Marked for Aaron Nemane
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market11 Jan 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at Ospitaletto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ospitaletto may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad11 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ospitaletto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match9 Jan 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Julen Azkue knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Julen Azkue trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Shots: 8. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ospitaletto can pretend not to have heard.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Floriano Vanzo 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.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match2 Jan 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Julen Azkue
“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.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Dec 2026
Damián González Hernández 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 Dec 2026
“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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ospitaletto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Dec 2026
“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 Ospitaletto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Ospitaletto
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ospitaletto are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Damián González Hernández 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Julen Azkue gets it from the manager
“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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.24 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market7 Dec 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ospitaletto, another week without a signature from Damián González Hernández.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The award goes to Francesco Gobbi, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.
Match5 Dec 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market30 Nov 2026
“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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Nov 2026
41 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Ospitaletto are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad30 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ospitaletto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
247% of the income goes out in wages at Ospitaletto
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ospitaletto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match14 Nov 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Ospitaletto did not have in the autumn.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samuele Regazzetti, and the manager let it.
Match14 Nov 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Trento leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Claudio Messaggi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
5 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Luca Sonzogni decides it from twelve yards
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match4 Nov 2026
Juventus are out and Ospitaletto go through, 0‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Match7 Nov 2026
5‑0, and Francesco Gobbi took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Ospitaletto tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 28, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Mattia Guarneri: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Ospitaletto have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Damián González Hernández 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A performance of 9.62 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market2 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
69 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
247% of the income goes out in wages at Ospitaletto
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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gianni Manfrin, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Oct 2026
“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 Ospitaletto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Oct 2026
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match24 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Ospitaletto
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Ospitaletto are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Damián González Hernández 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match17 Oct 2026
4 matches without a win for Ospitaletto
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ospitaletto are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ospitaletto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.94 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Luca Sonzogni, and the manager let it.
Match17 Oct 2026
It needed Claudio Messaggi to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Union Brescia, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market5 Oct 2026
“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 Ospitaletto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Ospitaletto are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Ospitaletto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
378% of the income goes out in wages at Ospitaletto
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Gianni Manfrin
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match23 Sep 2026
A 1‑0 win over Reggiana, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Market28 Sep 2026
“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 Ospitaletto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Floriano Vanzo 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samuele Regazzetti, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 7.71 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Ospitaletto had the best player on the pitch.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Julen Azkue knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ospitaletto, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Ospitaletto
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Ospitaletto are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Lukas Sinn 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 Ospitaletto this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match19 Sep 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Amer Mehić 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
262% of the income goes out in wages at Ospitaletto
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Floriano Vanzo, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Amer Mehić has outgrown this division
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Ospitaletto know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 14, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Match5 Sep 2026
Point won or two lost for Ospitaletto?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Renate? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 Aug 2026
“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 Ospitaletto, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market31 Aug 2026
The name of Claudio Messaggi has come up in conversations Ospitaletto were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market31 Aug 2026
The fee is $48.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Sambenedettese drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Floriano Vanzo 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
Floriano Vanzo 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.
Squad10 Aug 2026
This league is too small for Floriano Vanzo
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Ospitaletto will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market10 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Gabriele Mondini’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Market10 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Claudio Messaggi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 Aug 2026
Experience through the door at Ospitaletto
Gianni Manfrin arrives at 33 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.