Marked for Thiago González
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad13 May 2030
A season average of 7.76 with 22 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market13 May 2030
King Udoh has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Catanzaro they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market13 May 2030
“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.
Squad13 May 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Catanzaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 May 2030
63 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match11 May 2030
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom13 May 2030
Wages eat 145% of everything Catanzaro earn
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.
Squad13 May 2030
“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.
Player ratings13 May 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market29 Apr 2030
“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 The request is on a desk at Catanzaro, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Apr 2030
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.
Squad29 Apr 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Catanzaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market29 Apr 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Catanzaro is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 Apr 2030
A season average of 7.24 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match27 Apr 2030
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad29 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adam Boufandar, and the manager let it.
Player ratings29 Apr 2030
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Market29 Apr 2030
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Catanzaro know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Feb 2030
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Catanzaro can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Feb 2030
A season average of 7.67 with 16 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad11 Feb 2030
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market11 Feb 2030
Only the photograph left for Nicola Valente
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicola Valente will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Catanzaro the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad11 Feb 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Catanzaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Feb 2030
Nicolò Buso scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Monza, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad11 Feb 2030
“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
Crisis
Match24 Nov 2029
Nowhere to hide for Catanzaro
1‑4 against Reggiana, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market26 Nov 2029
“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.
Match24 Nov 2029
No end in sight to Catanzaro's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Catanzaro has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad26 Nov 2029
10 goals and a season average of 7.57. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad26 Nov 2029
Pietro Iemmello 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 Nov 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Simone Pontisso, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Nov 2029
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom26 Nov 2029
105% of the income goes out in wages at Catanzaro
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Boardroom26 Nov 2029
Nobody left the Catanzaro dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Nov 2029
There were 6 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.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Adam Boufandar: 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.” Catanzaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 Nov 2029
“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.
Match17 Nov 2029
The wait goes on for Catanzaro
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.
Squad19 Nov 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Catanzaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings19 Nov 2029
Marked 8.86 — 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 ratings19 Nov 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.46, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match17 Nov 2029
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Nicolò Buso is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.30 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad29 Oct 2029
There were 11 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.
Market29 Oct 2029
“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.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Pietro Iemmello 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.
Squad29 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Costantino Favasuli, and the manager let it.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.65 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad29 Oct 2029
A season average of 7.33 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Boardroom29 Oct 2029
Wages eat 96% of everything Catanzaro earn
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.
Match27 Oct 2029
A 2‑2 draw with Virtus Entella leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 14. 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
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market22 Oct 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Catanzaro can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Oct 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Catanzaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Oct 2029
A 3‑2 win over Carrarese, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Marked 8.46 — 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 ratings22 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.28 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad22 Oct 2029
The manager makes an example of Thiago González
“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.
Squad22 Oct 2029
“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; Catanzaro are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad3 Sep 2029
63 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Thomas Kristensen 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.
Match1 Sep 2029
Nicola Valente scored, and precious little else went right: 3‑4 to Mantova, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad3 Sep 2029
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gianmarco Marchetti and Catanzaro agree another 5 years.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
Marked 8.49 — 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 ratings3 Sep 2029
Marked 8.41 — 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 ratings3 Sep 2029
Nicolò Buso leaves them behind him
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market3 Sep 2029
The name of Mattia Liberali keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Catanzaro say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market13 Aug 2029
“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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Catanzaro this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Aug 2029
“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; Catanzaro are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Aug 2029
92 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Thomas Kristensen 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.
Squad6 Aug 2029
48 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Matias Antonini commits to Catanzaro for another 3 years.
Market6 Aug 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Catanzaro know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market6 Aug 2029
36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Jul 2029
Gabriele Gori: 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.” Catanzaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market16 Jul 2029
Julián Méndez 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 Catanzaro can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Simone Pontisso 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Jul 2029
120 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market9 Jul 2029
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Catanzaro can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Julián Méndez: 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.” Catanzaro have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pietro Iemmello and Catanzaro agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Jul 2029
79 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market9 Jul 2029
The paperwork is done: Joaquin Dalmasso joins from Lecco in a deal worth $370.0K. Now comes the harder part.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jun 2029
“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 Catanzaro, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad11 Jun 2029
15 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market11 Jun 2029
The fee is $850.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Pro Vercelli drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad11 Jun 2029
The medical room confirms 109 days on the sidelines for Thiago González, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Pietro Iemmello 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.
Market11 Jun 2029
The chase for Michele Sanguineti ended with $300.0K changing hands and Virtus Entella out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.