place.” 11 appearances in 37 matches say the rest.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Andrés Gómez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pablo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vasco da Gama the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Phillipe Gabriel 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad20 Aug 2029
12 new faces, and Vasco da Gama are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Cauan Barros 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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words at Vasco da Gama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Paulo Henrique 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 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Michael Dokunmu 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.
It needed Michael Dokunmu to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Internacional, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
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.
92 minutes played. Michael Dokunmu found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and ABC went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Vasco da Gama they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Paulo Henrique 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Enzo Galizzi has just signed for Vasco da Gama, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Words at Vasco da Gama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cauan Barros 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.
São Paulo will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Luiz Henrique has pre-agreed a move to Vasco da Gama, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vasco da Gama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Andrés Gómez falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
7 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. Vasco da Gama know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The offer from São Paulo for Lukas Zuccarello 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 loan is a long audition, and Edenílson passed his months ago. Vasco da Gama sign what they already know — the rarest kind of certainty the market sells.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vasco da Gama this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Words at Vasco da Gama training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Gómez 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 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Michael Dokunmu 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nathan Kaninda will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around De Graafschap the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at De Graafschap this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Words at De Graafschap training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim El Kadiri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Interim Coach has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at De Graafschap this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 May 2029
Words at De Graafschap training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matija Malekinušić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jakub Šiman commits to De Graafschap for another 1 years.
Squad7 May 2029
The manager has not finished forgetting Donny Warmerdam's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at De Graafschap is running low.
“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.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Words at De Graafschap training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim El Kadiri 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 mood at De Graafschap has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at De Graafschap can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“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 De Graafschap, and it is not being withdrawn.
Armando Obispo 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at De Graafschap pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
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.
“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.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Words at De Graafschap training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim El Kadiri 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.
Michael Dokunmu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ibrahim El Kadiri. 2‑1 against ADO Den Haag, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
8.64. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.59 — 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 mood at De Graafschap has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at De Graafschap can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ibrahim El Kadiri provided it, and the 8.38 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 De Graafschap, and it is not being withdrawn.
7 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at De Graafschap this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Ibrahim El Kadiri on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of De Graafschap and Groningen.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” De Graafschap have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Two goals and a mark of 8.36 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what De Graafschap can pretend not to have heard.
Ibrahim El Kadiri 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 mood at De Graafschap has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at De Graafschap can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
“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 De Graafschap, and it is not being withdrawn.
The name of Michael Dokunmu has come up in conversations De Graafschap were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Armando Obispo 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason De Graafschap will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
17 goals and a season average of 7.36. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Words at De Graafschap training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim El Kadiri 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Oliver Edvardsen. 3‑2 against Cambuur, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Michael Dokunmu 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.
8.70. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason De Graafschap will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around De Graafschap they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at De Graafschap this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Words at De Graafschap training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim El Kadiri 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 mood at De Graafschap has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Ibrahim El Kadiri was at the centre of it, Roda were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason De Graafschap will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Armando Obispo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ibrahim El Kadiri. 4‑2 against Roda, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 61 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 De Graafschap, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at De Graafschap is running low.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at De Graafschap training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahim El Kadiri 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
A last season at home is what Jakub Šiman is after
It is sentimental, it is completely genuine, and it is the beginning of a departure nobody has announced. The club can be gracious about it or it can pretend not to have heard.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Michael Dokunmu 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: Ibrahim El Kadiri. 2‑0 against Heracles, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.73 — 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 68 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 De Graafschap, and it is not being withdrawn.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around De Graafschap they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 De Graafschap this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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 De Graafschap, and it is not being withdrawn.
Armando Obispo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
6 goals in one match, Michael Dokunmu on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of De Graafschap and Excelsior.
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.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Michael Dokunmu was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.84. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Sofiane Sidi Ali has just signed for De Graafschap, and for once the answer mattered.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Michael Dokunmu is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at De Graafschap this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.