Marked for Gioele Zacchi
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Aug 2027
Martín Tejón 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.
Match28 Aug 2027
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
62 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad30 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Pedro Marques
“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 ratings30 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.68, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad30 Aug 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Alfonso Pastor knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Simo 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
The name of Maxime Dominguez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Maritimo say nothing, which says plenty.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Marked 5.45, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Maritimo
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
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 Maritimo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2027
93 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market2 Aug 2027
He is 20, and nobody at Maritimo signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad2 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Romain Correia, and the manager let it.
Market2 Aug 2027
The name of Maxime Dominguez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Maritimo say nothing, which says plenty.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
Maritimo pull $664.9K back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Martín Tejón has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Martín Tejón keeps the shirt for now, at Maritimo's convenience rather than his own.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jun 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Maritimo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Martín Tejón 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 Maritimo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Almeida signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Almeida and Maritimo agree another 4 years.
Market28 Jun 2027
No place for Noah Madsen in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Noah Madsen has his answer from Maritimo; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad28 Jun 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market28 Jun 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Maritimo know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom31 May 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Sassuolo
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Sassuolo is running low.
Squad31 May 2027
Tarik Muharemović 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Gioele Zacchi 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 Sassuolo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market31 May 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrea Pinamonti signs something — a contract at Sassuolo or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad31 May 2027
Gioele Zacchi has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Sassuolo that is a harder question to answer.
Loan watch31 May 2027
34 appearances at Avellino and the goals keep coming. Sassuolo are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad10 May 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 Sassuolo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad10 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Josh Doig
“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.
Match8 May 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad10 May 2027
A season average of 7.38 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Loan watch10 May 2027
36 appearances at Bari and the goals keep coming. Sassuolo are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Loan watch10 May 2027
30 appearances at Gubbio and the goals keep coming. Sassuolo are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Market10 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Armand Laurienté’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Shots: 6. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad3 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad3 May 2027
Paolo Rozzio has been here 10 seasons
280 appearances across 10 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Squad3 May 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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Marked 8.89 — 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.
Squad3 May 2027
7 goals and a season average of 7.42. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings3 May 2027
A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match1 May 2027
It needed Natan Girma to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Venezia, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Apr 2027
At 21, Mathis Lambourde is already the best thing here
An average of 7.24 in a first team he is several years too young for. Reggiana have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Francesco Vicari 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.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Gioele Zacchi lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match24 Apr 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Marked 8.43 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match1 Mar 2027
Reggiana sink to position 18
25 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad1 Mar 2027
There were 8 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
At 21, Mathis Lambourde is already the best thing here
An average of 7.20 in a first team he is several years too young for. Reggiana have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad1 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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Marked 9.01 — 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tim Stegerer, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match27 Feb 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Marked 5.62, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market25 Jan 2027
Paolo Rozzio 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 Reggiana can pretend not to have heard.
Match23 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Reggiana
5 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Francesco Vicari 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match23 Jan 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 162% of everything Reggiana 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.
Squad25 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad25 Jan 2027
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Gioele Zacchi knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market18 Jan 2027
Juventus arrived with $8.4M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Match16 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Reggiana
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad18 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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match16 Jan 2027
1‑2 to Juve Stabia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.68 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad18 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.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Marked 8.23 — 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Matteo Rover is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.26 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Francesco Vicari 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.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A performance of 8.55 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
A masterclass from Charlys
Marked 8.12 — 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Tim Stegerer 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Gioele Zacchi knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gioele Zacchi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Matteo Rover
3 goals and a season average of 7.21 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Achille Marini has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market4 Jan 2027
Reggiana say no — this time
The offer from Juventus for Manolo Portanova 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.
Match4 Jan 2027
Reggiana are in real trouble now
Position 18, 19 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Reggiana
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Reggiana is running low.
Squad4 Jan 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Reggiana have had the benefit of it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
At 21, Mathis Lambourde is already the best thing here
An average of 7.20 in a first team he is several years too young for. Reggiana have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad4 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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Nothing got past Charlys
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.90 on the card, and the Reggiana support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market21 Dec 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
There were 6 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.
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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 9.07 — 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Cedric Gondo. 2‑1 against Venezia, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Dec 2026
Südtirol will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Reggiana were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Boardroom7 Dec 2026
The scrutiny sharpens at Reggiana
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Reggiana is running low.
Squad7 Dec 2026
He is 20, he is averaging 7.21, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Match5 Dec 2026
Still nobody has beaten Reggiana
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad7 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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 9.46 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.52 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A masterclass from Charlys
Marked 8.17 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
The match ball belongs to Mathis Lambourde, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Reggiana have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Francesco Vicari 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Marked 10.00 — 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Reggiana did not have in the autumn.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 323% of everything Reggiana 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.35, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match28 Nov 2026
It needed Mathis Lambourde to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Bari, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 14 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sassuolo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad30 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 Sassuolo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match28 Nov 2026
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Sassuolo did not have in the autumn.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
253% of the income goes out in wages at Sassuolo
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
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kristian Thorstvedt, and the manager let it.
Loan watch30 Nov 2026
“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 Sassuolo, and 3 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
Match28 Nov 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Shots: 5, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Reggiana
13 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
There were 11 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.
Match16 Nov 2026
Every point is an argument now for Reggiana
Position 20 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Francesco Vicari 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.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.55 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Natan Girma 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 ratings16 Nov 2026
Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Match14 Nov 2026
It needed Manolo Portanova to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Empoli, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Defensive actions: 34. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
There were 8 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 ratings2 Nov 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 30 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad2 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 Sassuolo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
253% of the income goes out in wages at Sassuolo
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.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.76 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nemanja Matić. 1‑0 against Pisa, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jay Idzes 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Reggiana
8 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.
Squad12 Oct 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.
Squad12 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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Oct 2026
0‑1 to Palermo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Sassuolo
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Sassuolo are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 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 Sassuolo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Oct 2026
Fiorentina left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad5 Oct 2026
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Arijanet Murić knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.98 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 417% of everything Sassuolo 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.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
“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 Sassuolo, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.08 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
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 Reggiana this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Monza left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad31 Aug 2026
At 19 years old, Federico Pirruccio became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 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.
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 Sassuolo this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market24 Aug 2026
Pianese pay $210.0K, 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Arijanet Murić, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
Sassuolo are $14.6M in the red
The borrowing is past what the bank agreed, which is the line where a debt stops being how football is financed and starts being a problem. Every phone-in in this town will quote the figure for the next five years.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Sassuolo lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Tarik Muharemović commits to Sassuolo for another 5 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Tarik Muharemović 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Sassuolo have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tarik Muharemović trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 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.