The Leiria Courier
Match3 Oct 2026
Leiria run riot against Lusitânia Lourosa
4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Leiria
Juan Muñoz and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Fábio Sousa is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Leiria
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Pablo Fernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
Leiria supporters have found a favourite in José Neto
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. José Neto 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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A masterclass from Jair Silva
Marked 8.56 — 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 ratings5 Oct 2026
Jordan van der Gaag runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Marc Baró at his very best
Marked 8.07. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Leiria.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Pablo Fernández makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
In brief
- The dugout The manager’s verdict
- The dugout The manager makes an example of Ítalo Pica-Pau
- Looking ahead Leiria take on the side everybody is chasing