Michele Calì

Central Midfielder - Renate
10 Jan 2027
Sunday
Process

Marked for Michele Calì

21 Edition

The Renate Post

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Francesco Vassallo 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.

Match

Renate see off Alcione Milano

Three points for Renate, 1‑0 the final word against Alcione Milano in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Óttar Magnús Karlsson at his very best

Marked 8.02. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Renate.

Squad

Riccardo De Zen in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Renate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

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.” Alessandro Grassi kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Samuele Spalluto

“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 ratings

Lorenzo De Leo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Player of the week: Lorenzo De Leo

Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.

Looking ahead

Mbarick Fall faces his old club

Giana Erminio next, and one man in the Renate dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.

In brief

Back issues
20 Edition

The Renate Post

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Lorenzo De Leo, 21, steals the show — 8.20

Marked 8.20 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.

Squad

Filippo Vesentini in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Renate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Renate see off Arzignano

Three points for Renate, 1‑0 the final word against Arzignano in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Martín Suárez runs at them all day

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.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Alessandro Grassi, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.

The dugout

No hiding place for Gianluca Rossi

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gianluca Rossi, and the manager let it.

Squad

The division's best last weekend was a Renate man

It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Lorenzo De Leo was the best thing in any of them.

The dugout

Francesco Vassallo left out for tactical reasons at Renate

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.

The dugout

Michele Calì has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Michele Calì has written the date down.

In brief

19 Edition

The Renate Post

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from Lorenzo De Leo at 21 — 8.12

The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Lorenzo De Leo did not need any: 8.12, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Squad

Lorenzo De Leo in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Renate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Andrea Bonetti signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Andrea Bonetti and Renate agree another 4 years.

Squad

A row about effort at Renate

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francesco Vassallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Loan watch

Thomas Clementi has seen enough of AC Milan

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Renate, and 1 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

No hiding place for Filippo Vesentini

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Filippo Vesentini, and the manager let it.

Squad

Lorenzo De Leo named in the team of the month

A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Lorenzo De Leo is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Match

Honours even between Renate and Union Brescia

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 dugout

Alessandro Grassi: “We have to be better”

“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.

In brief

17 Edition

The Renate Post

23 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Lorenzo De Leo, 21, steals the show — 8.01

Marked 8.01 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 dugout

Samuel Cuka keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Renate may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tommaso Nobile in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Renate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

The drought breaks for Renate

6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Vicenza were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.

Match

Renate find a way past Vicenza

Vicenza made Renate work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Michele Calì

“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 dugout

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.” Alessandro Grassi kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

Squad

Tommaso Nobile shuts the door again

7 clean sheets and counting. Strikers leave this ground muttering his name, which is exactly how a goalkeeper measures a good season.

Squad

Words at Renate training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Bartoccioni 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.

In brief

15 Edition

The Renate Post

9 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Renate's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Renate has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Words exchanged at Renate

Tommaso Nobile 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.

Squad

Francesco Vassallo 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 terraces

One of their own: Corrado Riviera

He is 21 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.

Loan watch

Thomas Clementi wants to come home

“I did not go to AC Milan to sit and watch. I want to come back to Renate and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 13 matches say the rest.

Player ratings

Corrado Riviera stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.51 on the card, and the Renate support went home talking about one name.

The dugout

Mbarick Fall 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.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Alessandro Grassi 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.

Match

Renate draw a blank against Pro Patria

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Pro Patria defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

14 Edition

The Renate Post

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Lorenzo De Leo, 21, steals the show — 8.04

Marked 8.04 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.

Match

No end in sight to Renate's wait for a win

4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Renate has to find a result from somewhere.

The terraces

Renate supporters have found a favourite in Lorenzo De Leo

There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Lorenzo De Leo 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.

Boardroom

123% of the income goes out in wages at Renate

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.

Squad

Corrado Riviera makes the team of the month

Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.

Match

Renate share the spoils with Triestina

A 1‑1 draw with Triestina leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

Alessandro Grassi on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Alessandro Grassi after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

Player ratings

Simone Suppa beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 13. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Lorenzo De Leo moves up the pecking order

Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Renate than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.

In brief

13 Edition

The Renate Post

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Francesco Vassallo 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.

Squad

Riccardo De Zen in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Renate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

Alessandro Grassi on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Alessandro Grassi after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

Match

Point won or two lost for Renate?

Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against AlbinoLeffe? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.

The dugout

Marco Carta gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Jonathan Spedalieri

Defensive actions: 12. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

The dugout

No place in the plan for Andrea Bonetti

The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.

The dugout

The manager makes Michele Calì a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Renate. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

Player ratings

Filippo Vesentini beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 9. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

In brief

12 Edition

The Renate Post

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Real improvement from Simone Suppa at Renate

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Simone Suppa is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

Tempers go at Renate

Simone Suppa 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Renate

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Francesco Vassallo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Andrea Bonetti gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Player ratings

Martín Suárez beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Player ratings

Jonathan Spedalieri stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.41 on the card, and the Renate support went home talking about one name.

The dugout

The view from the dugout

“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Alessandro Grassi chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.

Looking ahead

A test against the best for Renate

The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against AlbinoLeffe.

The dugout

Francesco Vassallo left out for tactical reasons at Renate

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.

In brief

11 Edition

The Renate Post

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Lorenzo De Leo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.33

A mark of 8.33 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.

Match

A bad afternoon for Renate against Pergolettese

1‑3 to Pergolettese, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Tempers go at Renate

Filippo Vesentini 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.

Loan watch

Thomas Clementi wants to come home

“I did not go to AC Milan to sit and watch. I want to come back to Renate and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.

The dugout

Alessandro Grassi: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

No hiding place for Gianluca Rossi

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gianluca Rossi, and the manager let it.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Andrea Delcarro

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Virtus Verona in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

The dugout

Michele Calì does not fit this one

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.

Player ratings

Half an hour was enough for Nicola Anelli

He came on with the match going nowhere and left it settled. Renate had the right man on the bench, and for once the timing was right too.

In brief

9 Edition

The Renate Post

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Renate out of the cup

Campobasso ended it 0‑1. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Player ratings

Riccardo De Zen was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 27. 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.

Squad

Tommaso Nobile in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Renate this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Renate training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Francesco Vassallo 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 dugout

Filippo Vesentini 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.

The dugout

Alessandro Grassi faces the questions

“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Alessandro Grassi after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.

Market

Gianluca Esposito is free to find somewhere else

“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Renate has been clear about where Gianluca Esposito stands, which is more than many ever get.

The dugout

Andrea Delcarro left out for tactical reasons at Renate

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.

The dugout

Michele Calì has been promised minutes

A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Michele Calì has written the date down.

In brief

8 Edition

The Renate Post

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Tommaso Nobile

There were 10 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.

Player ratings

Lorenzo De Leo, 21, steals the show — 8.47

Marked 8.47 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.

Squad

Real improvement from Simone Suppa at Renate

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Simone Suppa is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Squad

A falling-out at Renate

Andrea Delcarro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Martín Suárez

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.

Match

Lorenzo De Leo sends Renate past Novara

It finished 1‑0, and it was Lorenzo De Leo’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Renate.

Player ratings

Jonathan Spedalieri shuts the door

Defensive actions: 18, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

The dugout

Andrea Bonetti 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.

The dugout

Alessandro Grassi has his say

“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Alessandro Grassi on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.

In brief

7 Edition

The Renate Post

14 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Jonathan Spedalieri puts it in writing

“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 Renate, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Francesco Vassallo 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.

Match

Cittadella take the points off Renate

Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

The dugout

No hiding place for Tommaso Nobile

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tommaso Nobile, and the manager let it.

Loan watch

Thomas Clementi has seen enough of AC Milan

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Renate, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.

The dugout

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 Alessandro Grassi left the room before anybody could ask which.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Samuele Spalluto

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Novara in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

The dugout

Michele Calì does not fit this one

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.

The dugout

A door opens for Andrea Bonetti

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.

In brief

5 Edition

The Renate Post

31 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Gianluca Esposito 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 Renate can pretend not to have heard.

Transfer targets

Tobías Ramírez turns down Renate

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: River Plate keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Transfer targets

Torino tell Renate: Nathan Patterson is not for sale

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.

Squad

A falling-out at Renate

Filippo Vesentini and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Match

Renate come up short against Pro Vercelli

Pro Vercelli left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

Filippo Vesentini 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.

The dugout

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 0‑1 Alessandro Grassi left the room before anybody could ask which.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Liam van Nistelrooij is in the works

Renate have made the call to PSV. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

Market

The shop window has Tommaso Nobile in it

Renate have let the market know Tommaso Nobile can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief