Marked for Rodrigo Tremoço
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Chaves
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad3 Apr 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Rodrigo Tremoço
14 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chaves lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom3 Apr 2028
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market3 Apr 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Chaves, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout3 Apr 2028
“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.
Market3 Apr 2028
Nuninho has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chaves they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad3 Apr 2028
João Valido 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 Chaves this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Chaves training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Richard 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 dugout3 Apr 2028
João Lucas gets it from the manager
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad27 Mar 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Rodrigo Tremoço
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chaves lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market27 Mar 2028
“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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Chaves know it.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Chaves
Richard 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
“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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
A row about effort at Chaves
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ni Rodrigues was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Simone Ianesi 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 Chaves, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead27 Mar 2028
Benfica B next, and one man in the Chaves dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Brice Eboudjé gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Brice Eboudjé is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Mar 2028
29 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chaves lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
Richard says Chaves went back on their word
“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.
Market20 Mar 2028
“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 Chaves, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words exchanged at Chaves
Richard 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Words at Chaves training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Robyn Esajas 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.
Match18 Mar 2028
Three points for Chaves, 2‑0 the final word against Leiria in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
No hiding place for Radsley
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Radsley, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Ninety minutes of Nuno Félix at his very best
Marked 8.13. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Chaves.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
The team sheet said everything about Simone Ianesi
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Simone Ianesi.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Mar 2028
Rodrigo Tremoço damages knee ligaments — 37 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 37 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.
Match11 Mar 2028
Djibril Soumaré had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Pacos de Ferreira were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Market13 Mar 2028
“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 Chaves, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Djibril Soumaré pops up at the right end — 7.89
7.89, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Chaves may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Words at Chaves training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Richard 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 dugout13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Richard
“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.
Market13 Mar 2028
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Chaves, another week without a signature from João Valido.
The dugout13 Mar 2028
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Mar 2028
45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chaves lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
Rodrigo Marques has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Chaves can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Chaves
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Chaves is running low.
Market6 Mar 2028
Radsley 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 Chaves can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Mar 2028
A one-man rearguard from João Valido
There were 8 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.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Nuno Félix goes up and wins it — 7.92
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.92 for the rest of it.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
Matheus Emiliano: 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.” Chaves have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market6 Mar 2028
Nuninho has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chaves they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Boardroom6 Mar 2028
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Nuninho has agreed terms with Vizela for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.