Sousa

Attacking Midfielder (R) - Van
21 Dec 2028
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Marked for Sousa

97 Edition

The Van Post

5 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match3 Jun 2028

The wait goes on for Van

16 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.

Match5 Jun 2028

Every point is an argument now for Van

Position 10 and 6 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.

Boardroom5 Jun 2028

Van spell it out for Henrikh Karapetyan

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Henrikh Karapetyan has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market5 Jun 2028

Florian Neureiter asks to leave Van

“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.

Squad5 Jun 2028

A one-man rearguard from Danila Bokov

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.

Squad5 Jun 2028

Sousa keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Van may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Player ratings5 Jun 2028

Nobody could get near Darluis Paz

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad5 Jun 2028

Robert Darbinyan signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Robert Darbinyan and Van agree another 2 years.

Squad5 Jun 2028

Tempers go at Van

Darluis Paz 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.

In brief

  • Market Arsen Galstyan attracts admirers
  • Player ratings A masterclass from Mauro
  • The terraces The crowd has taken to Mauro
Back issues
93 Edition

The Van Post

8 May 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match6 May 2028

12 matches without a win for Van

The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Van are no longer polite ones.

Match8 May 2028

Van sink to position 10

3 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad8 May 2028

Tempers go at Van

Darluis Paz 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.

Match6 May 2028

A bad afternoon for Van against Pyunik

0‑1 to Pyunik, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad8 May 2028

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neguete 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.

Squad8 May 2028

Arsen Galstyan stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Arsen Galstyan and Van agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad8 May 2028

The manager makes an example of Anderson Sobral

“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.

Player ratings8 May 2028

Nobody could get near Sousa

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Boardroom8 May 2028

$248.9K taken back off the Van table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

In brief

89 Edition

The Van Post

10 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match10 Apr 2028

Van are in real trouble now

Position 10, 2 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.

Match5 Apr 2028

The small margins put Van out

Out, 1‑3 to Shirak, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Match8 Apr 2028

8 matches without a win for Van

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Van are no longer polite ones.

Squad10 Apr 2028

Tempers go at Van

Darluis Paz 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 terraces10 Apr 2028

Van supporters have found a favourite in Sousa

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Sousa 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.

Squad10 Apr 2028

No hiding place for Allef

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Allef, and the manager let it.

Player ratings10 Apr 2028

One of those days for Sousa

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad10 Apr 2028

Words at Van training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Neguete 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.

Player ratings10 Apr 2028

Nobody could get near Mauro

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief