Marked for Massimo Altieri
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Dec 2032
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad27 Dec 2032
20 days out for Massimo Altieri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spezia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market27 Dec 2032
Only the photograph left for Adam Ratajczyk
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adam Ratajczyk will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spezia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout27 Dec 2032
“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.
Match25 Dec 2032
A bad afternoon for Spezia against Pescara
0‑1 to Pescara, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad27 Dec 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Spezia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market27 Dec 2032
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad27 Dec 2032
Words at Spezia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aaron Ciammaglichella 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 dugout27 Dec 2032
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match15 Dec 2032
Cup progress for Spezia
A 2‑0 win over Juve Stabia, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Match18 Dec 2032
Cruel end for Torino as Spezia pounce
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Spezia scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Squad20 Dec 2032
27 days out for Massimo Altieri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spezia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market20 Dec 2032
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spezia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market20 Dec 2032
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spezia can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings20 Dec 2032
Jhonnathan pops up at the right end — 7.86
7.86, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Squad20 Dec 2032
39 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad20 Dec 2032
Eddy Kouadio 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 Spezia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2032
Konan N'Dri falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 Nov 2032
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spezia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad29 Nov 2032
A fracture rules Massimo Altieri out for 17 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spezia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market29 Nov 2032
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Spezia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 Nov 2032
Eddy Kouadio 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 Spezia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Nov 2032
Konan N'Dri beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad29 Nov 2032
A move Augusto Saravia would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Augusto Saravia is living that version at Spezia, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad29 Nov 2032
Words at Spezia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Konan N'Dri 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 dugout29 Nov 2032
“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.
Match27 Nov 2032
Level with 90 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Spezia had all but put away. Atalanta will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
In brief
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Match
Spezia and Atalanta take a point apiece
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The dugout
Eddy Kouadio knocks on the manager’s door
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Nov 2032
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match20 Nov 2032
Spezia strike at the death to beat Bologna
There were 87 minutes on the clock and Bologna had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Spezia did not stop to explain themselves.
Market22 Nov 2032
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kingstone Mutandwa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spezia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market22 Nov 2032
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Spezia can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Nov 2032
67 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad22 Nov 2032
Words at Spezia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolò Bertola 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 Nov 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kingstone Mutandwa, and the manager let it.
Match20 Nov 2032
A 1‑0 win over Bologna, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad22 Nov 2032
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Javier Domínguez commits to Spezia for another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad15 Nov 2032
31 days out for Massimo Altieri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spezia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market15 Nov 2032
Only the photograph left for Jonathan Panzo
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jonathan Panzo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spezia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market15 Nov 2032
“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 Spezia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom15 Nov 2032
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Gianluca Vigliotti has agreed terms with Hellas Verona for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad15 Nov 2032
A row about effort at Spezia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Bertola was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Nov 2032
Tempers go at Spezia
Marin Pongračić 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.
The dugout15 Nov 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jonathan Panzo, and the manager let it.
Market15 Nov 2032
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Spezia, another week without a signature from Eddy Kouadio.
Squad15 Nov 2032
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Spezia know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Nov 2032
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Adam Ratajczyk obliged against Ascoli. 1‑0 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Spezia.
Squad8 Nov 2032
A fracture rules Massimo Altieri out for 38 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spezia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market8 Nov 2032
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market8 Nov 2032
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aaron Ciammaglichella will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spezia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Nov 2032
Konan N'Dri falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout8 Nov 2032
The manager makes an example of Fikayo Tomori
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad8 Nov 2032
A muscle injury sidelines Lorenzo Berardi for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Spezia will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Player ratings8 Nov 2032
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.43, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad8 Nov 2032
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Spezia can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market1 Nov 2032
“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 Spezia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Nov 2032
45 days out for Massimo Altieri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spezia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market1 Nov 2032
Fikayo Tomori wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Spezia hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Market1 Nov 2032
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gianluca Vigliotti will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spezia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match30 Oct 2032
The wait goes on for Spezia
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Boardroom1 Nov 2032
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Jacob Slater has agreed terms with Atalanta for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad1 Nov 2032
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Spezia know it.
Squad1 Nov 2032
Eddy Kouadio 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 Spezia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match30 Oct 2032
The goals have deserted Spezia
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Spezia can tell you which week it ends in.
In brief
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Squad
Words at Spezia training over how hard people work
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Nicolò Bertola
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Match
A bad afternoon for Spezia against Inter
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Oct 2032
52 days out for Massimo Altieri after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Spezia will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market25 Oct 2032
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kingstone Mutandwa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Spezia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market25 Oct 2032
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom25 Oct 2032
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Manuel Rosetti has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad25 Oct 2032
A falling-out at Spezia
Eddy Kouadio and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Oct 2032
Words at Spezia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolò Bertola 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.
Match23 Oct 2032
The goals have deserted Spezia
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Spezia can tell you which week it ends in.
Match23 Oct 2032
Spezia come up short against Lazio
Lazio left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout25 Oct 2032
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Spezia told Nicolò Bertola something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Oct 2032
A fracture rules Massimo Altieri out for 59 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Spezia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market18 Oct 2032
“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 Spezia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market18 Oct 2032
Jonathan Panzo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Spezia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad18 Oct 2032
Words exchanged at Spezia
Eddy Kouadio 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.
Squad18 Oct 2032
A row about effort at Spezia
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Konan N'Dri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Oct 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Szymon Żurkowski, and the manager let it.
Market18 Oct 2032
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Spezia can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Market18 Oct 2032
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Player ratings18 Oct 2032
Cher Ndour beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
In brief
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The terraces
The glare is on Josep Martínez
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The dugout
Eddy Kouadio asks for a word with the manager
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict