The Pontedera Courier
Squad21 Aug 2028
Real improvement from Cristiano Buttaroni at Pontedera
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Cristiano Buttaroni is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Pontedera
Umberto Saracco 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.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Gabriele Perretta has improved at 28, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
Graduation day at Pontedera
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words at Pontedera training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riccardo Ladinetti 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
Diego Bianco steps up from the Pontedera academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Diego Bianco 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
One of our own: Marcello Catalano joins the Pontedera first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marcello Catalano is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market21 Aug 2028
Gianmarco Grassi steps up from the Pontedera academy
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gianmarco Grassi 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.
Market21 Aug 2028
One of our own: Simone Guerra joins the Pontedera first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Simone Guerra is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.