Matheus Cavichioli 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Avaí have kept their man, and Marcílio Dias go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arthur Baggio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marcílio Dias have made the call to Ceará. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
In brief
The dugoutZé Phelipe asks for a word with the manager
Ruan Pablo, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 8.18
A mark of 8.18 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Marcílio Dias have done the hard part with ABC, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Ruan Pablo 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Arthur Baggio 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: Arthur Baggio. 2‑0 against Operário-MS, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Miguel Silva was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for Isac is in the works
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Matheus Cavichioli 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gui Mansano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 33. 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.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Nicolás Ibarra, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.86
A mark of 7.86 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Nicolás Ibarra 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.
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Marcílio Dias this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
In brief
SquadWords at Marcílio Dias training over how hard people work
Successful dribbles: 33. 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.
Ruan Pablo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gui Mansano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
Level with 88 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Marcílio Dias had all but put away. Guarany de Bagé will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
It needed Arthur Baggio to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Guarany de Bagé, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
In brief
The dugoutThe view from the dugout
The dugoutMarcelo Sousa has become a man the manager trusts
Matheus Cavichioli 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Marcílio Dias training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arthur Baggio 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.
0‑1 to São José, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout26 Apr 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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Guilherme Ribeiro to a room that had heard them before.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
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.
At 20 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Marcílio Dias this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arthur Baggio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Gui Mansano has his answer from Marcílio Dias; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
He is 20, and nobody at Marcílio Dias signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Marcílio Dias know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Marcílio Dias this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2027
7 new faces, and Marcílio Dias 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arthur Baggio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Emilio Troncoso is 20, 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 Marcílio Dias this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Matheus Cavichioli 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.
“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 Marcílio Dias know it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Marcílio Dias training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arthur Baggio 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.
10 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arthur Baggio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Marcelo Sousa is on it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Marcílio Dias know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Everything agreed with Atlético Mineiro, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Marcílio Dias asked and Nova Iguaçu said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Arthur Baggio 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.
Miguel Silva 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.
A loan enquiry to Atlético Mineiro: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
In brief
The dugoutClaudinho has become a man the manager trusts
Matheus Cavichioli 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gui Mansano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The young player of the month award goes to a 21-year-old at Marcílio Dias who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
Marcílio Dias have made the call to Nova Iguaçu. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Matheus Cavichioli 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Arthur Baggio 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.
Position 11, 15 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Guilherme Ribeiro could afford to be generous.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Luan Rodrigues is on it.
Two goals and a mark of 9.11 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Marcílio Dias they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Matheus Cavichioli and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Marcílio Dias training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Arthur Baggio 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.
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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Guilherme Ribeiro on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Davi Schwenck
The dugoutMarcelo Sousa has become a man the manager trusts
4 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.
Matheus Cavichioli 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
11 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Guilherme Ribeiro after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Nobody at Marcílio Dias will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
SquadGui Mansano is the weekend's best young player
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Marcílio Dias they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Luan Rodrigues has agreed terms with Operário Ferroviário for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arthur Baggio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Marcílio Dias will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Guilherme Ribeiro after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Renato Machado has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luís Braga has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
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 Guilherme Ribeiro left the room before anybody could ask which.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Inter de Limeira.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Gehring, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.06
A mark of 8.06 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
7.86, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Arthur Baggio was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Miguel Silva 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Antônio and Marcílio Dias agree another 3 years.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Guilherme Ribeiro, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
He is doing things every Saturday that nobody around him can answer. It is flattering for a season and a problem after that, and Marcílio Dias know which stage they are at.
In brief
The dugoutMarcelo Sousa has become a man the manager trusts
Brusque go through and Marcílio Dias go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Arthur Baggio is living that version at Marcílio Dias, and it tends to show in the first month.
Matheus Cavichioli 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.
Every supporter in the ground could have named the hole in this team, and most of them did, loudly, for months. Arthur Baggio has been signed to close it.