Marked for Jacob Lara
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Pergolettese
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market24 Jul 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dolomiti Bellunesi waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Pergolettese is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with Venezia, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Market24 Jul 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets24 Jul 2028
$1.1M was the most the club would pay and Empoli 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Niccolò Corti 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 Jul 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Michael De Marchi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout24 Jul 2028
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 Jul 2028
23 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Pergolettese lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market10 Jul 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market10 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pergolettese can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
The deal with Pescara is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Niccolò Corti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout10 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Niccolò Corti
“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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jacopo Antolini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Pergolettese know it.
Market10 Jul 2028
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad26 Jun 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Niccolò Corti
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Pergolettese lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom26 Jun 2028
Pressure builds in the Pergolettese boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market26 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pergolettese can pretend not to have heard.
Market26 Jun 2028
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Dolomiti Bellunesi waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Pergolettese is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
The clubs have shaken hands with Spezia; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Pergolettese offered $770.0K; Frosinone 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Niccolò Corti was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Pergolettese training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael De Marchi 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.
Transfer targets26 Jun 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hellas Verona have kept their man, and Pergolettese go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 May 2028
67 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Pergolettese lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom29 May 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Pergolettese
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market29 May 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout29 May 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Pergolettese may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad29 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Pergolettese this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 May 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jacopo Antolini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Apr 2028
The knee: Niccolò Corti out for 125 days
125 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Pergolettese lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match1 Apr 2028
0‑4 against Renate, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
Giulio Neri has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Pergolettese can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market3 Apr 2028
“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 Pergolettese, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Pergolettese
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Pergolettese is running low.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Niccolò Corti 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Michael De Marchi falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Dec 2027
Samuele Careccia damages knee ligaments — 30 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 12 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match18 Dec 2027
9 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Pergolettese training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael De Marchi 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 terraces20 Dec 2027
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match18 Dec 2027
0‑1 to Pro Vercelli, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Mattia Rossetti 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 dugout20 Dec 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Linus Heggestad, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Nov 2027
Samuele Careccia damages knee ligaments — 59 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 59 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match20 Nov 2027
5 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.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Niccolò Corti and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match20 Nov 2027
3 matches without a goal for Pergolettese
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Jacopo Antolini 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 ratings22 Nov 2027
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Sandro Bonetti was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Pergolettese dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Nov 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Samuele Careccia
84 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Pergolettese lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Niccolò Corti 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.
Match30 Oct 2027
0‑2 to Cittadella, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jacopo Antolini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yavuz Selim Toprak commits to Pergolettese for another 3 years.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jacopo Antolini, and the manager let it.
Market1 Nov 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout1 Nov 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 0‑2 Sandro Bonetti left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2027
105 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Pergolettese lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces11 Oct 2027
The mood at Pergolettese 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Niccolò Corti 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jacopo Antolini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Sep 2027
The small margins put Pergolettese out
Out, 0‑2 to Benevento, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad27 Sep 2027
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.
Match25 Sep 2027
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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Pergolettese are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Player ratings27 Sep 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Words at Pergolettese training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Michael De Marchi 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.
Match25 Sep 2027
Carpi left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad27 Sep 2027
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Anders Gussiås 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.
In brief
-
The dugout
The manager makes an example of Jacopo Antolini
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
Player ratings
Jacob Lara's mistake decides it