Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Como, and 8 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Como know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Livorno they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Livorno they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Livorno, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Como, and 4 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Como know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Como, and 2 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Livorno they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Como can pretend not to have heard.
The shirt still fits. Marcello Sala is back at Como, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The shirt still fits. Enrico Sorrentino is back at Como, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The shirt still fits. Riccardo Rizzo is back at Como, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Como, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
A season average of 7.39 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Como know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Como, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Livorno have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Como, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Como know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Livorno can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Como have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Como is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Como know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Como have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.56 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Como know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Como they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Como have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.58 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Como know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Como they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
A season average of 7.54 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Como know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Como they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Como have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Junior Ngambi is 20, and Como have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Como, and both men came out saying it was fine.
2 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
A season average of 7.00 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Como know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
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.
The award is a small thing with a heavy meaning: for four weeks nobody in this division did his job better. Como have the trophy on a shelf and the player in the side.
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Work is signed off on a capacity of 7163. It is the sort of decision a club is judged on twenty years later, by people who were not there when it was taken.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Como have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Como have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.