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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Porto B has been clear about where De Lucca stands, which is more than many ever get.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Porto B know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
At 30 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 4 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
In brief
SquadLazar Marković falls out with a teammate over standards
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lazar Marković 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.
The offer from Valencia for Martim Cunha was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mateus Mide is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yann Karamoh 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Porto B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Oliveirense moved on, Cardoso Varela reports back to Porto B, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
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.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Porto B have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lazar Marković 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 57 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Porto they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Add another name to the list: Santa Clara have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Gabriel Veron. The answer from Porto has not changed — yet.
The offer from Famalicao for Tcherno Jamanca was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadGabriel Veron has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
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.
Zaidu Sanusi 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 words a physio says slowly. 23 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Porto B have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Yann Karamoh 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The words a physio says slowly. 121 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Porto will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Porto B have had the benefit of it.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Francisco Fernandes is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Porto B have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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.
Squad15 May 2028
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yann Karamoh 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.
Yann Karamoh 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
A brace, and Mateus Mide takes the afternoon — 9.70
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Mateus Mide provided it, and the 9.70 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Tomás Pérez 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yann Karamoh 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Yann Karamoh 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.
Martim Cunha 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 player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Yann Karamoh will call it something else in private.
Marked 5.53. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. William Gomes did not need any: 8.83, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Jan Bednarek 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Pepê. 3‑1 against Vitoria Guimaraes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Mateus Mide 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.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Porto B may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Up for the corner, and Zaidu Sanusi delivers — 7.89
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Zaidu Sanusi scored, was marked 7.89, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 5.13. Nothing he attempted worked and by the hour mark he had stopped attempting much, which is the part a manager notices rather than the mistakes.
In brief
Player ratingsAn afternoon Miguel Silva will want back
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Porto B will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Tomás Pérez 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” João Teixeira and Porto B agree another 4 years.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel Brás 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.
16 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Porto B lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Porto B will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Porto B have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Add another name to the list: Vizela have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Mateus Mide. The answer from Porto B has not changed — yet.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Domagoj Drožđek provided it, and the 8.21 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Mateus Mide, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.54
A mark of 8.54 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Three points for Porto B, 3‑2 the final word against Torreense in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Yann Karamoh 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.
Martim Cunha 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Gonçalo Ribeiro 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.69 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.03, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Yann Karamoh 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.
Martim Cunha 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.
10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Yann Karamoh 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.
21 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Martim Cunha 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Porto B have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A season average of 7.03 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Porto B know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody 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 Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Porto B can pretend not to have heard.
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.
A season average of 7.03 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Porto B know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Yann Karamoh 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.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.03, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Diogo Fernandes is 22, 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 Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Felipe Silva 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Felipe Silva 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.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.03, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Yann Karamoh 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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 18 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 Apr 2027
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Pérez 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Diogo Fernandes 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: Gabriel Veron. 1‑0 against Portimonense, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Mateus Mide had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Sporting CP B were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
André Miranda, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.34
A mark of 8.34 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Diogo Fernandes is 22, 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 Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Tomás Pérez 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. André Miranda 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 player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Gabriel Veron will call it something else in private.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.03, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Yann Karamoh 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Diogo Fernandes 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.
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dinis Rodrigues 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Gabriel Veron 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.
Feirense left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Felipe Silva 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.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
A brace, and João Abreu takes the afternoon — 7.80
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. João Abreu provided it, and the 7.80 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The terraces15 Feb 2027
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 7 of the 28 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Tomás Pérez 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.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Porto B pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Porto B scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
A season average of 7.08 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Porto B know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Yann Karamoh 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Yann Karamoh. 2‑1 against Torreense, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
At 20 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Felipe Silva 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.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bryan Caicedo did not need any: 8.52, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
He is 19, he is averaging 7.12, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gabriel Brás 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gabriel Veron. 2‑0 against Leiria, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Gabriel Veron in the middle of it, and Leiria unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
“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 Porto B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
Gabriel Veron 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.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Porto B have had the benefit of it.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.11, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. João Teixeira did not need any: 7.86, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Porto B can tell you which week it ends in.
At 20 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.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.15, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Beat anybody else and it is three points. Beat them and it is a story a city tells for a decade. Porto B have their man.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yann Karamoh 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.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Gabriel Brás 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.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Leixões will replay every second of the added time for a week.
He is 18, he is averaging 7.21, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Porto B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Porto B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yann Karamoh 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.