The Santa Cruz Chronicle
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Balotelli keeps the receipts
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Santa Cruz may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Robinho was unplayable
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Santa Cruz
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Santa Cruz training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Robinho 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Tempers go at Santa Cruz
Balotelli 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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Santa Cruz find a way past Sampaio Correa
Sampaio Correa made Santa Cruz work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Market19 Apr 2027
One of our own: Lucas Alves joins the Santa Cruz first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Lucas Alves is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market19 Apr 2027
Arthur Tavares steps up from the Santa Cruz academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Arthur Tavares 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.
Market19 Apr 2027
Santa Cruz promote Daniel Silva from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Daniel Silva 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.
In brief
- Market Vitor Silva steps up from the Santa Cruz academy
- Player ratings One of those days for Andrey
- The dugout The manager’s verdict