César De la Hoz 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 phone has started ringing about Elia Boseggia again, and this time the name on the line is Toronto FC. Novara are listening politely and promising nothing.
César De la Hoz 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 fee is $77.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Spartak Tambov drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alessandro Citi signs something — a contract at Novara or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Novara has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
In brief
The terracesSupporters make their feelings known about Elia Boseggia
César De la Hoz 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Novara have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
César De la Hoz 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.
Sambenedettese pay $12.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Novara know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
“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 The request is on a desk at Novara, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Adrian Cannavaro will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Novara the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 8.25 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
César De la Hoz 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Thomas Alberti signs something — a contract at Novara or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
César De la Hoz 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Novara, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Eric Lanini signs something — a contract at Novara or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
César De la Hoz 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Novara can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Novara is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
César De la Hoz 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.
César De la Hoz 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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Novara know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Novara this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.