Marked for Tony Strata
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Aug 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match28 Aug 2027
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Vitoria Guimaraes are no longer polite ones.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Óscar Rivas was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match28 Aug 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Oumar Camara, and the manager let it.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.62, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Tony Strata asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Vitoria Guimaraes is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market25 Jan 2027
Miguel Maga hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Vitoria Guimaraes can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
At 19, Oumar Camara is already the best thing here
An average of 7.14 in a first team he is several years too young for. Vitoria Guimaraes have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tony Strata was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Marked 8.69 — 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Mendes, and the manager let it.
Match23 Jan 2027
A 2‑2 draw with Portimonense leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Vitoria Guimaraes needed to.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match2 Jan 2027
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Chaves, and it could have been more.
Market4 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Samu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad4 Jan 2027
7 goals and a season average of 7.50. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.79, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Marked 8.16 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Nobody could get near Samu
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match17 Oct 2026
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Vitoria Guimaraes are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vitoria Guimaraes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 9.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
One of those days for Samu
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Tony Strata in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Vitoria Guimaraes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.84 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matija Mitrović, and the manager let it.
Match10 Oct 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Pacos de Ferreira leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Rodrigo Abascal has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
In brief
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Squad
The room hears from Samu
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The terraces
The press cannot get enough of Telmo Arcanjo