Genílson 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Humaitá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
Everything agreed with Internacional, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Genílson 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Flamengo have kept their man, and Humaitá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Humaitá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
Position 15 and 11 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Humaitá can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Humaitá have done the hard part with Ituano, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Genílson 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 mood at Humaitá has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The deal with Sport Recife is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Humaitá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Humaitá asked and Sport Recife said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Humaitá can pretend not to have heard.
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Humaitá is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Humaitá asked and Ituano said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Eduardo Salva 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.
Humaitá have made the call to Athletico Paranaense. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Humaitá have made the call to Imperatriz. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Humaitá know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Eduardo Salva trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The deal with ABC is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Everybody at Humaitá saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 34 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan Allan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Rhuan Allan has his answer from Humaitá; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Brasil de Pelotas 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.
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Retrô.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Humaitá will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Humaitá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Ignacio Bednarek’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Humaitá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
A side in position 10 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.
A manager forgives a bad Saturday far more readily than a bad Tuesday, because one of them he can explain and the other one he chose. The reports this week have not been good.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Humaitá this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ignacio Bednarek signs something — a contract at Humaitá or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Humaitá, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
SquadQuestions about Pedro Porto on the training pitch
Genílson 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Independência have kept their man, and Humaitá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gabriel Silva 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. André Soares is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Igor trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Humaitá will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Humaitá have done the hard part with Corinthians, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Everybody at Humaitá saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 34 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Independência have kept their man, and Humaitá go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Romarinho 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gabriel Souza 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tiago Fernandes is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Ignacio Bednarek's mistake
The deal with Palmeiras is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Humaitá had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Flamengo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Humaitá training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Igor 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The clubs have shaken hands with Atlético Mineiro; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Humaitá had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Botafogo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Ignacio Bednarek 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Guilherme Lopes 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Vinícius Rocha 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.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Ignacio Bednarek's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.