The Mantova Herald
Squad21 Aug 2028
Lorenzo Andrenacci damages knee ligaments — 65 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 65 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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Mirko Franchi is a better footballer than he was
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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Leonardo Mancuso 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 Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Aug 2028
A late step up for Ettore Gliozzi
At 32 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.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Graduation day at Mantova
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.
Market21 Aug 2028
One of our own: Claudio De Luca joins the Mantova first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Claudio De Luca is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market21 Aug 2028
Fabio Bellucci steps up from the Mantova academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Fabio Bellucci 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
Mantova promote Giacomo Costantini from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Giacomo Costantini has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market21 Aug 2028
One of our own: Cesare Amato joins the Mantova first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Cesare Amato is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.