Marked for Fabrizio Paghera
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Aug 2027
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 17 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ternana is saying, and nobody at Lumezzane is enjoying the guessing.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Michele Rocca and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Lumezzane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Caleb Ekuban 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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cittadella have kept their man, and Lumezzane go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market2 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Francesco Bonardi again, and this time the name on the line is Benevento. Lumezzane are listening politely and promising nothing.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Cremonese 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
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. Lumezzane will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fabrizio Paghera trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Hellas Verona; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Market14 Jun 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Lumezzane have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market14 Jun 2027
Matteo Ferro hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Lumezzane can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Lumezzane
Michele Rocca 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.
The dugout14 Jun 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Lumezzane training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matteo Ferro 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 dugout14 Jun 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Fabrizio Paghera trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market14 Jun 2027
The Mattia Iori talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Lumezzane know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Gaetano Monachello is on it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout24 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lumezzane may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 May 2027
Michele Rocca 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 dugout24 May 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.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Lumezzane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matteo Ferro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market24 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Samuele Diodato signs something — a contract at Lumezzane or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout24 May 2027
Maissa Ndiaye asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout24 May 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Squad24 May 2027
Mattia Iori in the team of the week — 6.94
6.94 across the ninety minutes, and a place in the division’s best eleven for it. Nobody who saw the match will argue.
Match24 May 2027
Mid-table, and Lumezzane know it
Position 7 on 58 points, with the season drifting toward the summer. It is the safest place in football and the hardest one to sell a season ticket from.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 30. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Michele Rocca 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 terraces26 Apr 2027
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match24 Apr 2027
Pro Patria made Lumezzane work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
A mark of 7.83, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Luciano Parisi on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
A promise honoured at Lumezzane
Something was said to Luigi Caccavo and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Lumezzane, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Apr 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 Lumezzane can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Mattia Iori beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 27. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad12 Apr 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 Lumezzane this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Samuele Diodato commits to Lumezzane for another 4 years.
Match10 Apr 2027
The goals have deserted Lumezzane
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Lumezzane can tell you which week it ends in.
Market12 Apr 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mariano Tedesco is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Lumezzane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matteo Ferro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Luciano Parisi was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Lumezzane dressing room was either.
The dugout12 Apr 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Apr 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lumezzane they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Mattia Iori 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Michele Rocca and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
The Lumezzane board find $1.1M for the manager
Money, not words, and it is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending $1.1M well is entirely his problem now.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Vincenzo Colangiuli is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Marked 7.21. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Luciano Parisi after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The captaincy has been taken off Fabrizio Paghera. Lumezzane will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“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
Steady
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Lumezzane may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad15 Mar 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 Lumezzane this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
Matteo Ferro 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.
Market15 Mar 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Samuele Diodato’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager makes Sasha Mancini a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Lumezzane. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Looking ahead15 Mar 2027
A side in position 17 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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Questions about Maissa Ndiaye on the training pitch
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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A rating of 6.61 was enough for the selectors, and nobody who watched the match is going to argue with them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Marked 7.72 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Lumezzane have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market8 Mar 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Lumezzane they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Mattia Rolando commits to Lumezzane for another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Michele Rocca and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Vincenzo Colangiuli has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Market8 Mar 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Daniele Guerra 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
Novara made Lumezzane work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Samuele Diodato named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Samuele Diodato is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for Lumezzane
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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Andrea Boffelli and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Lumezzane
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maissa Ndiaye was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match19 Dec 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Lecco leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jacopo Deratti, and the manager let it.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
A promise honoured at Lumezzane
Something was said to Gennaro Anatriello and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Jacopo Deratti
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Squad21 Dec 2026
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Lumezzane lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.