The Vila Nova Courier
Squad16 Apr 2029
The knee: Léo Gomes out for 50 days
50 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Vila Nova lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad16 Apr 2029
A fracture rules Helton Leite out for 90 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Vila Nova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market16 Apr 2029
Only the photograph left for Rony Fernandes
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rony Fernandes will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Vila Nova the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Apr 2029
A falling-out at Vila Nova
Léo Gomes and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom16 Apr 2029
Graduation day at Vila Nova
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Market16 Apr 2029
Leão steps up from the Vila Nova academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Leão 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.
Market16 Apr 2029
Eduardo Machado steps up from the Vila Nova academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Eduardo Machado 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.
Market16 Apr 2029
Caio Farias steps up from the Vila Nova academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Caio Farias 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.
Boardroom16 Apr 2029
A promise the Vila Nova board did not keep
There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.
In brief
- Squad Willian Formiga falls out with a teammate over standards
- The dugout Bochecha knocks on the manager's door
- Looking ahead Rubens faces his old club