Marked for Afonso Marques
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Afonso Marques
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torreense lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market7 Sep 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 The request is on a desk at Torreense, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Torreense close the window on a squad of their own making
18 in and 21 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Javi Vázquez 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 Torreense this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets7 Sep 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.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
João Marques is no longer first choice
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and João Marques has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad7 Sep 2026
18 new faces, and Torreense are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jonathan Mutombo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Afonso Marques
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Torreense lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market31 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 Torreense, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Transfer targets31 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Stopira 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 Torreense this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Amine Oudrhiri, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Cruzeiro have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Market31 Aug 2026
Torreense have made Javi Vázquez available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Diogo Nascimento was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Torreense dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
32 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torreense lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
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 Torreense, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
Supporters turn on the $2.7M sale of Musa Drammeh
He is going to Ajax Cape Town, the club has $2.7M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Market24 Aug 2026
Ajax Cape Town pay $2.7M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Torreense
Javi Vázquez 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 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.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
No hiding place for Adriel
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Adriel, and the manager let it.
Match22 Aug 2026
A point taken on 87 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad17 Aug 2026
39 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Torreense lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match15 Aug 2026
4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A one-man rearguard from Adriel
There were 7 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.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Supporters turn on the $4.4M sale of Kévin Zohi
He is going to Famalicao, the club has $4.4M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Market17 Aug 2026
Famalicao pay $4.4M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at KV Oostende is saying, and nobody at Torreense is enjoying the guessing.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Javi Vázquez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets17 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.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hugo Pérez, and the manager let it.