The Santa Cruz Chronicle
Squad11 Jan 2027
A fracture rules Ronald out for 51 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Santa Cruz will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Santa Cruz
Robinho and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Cristóbal Castillo is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
No deal for Otávio Passos at that price
Santa Cruz offered $98.0K; Avaí said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Market11 Jan 2027
Eyes on Matheus Vinicius again
The phone has started ringing about Matheus Vinicius again, and this time the name on the line is Monte Azul. Santa Cruz are listening politely and promising nothing.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Santa Cruz rebuffed over Raphael Rodrigues
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Guarani have kept their man, and Santa Cruz go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The decline has begun for Balotelli
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 34 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Santa Cruz is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Market11 Jan 2027
One of our own: Marcelo Silva joins the Santa Cruz first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marcelo Silva is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market11 Jan 2027
Santa Cruz promote Samuel Bezerra from within
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Samuel Bezerra 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 Tiago Oliveira steps up from the Santa Cruz academy
- The dugout When it matters, Felipe Alves plays
- The dugout The manager makes Yann Rolim a promise