Eboué Kouassi

Defensive Midfielder - Leiria
25 Oct 2027
Monday
Process

Marked for Eboué Kouassi

61 Edition

The Leiria Courier

27 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

Eboué Kouassi leads the rout of Portimonense

3‑0, and Eboué Kouassi took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Leiria tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Market

Ibrahima Guirassy 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 Leiria can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

A defender's goal wins it for Leiria — 7.81

1 for Eboué Kouassi, marked 7.81, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.

Squad

Tempers go at Leiria

Juan Muñoz 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

Real improvement from Juan Estrada at Leiria

Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Juan Estrada is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.

Match

Whatever happens, Leiria 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.

Squad

Words at Leiria training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mathias De Amorim 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

Lucão 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

Jair Silva in the eights

A performance of 8.64 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

Back issues
55 Edition

The Leiria Courier

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The step up is real for Keven Samuel

At 20 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.

Squad

A falling-out at Leiria

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

Match

6 goals as Leiria and Académico de Viseu go for it

Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Leiria and Académico de Viseu, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.

Match

A bad afternoon for Leiria against Académico de Viseu

2‑4 to Académico de Viseu, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Jordan van der Gaag runs at them all day

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.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Leiria

5 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.

Squad

Words at Leiria training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mathias De Amorim 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.

Squad

Eboué Kouassi has improved at 29, which nobody expected

Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.

Market

One of our own: Duarte Marques joins the Leiria first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Duarte Marques is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

In brief

52 Edition

The Leiria Courier

26 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Leiria

Juan Muñoz 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

Words at Leiria training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mathias De Amorim 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

Jakob Odehnal 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

Lucão 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.

Squad

Jano Gordon still has not settled

A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Leiria would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.

Market

The Jair Silva story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jair Silva signs something — a contract at Leiria or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

The dugout

A door opens for Goncalo Pacheco

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.

Market

Jakob Odehnal placed on the list

Leiria have made Jakob Odehnal available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

Squad

Eboué Kouassi finally belongs at Leiria

The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.

In brief

44 Edition

The Leiria Courier

31 May 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Words exchanged at Leiria

Juan Muñoz 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

A row about effort at Leiria

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

The dugout

Pablo Fernández 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.

Squad

The formation has left Luis Arthur behind

Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Leiria will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.

The dugout

José Nabil 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.

Market

The shop window has Eboué Kouassi in it

Leiria have let the market know Eboué Kouassi can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

Market

The Christian Joel Sánchez story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Christian Joel Sánchez signs something — a contract at Leiria or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

Squad

Somebody is after Pablo Fernández’s shirt

A new face in his position, and Pablo Fernández suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Leiria have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.

Market

Leiria pick up Luis Arthur for nothing

The best deals are the ones the accountants never notice. Luis Arthur arrives at Leiria with his wages the only cost and something to prove the only clause.

In brief

41 Edition

The Leiria Courier

10 May 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Leiria

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

Squad

Jhonnys Guerrero stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Jhonnys Guerrero and Leiria agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Words at Leiria training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ibrahima Guirassy 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

Maga 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 Maga is on it.

The dugout

Marc Baró 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.

Market

The Juan Muñoz talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Leiria know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

37 Edition

The Leiria Courier

12 Apr 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

25 days out for Ibrahima Guirassy after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leiria will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

The dugout

Ibrahima Guirassy: 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.” Leiria have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Dominik Prpić 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 Leiria this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Pablo Fernández 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

Alan Mereles wants to go home

“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Leiria can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.

The dugout

When it matters, Maga plays

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.

The dugout

Leiria keep their word to Jaiminho

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 dugout

The manager makes an example of João Silva

“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.

Market

The Juan Muñoz question follows Leiria around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Juan Muñoz’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

In brief

28 Edition

The Feirense Sentinel

8 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Miguel Pereira

26 goals and a season average of 7.57 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Bryan Reyna rejects the move

Feirense had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Belgrano, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Squad

Words exchanged at Feirense

Mateo Tanlongo 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

A row about effort at Feirense

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

Transfer targets

Tondela tell Feirense: João Lima 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.

Match

Miguel Pereira’s goal not enough for Feirense

Miguel Pereira scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Felgueiras, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Player ratings

Rodrigo Martins beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Pedro Machado steps up from the Feirense academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Pedro Machado 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 ratings

Miguel Pereira in the eights

A performance of 8.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

25 Edition

The Feirense Sentinel

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Miguel Pereira

23 goals and a season average of 7.52 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Henrique Pereira

Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Words exchanged at Feirense

Miguel Pereira 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

A row about effort at Feirense

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

Transfer targets

Benfica tell Feirense: Caetano 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.

Player ratings

Miguel Pereira in the eights

A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Miguel Pereira answers Leixões immediately

Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Miguel Pereira had Feirense level again within 3 minutes, and Leixões never got to play with a lead at all.

Transfer targets

Feirense ask about Eboué Kouassi

A loan enquiry to Leiria: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

Transfer targets

Feirense try to borrow Tomás Silva

Académico de Viseu 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

25 Edition

The Leiria Courier

18 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Leiria run riot against Portimonense

5‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Squad

Jair Silva takes the match ball home

3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.

Squad

Dominik Prpić 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 Leiria this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Jair Silva was on a different afternoon to everybody else

10.00. 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.

Market

Feirense watching Eboué Kouassi

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Leiria have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

A row about effort at Leiria

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

Transfer targets

Door shut on Raúl Alcaina

Leiria asked and Penafiel said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Lucão

Marked 9.10 — 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.

Squad

Pablo Fernández is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.24 with 12 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

In brief

24 Edition

The Leiria Courier

11 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Leiria

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

Squad

The step up is real for Bernardo Conde

At 20 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.

Squad

Words at Leiria training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pablo Fernández 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 targets

Venezia tell Leiria: Lion Lauberbach 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.

Player ratings

Jordan van der Gaag in the eights

A performance of 8.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Reydson stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Reydson and Leiria agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Transfer targets

Leiria ask about Raúl Alcaina

A loan enquiry to Penafiel: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.

The dugout

No hiding place for Damien Loppy

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

Match

Leiria and Porto B take a point apiece

It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

  • Player ratings Jair Silva runs at them all day
  • The dugout The view from the dugout
  • The dugout A promise honoured at Leiria
23 Edition

The Leiria Courier

4 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jordan van der Gaag

Successful dribbles: 37. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Leiria are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 41 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Squad

Marc Baró honoured for the season

The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Leiria had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on João Resende

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Leiria have done the hard part with Farense, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Juan Muñoz 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 Leiria this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Lazio tell Leiria: Manuel Lazzari 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.

The dugout

Genaro 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.

Squad

Bernardo Gomes stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Bernardo Gomes and Leiria agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

No place for Eboué Kouassi in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Eboué Kouassi has his answer from Leiria; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

In brief

22 Edition

The Leiria Courier

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

A brace, and Eboué Kouassi takes the afternoon — 8.13

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Eboué Kouassi provided it, and the 8.13 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Squad

Borislav Rupanov 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 Leiria this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Jair Silva runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Words at Leiria training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pablo Fernández 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.

Match

Eboué Kouassi the difference as Leiria beat Sporting CP B

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Eboué Kouassi. 2‑0 against Sporting CP B, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Maga in the eights

A performance of 8.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

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.” Duarte Dias kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Marcelo

“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.

Squad

Jordan van der Gaag is carrying Leiria

3 goals and a season average of 7.20. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

21 Edition

The Leiria Courier

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Up for the corner, and Eboué Kouassi delivers — 7.77

Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Eboué Kouassi scored, was marked 7.77, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.

Squad

Words exchanged at Leiria

Pablo Fernández 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

A row about effort at Leiria

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

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Pablo Fernández

12 goals and a season average of 7.24 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Match

Leiria get the job done against Felgueiras

A 2‑0 win over Felgueiras, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

The dugout

No hiding place for Pablo Fernández

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

Player ratings

A masterclass from Jair Silva

Marked 8.07 — 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.

Squad

Leiria lose Tomás Caturra

19 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Player ratings

Jordan van der Gaag 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.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • Market No place for Jorginho in the plan
  • The dugout Maga has become a man the manager trusts
20 Edition

The Leiria Courier

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A falling-out at Leiria

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

Squad

Maga stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Maga and Leiria agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

Jordan van der Gaag beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Match

Borislav Rupanov’s goal not enough for Leiria

Borislav Rupanov scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Feirense, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

The dugout

Christian Joel Sánchez 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.

Squad

Ibrahima Guirassy 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 dugout

Duarte Dias: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

The dugout

The plan did not have a place for Pablo Fernández

Nobody at Leiria is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.

Market

The Juan Muñoz talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Leiria know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

16 Edition

The Leiria Courier

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for João Simões

44 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leiria lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Squad

17 days out for Ricardo Moreira after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Leiria will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Player ratings

A brace, and Borislav Rupanov takes the afternoon — 8.90

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Borislav Rupanov provided it, and the 8.90 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Eboué Kouassi goes up and wins it — 7.44

A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.44 for the rest of it.

The dugout

Tauzy keeps the receipts

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

Match

Nobody wants to play Leiria right now

3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.

Squad

Tempers go at Leiria

Juan Muñoz 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.

Match

Leiria find a way past Penafiel

Penafiel made Leiria work for it, but the scoreboard read 5‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Match

Borislav Rupanov among the goals in a wild afternoon

8 goals in one match, Borislav Rupanov on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Leiria and Penafiel.

In brief

1 Edition

The Leiria Courier

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Juan Muñoz signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Muñoz and Leiria agree another 3 years.

Squad

A falling-out at Leiria

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

Squad

Words at Leiria training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pablo Fernández 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 targets

Mattersburg tell Leiria: Florian Arnautovic 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.

Market

Nobody at Leiria has picked up the phone to Juan Muñoz

36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

Squad

8 new faces, and Leiria are still learning each other

A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.

In brief