Marked for Leonardo Mancuso
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Shaka Mawuli Eklu
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Arezzo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market23 Aug 2027
“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.
Market23 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Arezzo had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Lazio, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
The offer went to Hellas Verona this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad23 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
Arezzo have gone to Ascoli with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Franco Farías is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Boardroom23 Aug 2027
Graduation day at Arezzo
3 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Aug 2027
42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Arezzo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ascoli is saying, and nobody at Arezzo is enjoying the guessing.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Market9 Aug 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Arezzo have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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 targets9 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sassuolo have kept their man, and Arezzo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout9 Aug 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.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Franco Farías'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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Shaka Mawuli Eklu
50 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Arezzo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market2 Aug 2027
“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.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Latina; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
Filippo De Col: 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.” Arezzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad2 Aug 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Arezzo asked and Pisa said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gennaro Iaccarino 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
A loan move for Aljaž Strajnar is in the works
Arezzo have made the call to Monza. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alessandro Renzi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Jul 2027
Shaka Mawuli Eklu damages knee ligaments — 58 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 58 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.
Market26 Jul 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 Arezzo, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
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.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gennaro Iaccarino, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Arezzo have made the call to Juventus. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
A loan move for Aljaž Strajnar is in the works
Arezzo have made the call to Monza. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Arezzo will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Jul 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Shaka Mawuli Eklu
65 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Arezzo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at AS Roma is saying, and nobody at Arezzo is enjoying the guessing.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Palermo have kept their man, and Arezzo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout19 Jul 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.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Arezzo have made the call to Juventus. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Arezzo are still strangers to each other
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Leonardo Mancuso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Jul 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Shaka Mawuli Eklu
74 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Arezzo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
“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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giacomo Venturi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Matteo Gilli
“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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“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; Arezzo are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A loan enquiry to AC Milan: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Juventus 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Jul 2027
Shaka Mawuli Eklu damages knee ligaments — 84 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 84 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.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
Luca Chierico: 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.” Arezzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market5 Jul 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 Arezzo, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at AC Milan is saying, and nobody at Arezzo is enjoying the guessing.
Squad5 Jul 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Gennaro Iaccarino commits to Arezzo for another 3 years.
Market5 Jul 2027
36 appearances and 6 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jun 2027
99 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Arezzo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Arezzo and Torres have settled on $830.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Market21 Jun 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 Arezzo can pretend not to have heard.
Market21 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Arezzo have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market21 Jun 2027
Artur Ioniţă has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Arezzo they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giacomo Venturi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Arezzo asked and Inter said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to Lecce: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
$5.5M on the table at Lecce. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Market14 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gennaro Iaccarino will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Arezzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market14 Jun 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 Arezzo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Ismael Aguilera: 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.” Arezzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Arezzo asked and Cremonese said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout14 Jun 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrea Cagnano signs something — a contract at Arezzo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Jun 2027
“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.
Squad7 Jun 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
A loan move for Alfred Gomis is in the works
Arezzo have made the call to Palermo. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
A loan move for Salvatore Elia is in the works
Arezzo have made the call to Cremonese. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets7 Jun 2027
Udinese 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.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Nicolò Gigli gets picked when it counts
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 Nicolò Gigli is on it.
Market7 Jun 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Pietro Cianci’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout31 May 2027
“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.
Squad31 May 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giacomo Venturi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch31 May 2027
31 appearances at Foggia and the goals keep coming. Arezzo are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Camillo Tavernelli, and the manager let it.
Boardroom31 May 2027
Wages swallow 86% of the Arezzo income
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.
The dugout31 May 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.
The dugout31 May 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Squad31 May 2027
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Arezzo will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout24 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Arezzo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market24 May 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Arezzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad24 May 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The dugout24 May 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 Arezzo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Loan watch24 May 2027
35 appearances at Salernitana and the goals keep coming. Arezzo are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
The dugout24 May 2027
Samuele Righetti has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Arezzo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Market24 May 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Luca Trombini may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Giacomo Venturi 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.
The dugout10 May 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.
Squad10 May 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Arezzo know it.
The dugout10 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Franco Farías'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.
The dugout10 May 2027
Nicolò Gigli gets picked when it counts
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 Nicolò Gigli is on it.
The dugout10 May 2027
Luca Chierico 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.
Market10 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Pietro Cianci’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market10 May 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout3 May 2027
Filippo De Col: 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.” Arezzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad3 May 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 May 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch3 May 2027
30 appearances at Foggia and the goals keep coming. Arezzo are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market3 May 2027
One of our own: Marco Grassi joins the Arezzo first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Marco Grassi is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market3 May 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Giulio Casadei is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market3 May 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luca Tombesi 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.
Market3 May 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Edoardo Altieri is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout3 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Apr 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 Arezzo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“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.
Market26 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Arezzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alessandro Renzi and Arezzo agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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 dugout26 Apr 2027
Marco Chiosa 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.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
7 goals in 33 games at Salernitana — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Arezzo updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Apr 2027
Full time on the season at Arezzo
Position 11 on 43 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Market19 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Arezzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Franco Farías: 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.” Arezzo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giacomo Venturi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Alessandro Arena will call it something else in private.
The dugout19 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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
Half-satisfied: Enrico Troisi on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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 dugout12 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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Marked 7.57. 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 dugout12 Apr 2027
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Match10 Apr 2027
Point won or two lost for Arezzo?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Guidonia Montecelio? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Franco Farías is still being punished for one mistake
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.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Nicolò Gigli has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Arezzo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout5 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Arezzo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match3 Apr 2027
Some goals win a match and some take one off somebody else. Gianluca Di Chiara scored in the 87th minute, Perugia had already begun thinking about the journey home, and Arezzo took the lot.
Match3 Apr 2027
The drought breaks for Arezzo
10 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Perugia were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
At 33 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.99, and nobody on the pitch better.
Market5 Apr 2027
Artur Ioniţă 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 Arezzo can pretend not to have heard.
Squad5 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
“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; Arezzo are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match3 Apr 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gianluca Di Chiara. 2‑1 against Perugia, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Arezzo's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Arezzo has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match13 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 Mar 2027
“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; Arezzo are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Enrico Troisi to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marco Chiosa, and the manager let it.
The terraces15 Mar 2027
Everybody has an opinion about Giacomo Venturi
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Mar 2027
Arezzo make home a hard place to visit
16 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Match6 Mar 2027
The wait goes on for Arezzo
7 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Leonardo Mancuso and Arezzo agree another 2 years.
Squad8 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Giacomo Venturi 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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch8 Mar 2027
23 appearances away from home and 12 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
The dugout8 Mar 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.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Arezzo told Alessandro Renzi something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Feb 2027
6 matches without a win for Arezzo
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Arezzo are no longer polite ones.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Match27 Feb 2027
Sambenedettese left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giacomo Venturi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
The goals keep arriving from Mario Ravasio’s exile
11 goals in 22 games at Foggia — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Arezzo updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Marco Chiosa 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.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Enrico Troisi left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Feb 2027
Arezzo make home a hard place to visit
15 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Market22 Feb 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gennaro Iaccarino will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Arezzo the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match20 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Arezzo's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Arezzo has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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 dugout22 Feb 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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.15 on the card, and the Arezzo support went home talking about one name.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Half-satisfied: Enrico Troisi on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Arezzo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match13 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Arezzo's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Arezzo has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Gennaro Iaccarino 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.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Leonardo Mancuso
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.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Enrico Troisi after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Match13 Feb 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Campobasso defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Market15 Feb 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Arezzo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match6 Feb 2027
The run at home goes on for Arezzo
14 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.22, and nobody on the pitch better.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Arezzo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Luca Chierico commits to Arezzo for another 4 years.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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 targets8 Feb 2027
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Arezzo will try again when the window opens; Forli may not be selling by then.
Loan watch8 Feb 2027
19 appearances at Foggia and the goals keep coming. Arezzo are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad8 Feb 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Arezzo is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Genoa have kept their man, and Arezzo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market25 Jan 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Teodoro Damico 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Flavio Caprioli 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Luciano 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market18 Jan 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Arezzo have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Match16 Jan 2027
The run at home goes on for Arezzo
13 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
The terraces18 Jan 2027
Arezzo sell a favourite for $1.7M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Emiliano Pattarello was one of the reasons people came, and $1.7M does not replace that by itself.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The clubs have shaken hands with Carrarese; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
The deal with Cremonese 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Matteo Gilli pulls a muscle — 18 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 18 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jan 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Virtus Verona waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Arezzo is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market11 Jan 2027
Nicolò Gigli 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 Arezzo can pretend not to have heard.
Match9 Jan 2027
After 9 games, Arezzo finally taste it again
The first defeat in 9 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Ternana; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
No thanks: Toni Silić rejects the move
Arezzo had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Hajduk Split, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A move Franco Farías would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Franco Farías is living that version at Arezzo, and it tends to show in the first month.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
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.
The dugout11 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
Ternana left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 35. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market4 Jan 2027
“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 ratings4 Jan 2027
No sign of nerves from Kevin Leone at 21 — 7.70
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Kevin Leone did not need any: 7.70, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Match2 Jan 2027
Still nobody has beaten Arezzo
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Match2 Jan 2027
Nobody wins at Arezzo
12 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Market4 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Arezzo have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
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.
The terraces4 Jan 2027
Arezzo supporters have found a favourite in Kevin Leone
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Kevin Leone 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Dec 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Bra, and it could have been more.
Squad28 Dec 2026
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
The dugout28 Dec 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.
Match26 Dec 2026
8 unbeaten for Arezzo
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Arezzo did not have in the autumn.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Arezzo will quote 14 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad28 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gianluca Di Chiara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Arezzo
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Arezzo are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a goal for Arezzo
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match5 Dec 2026
Nobody wins at Arezzo
10 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Matteo Gilli and Arezzo agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The dugout7 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.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Arezzo make home a hard place to visit
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Match28 Nov 2026
Arezzo cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Player ratings30 Nov 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Tonin, and the manager let it.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
105% of the income goes out in wages at Arezzo
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Chiosa 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Enrico Troisi after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gennaro Iaccarino 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 dugout23 Nov 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 ratings23 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.38 on the card, and the Arezzo support went home talking about one name.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Looking ahead23 Nov 2026
The leaders are next for Arezzo
Ascoli top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Match21 Nov 2026
Point won or two lost for Arezzo?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Livorno? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match14 Nov 2026
Nobody wins at Arezzo
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The dugout16 Nov 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 ratings16 Nov 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.13 on the card, and the Arezzo support went home talking about one name.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Match14 Nov 2026
Arezzo and Torres cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Torres came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match4 Nov 2026
The small margins put Arezzo out
Out, 0‑1 to Virtus Entella, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.01, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.46, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
500 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Match7 Nov 2026
Vis Pesaro made Arezzo work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Arezzo
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marco Chiosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Enrico Troisi kept it short after the 3‑1 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout9 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Oct 2026
Whatever happens, Arezzo do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
Market26 Oct 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Emiliano Pattarello has his answer from Arezzo; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Arezzo
Suhayb Al Kharusi and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Tonin, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.04 on the card, and the Arezzo support went home talking about one name.
The dugout26 Oct 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 Arezzo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Enrico Troisi was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Arezzo dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match17 Oct 2026
A 1‑0 win over Campobasso, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.09 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gennaro Iaccarino, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Marco Chiosa 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.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Suhayb Al Kharusi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Arezzo will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Achille Riva 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.
Market12 Oct 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Pietro Ventura 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.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Samuele Righetti 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.
The dugout12 Oct 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Gennaro Iaccarino is still being punished for one mistake
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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Enrico Troisi after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 121% of everything Arezzo earn
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.
Match3 Oct 2026
Late, late show earns Arezzo a point
Minute 93, against Ravenna, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alessandro Renzi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. 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
Too much change too quickly at Arezzo
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Match3 Oct 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.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match23 Sep 2026
Arezzo march on in the cup
Pianese are out and Arezzo go through, 2‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Up for the corner, and Nicolò Gigli delivers — 7.72
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Nicolò Gigli scored, was marked 7.72, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Francesco Perrotta 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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pietro Cianci, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes of Pietro Cianci at his very best
Marked 8.16. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Arezzo.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Marco Chiosa 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Honours even between Arezzo and Forli
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
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Arezzo
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match19 Sep 2026
0‑1 to Pontedera, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Samuele Righetti 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Enrico Troisi after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Marco Chiosa
“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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Pietro Cianci 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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 targets14 Sep 2026
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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leonardo Mancuso, and the manager let it.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Carlo Fiorini 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Arezzo
Suhayb Al Kharusi 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Enrico Troisi was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Arezzo dressing room was either.
Match12 Sep 2026
Arezzo and Ternana cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Ternana came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Arezzo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market7 Sep 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at Arezzo until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lecce have kept their man, and Arezzo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Player ratings7 Sep 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.
Squad7 Sep 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Arezzo
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Marked 7.20 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Arezzo had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad31 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Cristiano Pavone
27 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Arezzo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Market31 Aug 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.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
The deal with Cremonese 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Suhayb Al Kharusi has just signed for Arezzo, and for once the answer mattered.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cortulua have kept their man, and Arezzo go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match29 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Camillo Tavernelli. 1‑0 against Bra, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Camillo Tavernelli was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Cristiano Pavone
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Arezzo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market24 Aug 2026
Arezzo say no — this time
The offer from Juve Stabia for Gennaro Iaccarino was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market24 Aug 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
37 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Boca Juniors is saying, and nobody at Arezzo is enjoying the guessing.
Squad24 Aug 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 Arezzo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Arezzo asked and Southampton said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Lazio: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Arezzo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market17 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Lazio keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Chiosa 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Arezzo say no — this time
The offer from Juve Stabia for Mauro Coppolaro was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pietro Cianci commits to Arezzo for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Arezzo asked and River Plate said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Alessio Grassi 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Achille Montanari is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Enrico Serra 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 dugout10 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emiliano Pattarello, and the manager let it.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Lazio 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.
In brief
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Squad
Too much change too quickly at Arezzo
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Squad
Words at Arezzo training over how hard people work
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The dugout
Pietro Cianci knocks on the manager’s door
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Leonardo Mancuso commits to Arezzo for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Arezzo
Leonardo Mancuso 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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Gianluca Di Chiara 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Pietro Cianci 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 Arezzo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market3 Aug 2026
No place for Artur Ioniţă in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Artur Ioniţă has his answer from Arezzo; what he does with it is the next window’s story.