Marked for Máximo Soto
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Jun 2027
Matheus Azevedo damages knee ligaments — 19 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Bahia; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Samuel Santos 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Paysandu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Márcio Júnior 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.
Boardroom28 Jun 2027
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Diego Arismendi has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Paysandu have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Fiorentina have kept their man, and Paysandu go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Diego Minete and Paysandu agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market28 Jun 2027
Paysandu bring in an old head
João Schmidt is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
Máximo Soto 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
Squad3 May 2027
Matheus Azevedo damages knee ligaments — 86 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 86 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.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad3 May 2027
Samuel Santos 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.
Match1 May 2027
Whatever happens, Paysandu do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Paysandu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Sención 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 ratings3 May 2027
Ninety minutes of Matheus Vargas 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 Paysandu.
Match1 May 2027
Late, late show earns Paysandu a point
Minute 85, against ABC, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Squad3 May 2027
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Match1 May 2027
Paysandu share the spoils with ABC
A 1‑1 draw with ABC leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Paysandu this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Paysandu training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Márcio Júnior 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 dugout22 Feb 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
Cristian Sención damages knee ligaments — 19 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Paysandu, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Paysandu
Samuel Santos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Paysandu
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Márcio Júnior was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kaio Magno, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
Matheus Vargas asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Jan 2027
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Paysandu lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Paysandu
Samuel Santos 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.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Union Magdalena have kept their man, and Paysandu go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market11 Jan 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Alex Porto 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Paysandu
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and André was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The formation has left Máximo Soto behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Paysandu will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.