Marked for William Rovida
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Pro Patria have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Dec 2026
9 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
The terraces21 Dec 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. William Rovida 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Union Brescia made Pro Patria work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad21 Dec 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 Pro Patria this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Sep 2026
Ferdinando Mastroianni 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 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Pro Patria training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pietro Reggiori 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: 12. 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
Pro Patria will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 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 Pro Patria this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cesare Pogliano, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
King Udoh 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 Pro Patria this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
2 academy players handed senior numbers at Pro Patria
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Market24 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Lorenzo Peretti 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mariano Casadei 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Pro Patria training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pietro Reggiori 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
No place for Alberto Masi in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alberto Masi has his answer from Pro Patria; what he does with it is the next window’s story.