Marked for Raffaele Sibilio
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Inter is saying, and nobody at Novara is enjoying the guessing.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The deal with Hellas Verona 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.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
Novara offered $750.0K; Genoa 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.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Adrian Cannavaro has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Lanini 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 dugout17 Jul 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Novara told Riccardo Arboscello something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Market17 Jul 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Marco Da Graca’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
Raffaele Sibilio 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
Upbeat
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Novara and Inter have settled on $610.0K. 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.
Market19 Jun 2028
Novara get their man
The chase for Taha Zidouh ended with $93.0K changing hands and Modena out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
The dugout19 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Adrian Cannavaro has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Marco Da Graca 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.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Udinese have kept their man, and Novara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad19 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Novara
Raffaele Sibilio and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
A loan move for Mattia Mannini is in the works
Novara have made the call to AS Roma. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets19 Jun 2028
A loan enquiry to Napoli: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout19 Jun 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
The deal with Torino 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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicolò Ledonne and Novara agree another 4 years.
Squad12 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Eyob Zambataro has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Marco Da Graca 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.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad12 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Riccardo Collodel, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market12 Jun 2028
The name of Omar Khailoti keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Novara say nothing, which says plenty.
Market12 Jun 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad15 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 Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout15 May 2028
This is not rotation. Eyob Zambataro has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 May 2028
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eric Lanini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 May 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Novara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout15 May 2028
Mirko Miceli gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout15 May 2028
Omar Khailoti knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Omar Khailoti trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad15 May 2028
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Novara would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Market15 May 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market15 May 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Andrea Moretti’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout3 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Roberto Ranieri has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Hernán Claro commits to Novara for another 1 years.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Lanini 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.
Match1 Apr 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Mathys Detourbet is the month’s best young player
At 20 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Novara will try not to make too much of it.
Market3 Apr 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Novara have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Novara told Marco Da Graca something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Sergio Parise after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout6 Mar 2028
This is not rotation. Roberto Ranieri has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words exchanged at Novara
Mathys Detourbet 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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eric Lanini 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.
Match4 Mar 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Eric Lanini
“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.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Novara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad6 Mar 2028
The young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at Novara who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
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 Sergio Parise left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Novara needed to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Novara
Mathys Detourbet 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 dugout29 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Eyob Zambataro has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Match27 Nov 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hernán Claro 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 dugout29 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.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Nicolò Ledonne is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Marked 4.74, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Looking ahead29 Nov 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Lecco in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Up for the corner, and Roberto Ranieri delivers — 7.86
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Roberto Ranieri scored, was marked 7.86, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
Diogo Medeiros: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Novara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The dugout22 Nov 2027
This is not rotation. Marco Nichetti has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Match20 Nov 2027
A bad afternoon for Novara against Renate
1‑2 to Renate, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hernán Claro 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 dugout22 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cristian Samaritani, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Nov 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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Sergio Parise to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
Looking ahead22 Nov 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Pro Vercelli in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Mirko Miceli out for 108 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Novara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market9 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
This is not rotation. Eyob Zambataro has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Novara is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Novara asked and Sochaux said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Davide Dell'Erba and Novara agree another 4 years.
Squad9 Aug 2027
7 new faces, and Novara 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.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
A loan enquiry to Quevilly-Rouen: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout9 Aug 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.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Nicolò Ledonne knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Jul 2027
A fracture rules Mirko Miceli out for 123 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Novara will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market26 Jul 2027
“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 Novara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Hernán Claro and Novara agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Da Graca was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Empoli have kept their man, and Novara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Novara
Raffaele Sibilio and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Sochaux have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to Quevilly-Rouen: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Omar Khailoti knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Jun 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Novara have done the hard part with Napoli, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Inter: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raffaele Sibilio 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 dugout21 Jun 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Nicolò Ledonne knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Nicolò Ledonne trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market21 Jun 2027
The name of Christian Donadio keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Novara say nothing, which says plenty.
Market21 Jun 2027
Novara have let the market know Christian Donadio can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Mar 2027
“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; Novara are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Da Graca 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Novara
Omar Khailoti 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
0‑2 to Alcione Milano, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Elia Boseggia
“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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
The dugout1 Mar 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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Sergio Parise to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Christian Donadio’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Novara needing him to play as if none of it matters.