Marked for João Vitor
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Novara people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market28 Jun 2027
“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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
$660.0K settles it between the clubs for Ridgeciano Haps
Venezia have accepted the money. What Novara do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“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.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
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Market28 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Novara is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Novara
Elia Boseggia 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 23 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 25 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 May 2027
“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.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Novara may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
The dugout31 May 2027
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Boardroom31 May 2027
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Market31 May 2027
João Vitor has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novara they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad31 May 2027
Tempers go at Novara
Eric Lanini 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Eyob Zambataro 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 dugout31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Roberto Ranieri
“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.
Market31 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Marco Da Graca’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Match1 May 2027
5 matches without a win for Novara
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Novara are no longer polite ones.
The dugout3 May 2027
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Market3 May 2027
Only the photograph left for João Vitor
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. João Vitor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novara the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad3 May 2027
Tempers go at Novara
Eric Lanini 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 May 2027
Marco Da Graca 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.
Market3 May 2027
One of our own: Elia Coppola joins the Novara first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Elia Coppola is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market3 May 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Simone Costantini 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.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout5 Apr 2027
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Market5 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Novara is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Novara
Eric Lanini 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Marco Da Graca 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 terraces5 Apr 2027
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.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market5 Apr 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Marco Nichetti has his answer from Novara; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Match3 Apr 2027
A goal on 90 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
A mark of 7.94, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
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Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mirko Miceli and Novara agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market8 Mar 2027
Only the photograph left for João Vitor
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. João Vitor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novara the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Novara
Eric Lanini 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Eyob Zambataro 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Christian Donadio. 2‑0 against Lumezzane, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Ninety minutes of Christian Donadio at his very best
Marked 8.21. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Novara.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
A defender's afternoon for Mirko Miceli
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. João Vitor has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Eric Lanini in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A season average of 7.22 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Novara training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Da Graca 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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Ninety minutes of Marco Da Graca at his very best
Marked 8.02. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Novara.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Riccardo Collodel, and the manager let it.
Match20 Feb 2027
Novara share the spoils with Lecco
A 1‑1 draw with Lecco leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“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
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Looking ahead
The leaders are next for Novara
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Looking ahead
Eric Lanini faces his old club
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Market
João Vitor is free to find somewhere else
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 26 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Market8 Feb 2027
The deal that would have taken Raffaele Sibilio to Cosenza has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Novara with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Market8 Feb 2027
João Vitor has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Novara they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Eyob Zambataro 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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Hellas Verona have kept their man, and Novara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
12 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Marked 8.22 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The match ball belongs to Marco Da Graca, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Market25 Jan 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Novara people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Everything agreed with Modena, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Eric Lanini in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.93, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match23 Jan 2027
Virtus Verona made Novara work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad25 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eyob Zambataro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match31 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Novara's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Novara has to find a result from somewhere.
Match31 Oct 2026
Novara cannot find the net
5 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eyob Zambataro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Novara
Marco Da Graca and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match31 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Union Brescia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Looking ahead2 Nov 2026
Arzignano next, and one man in the Novara dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market2 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Elia Boseggia signs something — a contract at Novara or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
“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 Novara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Alianza Lima keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Novara
Eric Lanini 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eyob Zambataro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Olimpia: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gianluca Grasso commits to Novara for another 3 years.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
Novara say no to the training-ground money
The plan went upstairs and came back down. Nothing about that will make a headline anywhere else, and everybody who works at the training ground will remember it for years.
Market24 Aug 2026
Novara have made Sylvester Lartey available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mirko Miceli commits to Novara for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Eric Lanini in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Novara
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Eyob Zambataro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Almirante Brown have kept their man, and Novara go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market3 Aug 2026
Nobody at Novara has picked up the phone to Eric Lanini
24 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Joseph Mangondo is in the works
Novara have made the call to FC Metz. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Novara are still strangers to each other
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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Marco Da Graca knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novara, and both men came out saying it was fine.