29 Aug 2029
Wednesday
Process
161 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

27 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Esquerdinha asks to leave ABC

“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.

Market

Esquerdinha is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

6 matches without a win for ABC

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around ABC are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

João Diogo runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Esquerdinha

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.31, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

One of those days for Rhyan

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.15, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Luiz Fernando

“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

Edson left out for the big one

A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Edson will call it something else in private.

In brief

Back issues
160 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

20 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Luiz Fernando runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

The wait goes on for ABC

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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

ABC come up short against São Paulo

São Paulo left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Lima in the eights

A performance of 9.03 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Esquerdinha

“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

Lucas Souza 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

The team sheet said everything about Wellington Carvalho

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Wellington Carvalho.

Player ratings

Esquerdinha leaves them behind him

Shots: 8. 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.

In brief

159 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

13 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

4 matches without a win for ABC

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around ABC are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Klisman Cabrera stays put

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

Player ratings

Jhosefer runs at them all day

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.

Match

A bad afternoon for ABC against Criciuma

0‑2 to Criciuma, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Jhosefer is carrying ABC

5 goals and a season average of 7.33. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

158 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

6 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Igor Fonseca has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ABC can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Match

ABC are in real trouble now

Position 9, 18 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

ABC come up short against Atletico Goianiense

Atletico Goianiense left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Lucas Souza

“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

Matheus Alves signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Matheus Alves commits to ABC for another 1 years.

Boardroom

87% of the income goes out in wages at ABC

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

Esquerdinha 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

157 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

30 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Esquerdinha 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Esquerdinha has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Player ratings

Jhosefer runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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 ratings

A masterclass from Lima

Marked 9.21 — 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

Rodolfo Castro 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 costly moment from Rhyan

One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at ABC, and it is a cruel one.

Match

Honours even between ABC and Oeste

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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.

In brief

  • Squad Lima finally opens his account
  • Player ratings A day to forget for Lucas Nallin
  • The terraces The press cannot get enough of Lima
156 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

23 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Rodolfo Castro

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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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 ratings

Luiz Fernando runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Igor Bahia

“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

Esquerdinha in the eights

A performance of 8.08 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Francisco Machado signs on for more

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

In brief

155 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

16 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Rodolfo Castro

There were 7 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.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Jhosefer

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.16, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Jhosefer sends ABC past Paysandu

It finished 2‑1, and it was Jhosefer’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to ABC.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Rhyan

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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Esquerdinha

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.45, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Luiz Fernando in the eights

A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Jhosefer is carrying ABC

5 goals and a season average of 7.34. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Francisco Machado signs on for more

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

In brief

  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
  • The terraces The press have found their man in Luiz Fernando
  • The terraces The stand has a song for Luiz Fernando
154 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

9 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Rhuan Pedro says ABC went back on their word

“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.

Squad

Edson signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edson commits to ABC for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Jhosefer’s goal not enough for ABC

Jhosefer scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Ceará, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Esquerdinha

“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

One of those days for Jhosefer

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.55, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

The one thing Esquerdinha could not do

Shots: 13, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Rhyan

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Lucas Mendoza never got going

5.34 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

153 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

2 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Igor Fonseca has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ABC can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Esquerdinha 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Esquerdinha has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

Whatever happens, ABC do not lose

9 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

Edson stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Edson and ABC agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jhosefer

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Edson

“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

Luiz Fernando in the eights

A performance of 8.28 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

152 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

25 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Rodolfo Castro

There were 7 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

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

8 unbeaten for ABC

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation ABC did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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 ratings

A defender's afternoon for Randerson

Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Match

Esquerdinha the difference as ABC beat Boa

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Esquerdinha. 1‑0 against Boa, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

Esquerdinha in the eights

A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Lucas Souza

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Vítor Manoel 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.

In brief

  • Squad Edson knocks on the manager's door
  • The terraces The press cannot get enough of Esquerdinha
151 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

18 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Bragantino come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and ABC did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Match

ABC sink to position 9

9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

150 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

11 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

The wait goes on for ABC

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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jhosefer

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Still nobody has beaten ABC

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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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 ratings

One of those days for Esquerdinha

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Lucas Nallin

“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.

Match

ABC share the spoils with Parana

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

Squad

“I want to play”: Lautaro Ayala speaks

“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.

Squad

Luiz Fernando unhappy with how he is being used

Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Luiz Fernando has let it be known that he does not like the way ABC are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.

In brief

149 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Esquerdinha 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

4 matches without a win for ABC

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around ABC are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Whatever happens, ABC 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

No hiding place for Igor Bahia

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

Player ratings

Lucas Souza in the eights

A performance of 8.40 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Jhosefer

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Honours even between ABC and São Paulo

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

148 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

28 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Jhosefer runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

One of those days for Luiz Fernando

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.85, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

One of those days for Rhyan

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 ratings

Esquerdinha leaves them behind him

Shots: 10. 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.

Match

Honours even between ABC and Criciuma

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

147 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

21 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The small margins put ABC out

Out, 2‑2 to Botafogo, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Rodolfo Castro

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.

Market

Esquerdinha is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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 ratings

Luiz Fernando 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.

Player ratings

Lucas Souza in the eights

A performance of 9.10 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Anderson Pato

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.79, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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

Guilherme Moura in the eights

A performance of 8.52 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

146 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

14 May 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Lucas Souza shuts the door

Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Jhosefer

Marked 9.08 — 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.

Match

Jhosefer sends ABC past Oeste

It finished 2‑0, and it was Jhosefer’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to ABC.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Edson

“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

Esquerdinha in the eights

A performance of 8.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Luiz Fernando in the eights

A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Esquerdinha is off the mark for ABC

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

Squad

Vítor Manoel 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.

In brief

  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
  • The terraces Jhosefer has his own song now
145 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

7 May 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Boardroom

Igor Fonseca has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ABC can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Esquerdinha asks to leave ABC

“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.

Match

The wait goes on for ABC

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.

Squad

Rodolfo Castro signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Rodolfo Castro commits to ABC for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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 ratings

Jhosefer runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

ABC count the cost of losing Brunão

32 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Randerson

Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

In brief

144 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

30 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Rodolfo Castro keeps ABC in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Jhosefer’s goal not enough for ABC

Jhosefer scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Paysandu, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Igor Bahia 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

Jhosefer in the eights

A performance of 8.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

143 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

23 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Esquerdinha has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Player ratings

João Diogo runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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 ratings

One of those days for Jhosefer

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.07, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Esquerdinha

“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

Costly mistake from Rodolfo Castro

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Rodolfo Castro knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

Match

Jhosefer rescues a point for ABC

It needed Jhosefer to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Ceará, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

The terraces

Everybody has an opinion about Esquerdinha

He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.

Player ratings

Igor Bahia keeps on missing

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.

In brief

  • Squad Jhosefer says his piece
  • The terraces The press have found their man in Jhosefer
142 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

16 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Felipe Cavalcante comes home

The shirt still fits. Felipe Cavalcante is back at ABC, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

As if he never left: Marcelo Nogueira returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Marcelo Nogueira is a ABC player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

As if he never left: José Porto returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. José Porto is a ABC player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

Destro comes home

The shirt still fits. Destro is back at ABC, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Boardroom

A promise the ABC board did not keep

There was a commitment, there was a date, and the date went past. Trust at a football club takes years to build and one afternoon to spend.

In brief

141 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

9 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Randerson 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Rhuan Pedro signs on for more

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

In brief

  • Squad Esquerdinha asks for a word with the manager
  • Squad Anderson Pato gets it from the manager
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
140 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

2 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Esquerdinha asks to leave ABC

“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.

Squad

Anderson Pato: 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.” ABC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

In brief

139 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

26 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esquerdinha has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Brunão out for 32 days

The medical room confirms 32 days on the sidelines for Brunão, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

138 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

19 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Lucas Nallin

“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.

In brief

  • Squad Esquerdinha keeps his manager's vote
  • Squad Questions about Ronaldy on the training pitch
137 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

12 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Randerson 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Lucas Nallin: 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.” ABC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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.

In brief

136 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

5 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Esquerdinha 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Jhosefer signs on for more

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

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Anderson Pato

“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.

Boardroom

$1.2M taken back off the ABC table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

In brief

135 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esquerdinha is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Esquerdinha 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.

In brief

134 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Edson 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.

In brief

133 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Edson 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

“I want to play”: Anderson Pato speaks

“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.

In brief

  • Squad The penny has dropped for Lucas Souza
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
132 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

5 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Esquerdinha 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Lautaro Ayala: 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.” ABC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Thallyson signs on for more

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

Squad

Kauan Vitor out for 22 days

The medical room confirms 22 days on the sidelines for Kauan Vitor, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

  • Boardroom $1.2M taken back off the ABC table
  • Market The shop window has Randerson in it
131 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Only the photograph left for Esquerdinha

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Esquerdinha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ABC the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

No hiding place for Lautaro Ayala

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

In brief

130 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

ABC put Francisco Machado up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Francisco Machado may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

In brief

129 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Randerson 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

No hiding place for Anderson Pato

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

In brief

128 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

8 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

ABC put Igor Fonseca on notice

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.

Market

Esquerdinha asks to leave ABC

“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.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

ABC lose Kauan Vitor

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

Squad

Kauê Lima stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Kauê Lima and ABC agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

No hiding place for Klisman Cabrera

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

In brief

  • Boardroom $1.2M taken back off the ABC table
  • Market The shop window has Braulio Gennaro in it
  • Market The market said no: Lautaro Ayala stays put
  • Boardroom ABC were not finished after all
127 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

ABC say no — this time

The offer from Vitória for Jhosefer 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.

Market

Only the photograph left for Esquerdinha

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Esquerdinha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ABC the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Esquerdinha is named among the best

There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. ABC will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Luís Eduardo signs on for more

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

Squad

Esquerdinha 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 Esquerdinha trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

126 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

25 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

The Esquerdinha conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Parana will make the call about Esquerdinha this week. ABC have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

In brief

125 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Randerson asks to leave ABC

“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.

Market

Kauê Lima has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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.

In brief

124 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

11 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Nautico come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and ABC did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

The season belongs to Esquerdinha

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 ABC have had the benefit of it.

Market

Luís Eduardo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

ABC count the cost of losing Kauan Vitor

84 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Market

The shop window has Esquerdinha in it

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

In brief

123 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

4 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Igor Fonseca has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ABC can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Lautaro Ayala asks to leave ABC

“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.

Market

Eyes on Esquerdinha again

The phone has started ringing about Esquerdinha again, and this time the name on the line is Nautico. ABC are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

Edson signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edson commits to ABC for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Esquerdinha 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.

In brief

122 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

27 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Rhyan signs on for more

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

In brief

121 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

20 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Vitor Luiz keeps the receipts

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

Market

Kauê Lima has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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.

In brief

  • Squad Esquerdinha knocks on the manager’s door
  • Squad The penny has dropped for Igor Bahia
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
120 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

13 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esquerdinha asks to leave ABC

“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.

Squad

Brunão says ABC went back on their word

“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.

Market

Luís Eduardo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

In brief

119 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

6 Nov 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Igor Fonseca has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ABC can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

João Diogo 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Jefferson Vinicius says ABC went back on their word

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Rodolfo Castro loses the armband

The captaincy has been taken off Rodolfo Castro. ABC will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.

Boardroom

ABC pull $1.2M 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.

In brief

  • Squad Lima handed the armband
  • Boardroom ABC were not finished after all
118 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

30 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Market

Randerson 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

117 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

23 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Edson keeps the receipts

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

Market

Only the photograph left for Kauê Lima

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kauê Lima will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ABC the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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.

In brief

  • Squad No hiding place for Klisman Cabrera
  • Market The shop window has Randerson in it
  • Squad Thallyson knocks on the manager’s door
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
116 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

16 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esquerdinha 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Luís Eduardo has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

115 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

9 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

João Diogo asks to leave ABC

“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.

Squad

Ronaldy keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Rodolfo Castro stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Rodolfo Castro and ABC agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

114 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

2 Oct 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Santiago Tallarico says ABC went back on their word

“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.

Squad

Rodolfo Castro signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rodolfo Castro and ABC agree another 2 years.

In brief

  • Squad Lucas Souza in a row with a teammate
  • Squad Esquerdinha asks for a word with the manager
  • Boardroom $1.2M taken back off the ABC table
  • Boardroom $601.5K a year onto the ABC books
113 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

25 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Randerson 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Kauê Lima is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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.

In brief

  • Squad Vítor Manoel gets it from the manager
  • Squad Esquerdinha knocks on the manager's door
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
  • Squad Randerson keeps his manager's vote
112 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

18 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esquerdinha 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Vítor Manoel keeps the receipts

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

Market

Luís Eduardo has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

In brief

111 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

11 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 36. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

João Diogo 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Anderson Pato: 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.” ABC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Igor Bahia

“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

One of those days for Jhosefer

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.62, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

  • Player ratings A masterclass from Lima
  • Match ABC and Sampaio Correa take a point apiece
  • Squad Lima knocks on the manager’s door
  • Player ratings Esquerdinha changes it off the bench
110 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

4 Sep 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Boardroom

ABC put Igor Fonseca on notice

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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Wellington Carvalho

Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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 ratings

One of those days for Lucas Souza

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.45, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Jhosefer

Marked 9.28 — 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.

Match

Lucas Souza sends ABC past Boa

It finished 2‑0, and it was Lucas Souza’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to ABC.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Esquerdinha

“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.

In brief

  • Squad Lima loses the armband
  • Squad Edson asks for a word with the manager
  • Boardroom ABC pull $1.2M back off the table
109 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

28 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Randerson 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Kauê Lima

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kauê Lima will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ABC the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

João Diogo 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

Edson 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Rhuan Pedro placed on the list

ABC have made Rhuan Pedro available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.

In brief

  • Boardroom ABC keep producing them
  • Squad The manager plants his flag on Randerson
108 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

21 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Esquerdinha asks to leave ABC

“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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

The wait goes on for ABC

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.

Market

Luís Eduardo is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

No hiding place for Rodolfo Castro

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

Match

ABC come up short against Nautico

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

Squad

ABC lose Ronaldy

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

Squad

The team sheet said everything about Edson

Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Edson.

In brief

107 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

14 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 39. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Every point is an argument now for ABC

Position 9 and 17 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.

Squad

Klisman Cabrera keeps the receipts

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

Match

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

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

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Lucas Souza’s goal not enough for ABC

Lucas Souza scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Fortaleza, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

Edson 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 masterclass from Lucas Souza

Marked 8.72 — 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

Esquerdinha 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

106 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

7 Aug 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Jhosefer runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Squad

Lima stays put

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

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

The manager makes an example of Brunão

“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.

Match

ABC share the spoils with Criciuma

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

Squad

Esquerdinha 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

Esquerdinha keeps on missing

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.

Player ratings

Igor Bahia changes it off the bench

He was not in the side at half past three and he had settled it before five. Half an hour, and ABC had a different afternoon.

In brief

105 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

31 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

João Diogo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

João Diogo keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Igor Bahia

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

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Wellington Carvalho

Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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.

In brief

104 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

24 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Randerson 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

Rodolfo Castro 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

Nobody could get near Jhosefer

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Esquerdinha rescues a point for ABC

It needed Esquerdinha to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Oeste, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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.

Player ratings

Off the pace: Vítor Manoel

A mark of 5.54 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.

Player ratings

Off the bench and decisive: Esquerdinha

The substitution nobody applauded turned out to be the whole story. ABC were going nowhere until he came on.

Squad

Somebody is after Edson’s shirt

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

In brief

  • Market The market said no: Cayo Tenório stays put
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
103 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

17 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Rodolfo Castro

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.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

ABC find a way past Juventude

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

Player ratings

Randerson shuts the door

Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near João Diogo

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

Igor Bahia stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.89 on the card, and the ABC support went home talking about one name.

In brief

102 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

10 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Luiz Fernando runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 39. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Lucas Souza 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

The manager makes an example of Esquerdinha

“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.

Match

ABC come up short against Parana

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

Squad

Edson 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Player ratings

Esquerdinha keeps on missing

Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

101 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

3 Jul 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

ABC are in real trouble now

Position 10, 11 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.

Market

ABC turn down Fortaleza for Esquerdinha

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Lucas Nallin keeps the receipts

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

Market

Dudu Mandai has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Lima out for 19 days

The medical room confirms 19 days on the sidelines for Lima, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Lucas Souza 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

A bad afternoon for ABC against America Mineiro

2‑3 to America Mineiro, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

No hiding place for Cayo Tenório

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

Player ratings

Esquerdinha in the eights

A performance of 8.41 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

100 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

26 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Randerson 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Edson 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Luiz Fernando 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

The manager makes an example of Rodolfo Castro

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for ABC against Sampaio Correa

0‑1 to Sampaio Correa, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Esquerdinha 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

  • Player ratings Esquerdinha leaves them behind him
  • Squad Jhosefer says his piece
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
99 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

19 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Anderson Pato: 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.” ABC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

Igor Bahia sends ABC past Boa

It finished 2‑1, and it was Igor Bahia’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to ABC.

Player ratings

Igor Bahia in the eights

A performance of 8.32 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Kauã Gabriel signs on for more

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

In brief

98 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

12 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Edson 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Randerson stays put

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Brunão

“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.

In brief

97 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

5 Jun 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Luiz Fernando runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Santiago Tallarico asks to leave ABC

“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.

Market

Dudu Mandai has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Edson 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

No hiding place for Wellington Carvalho

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

Player ratings

One of those days for Esquerdinha

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Honours even between ABC and Nautico

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Squad

The armband comes off Edson

ABC 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.

Player ratings

Lucas Mendoza changes it off the bench

He was not in the side at half past three and he had settled it before five. Half an hour, and ABC had a different afternoon.

In brief

96 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

29 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Bruno Leite 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

A day Esquerdinha will not forget

3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Esquerdinha sends ABC past Fortaleza

It finished 3‑2, and it was Esquerdinha’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to ABC.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Esquerdinha

Marked 9.36 — 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Lucas Nallin 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

Lima wants a proper job in this side

Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Lima has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. ABC know, and have known for weeks.

Boardroom

ABC were not finished after all

Written off a fortnight ago, the squad has closed ranks and answered on the pitch. Something was said behind that door, and so far it is holding.

In brief

  • The terraces The press cannot get enough of Esquerdinha
  • Boardroom The ABC production line keeps running
95 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

22 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

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

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

Match

ABC out of the cup

Corinthians ended it 0‑2. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.

Match

Every point is an argument now for ABC

Position 10 and 4 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.

Player ratings

Lima runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

Esquerdinha 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

Nothing got past Edson

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Guilherme Moura out for 46 days

The medical room confirms 46 days on the sidelines for Guilherme Moura, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Costly mistake from Rodolfo Castro

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Rodolfo Castro knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

In brief

94 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

15 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

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

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

Player ratings

Bruno Leite runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Igor Bahia

“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

One of those days for Esquerdinha

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

ABC share the spoils with Santa Cruz

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

In brief

93 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

8 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

6 matches without a win for ABC

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around ABC are no longer polite ones.

Market

Dudu Mandai has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Edson signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Edson and ABC agree another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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 ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Rodolfo Castro 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.

In brief

92 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

1 May 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Bruno Leite 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

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

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

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Randerson

Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Cayo Tenório 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

Edson shuts the door

Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Lucas Mendoza stays put

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

Player ratings

The afternoon belonged to Lima

A mark of 7.64, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.

In brief

91 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

24 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Jhosefer

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

Match

The wait goes on for ABC

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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

ABC come up short against Parana

Parana left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Costly mistake from Rodolfo Castro

An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Rodolfo Castro knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.

Player ratings

Klisman Cabrera gives it away

There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. ABC lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.

Squad

Brunão 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

Esquerdinha keeps on missing

Shots: 10, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

Player ratings

Brunão never got going

5.66 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.

In brief

  • Squad Ronaldy asks for a word with the manager
  • Boardroom ABC keep producing them
90 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

17 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Luiz Fernando

Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Eduardo Pereira comes home

The shirt still fits. Eduardo Pereira is back at ABC, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

Danilo Cunha comes home

The shirt still fits. Danilo Cunha is back at ABC, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

Diego Batista comes home

The shirt still fits. Diego Batista is back at ABC, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

Caio Lima comes home

The shirt still fits. Caio Lima is back at ABC, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Match

ABC come up short against America Mineiro

America Mineiro left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Igor Bahia 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

ABC count the cost of losing Matheus Alves

35 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

89 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

10 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

ABC count the cost of losing Wellington Carvalho

36 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Market

Dudu Mandai is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at ABC is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

In brief

88 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

3 Apr 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Bruno Leite 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 ABC, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Rodolfo Castro loses the armband

The captaincy has been taken off Rodolfo Castro. ABC will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.

Squad

Lautaro Ayala 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.

Boardroom

ABC pull $1.4M 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.

In brief

  • Squad Edson handed the armband
  • Boardroom ABC answer back
87 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

27 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

Santiago Tallarico 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

Lautaro Ayala 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

86 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

20 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Matheus Alves out for 66 days

The medical room confirms 66 days on the sidelines for Matheus Alves, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Cayo Tenório 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

85 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

13 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Squad

ABC count the cost of losing Wellington Carvalho

66 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Market

Dudu Mandai has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

In brief

84 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

6 Mar 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Igor Fonseca has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ABC can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Bruno Leite 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Rodolfo Castro signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rodolfo Castro and ABC agree another 2 years.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Bruno Leite 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Boardroom

ABC pull $1.4M 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.

In brief

  • Squad Matheus Alves has seen what the next man earns
  • Boardroom ABC answer back
83 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

28 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

No hiding place for Santiago Tallarico

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

Squad

Rhuan Pedro 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

82 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

21 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

ABC count the cost of losing Matheus Alves

96 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Anderson Pato 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.

In brief

81 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

14 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at ABC

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Only the photograph left for Dudu Mandai

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Dudu Mandai will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ABC the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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.

In brief

80 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

7 Feb 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Klisman Cabrera

“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.

In brief

  • Boardroom ABC pull $1.4M back off the table
  • Squad Lautaro Ayala knocks on the manager’s door
  • Boardroom The ABC dressing room answers
  • Squad The penny has dropped for Luiz Fernando
79 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

31 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Leonardo Forti has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

The manager makes an example of Cayo Tenório

“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.

In brief

78 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

24 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lautaro Ayala: 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.” ABC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Bruno Leite 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 Bruno Leite trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

77 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

17 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

ABC lose Kauã Gabriel

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

In brief

76 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

10 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Esquerdinha 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

No hiding place for Luís Eduardo

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

In brief

75 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

3 Jan 2028
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Leonardo Forti has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Guilherme Moura out for 26 days

The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Guilherme Moura, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Klisman Cabrera

“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

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Boardroom

ABC pull $1.4M 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.

Market

Window shut, Bruno Leite still here

ABC spent the window trying to move Bruno Leite on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.

Market

The shop window has Braulio Gennaro in it

ABC have let the market know Braulio Gennaro can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

74 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

27 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Cayo Tenório asks to leave ABC

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

ABC lose Santiago Tallarico

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

In brief

73 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

20 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

The shop window has Cayo Tenório in it

ABC have let the market know Cayo Tenório can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.

In brief

72 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

13 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Gabriel Borja

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gabriel Borja will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ABC the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

Anderson Pato 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

Cayo Tenório 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

Clayton leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Clayton leaves ABC the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

Market

Darlan leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Darlan leaves ABC the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

In brief

71 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

6 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Market

Dudu Mandai 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 ABC can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Only the photograph left for Leonardo Forti

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Leonardo Forti will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around ABC the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

No place for Cayo Tenório in the plan

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Bruno Leite

“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

ABC lose Régis Potiguar

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

Loan watch

Esquerdinha counts the days

“I watch every ABC game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Olimpia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Squad

Cayo Tenório 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 Cayo Tenório trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

70 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

29 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lucas Nallin says ABC went back on their word

“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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

ABC lose Brunão

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

In brief

69 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

22 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the ABC boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ronaldy 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 Ronaldy trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

68 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

15 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Ronaldy keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

Anderson Pato 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.

In brief

67 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

8 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Igor Fonseca has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at ABC can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Market

Leonardo Forti has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around ABC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Loan watch

Esquerdinha counts the days

“I watch every ABC game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Olimpia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 Wellington Carvalho trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Geilson

“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.

In brief

  • Boardroom ABC pull $1.4M back off the table
  • Squad A season on the outside for Lucas Nallin
  • Boardroom ABC answer back
66 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

1 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Régis Potiguar: 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.” ABC have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

Brunão out for 49 days

The medical room confirms 49 days on the sidelines for Brunão, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

65 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

25 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at ABC

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at ABC is running low.

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Cayo Tenório

“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.

In brief

64 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

18 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

No hiding place for Bruno Leite

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

Squad

Cayo Tenório 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 Cayo Tenório trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

63 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

11 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Wellington Carvalho 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 ABC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Loan watch

Esquerdinha has seen enough of Olimpia

“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 ABC, and 2 appearances in 18 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Bruno Leite 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 ABC, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

62 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

4 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

ABC spell it out for Igor Fonseca

The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Igor Fonseca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.

Squad

Edson signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Edson commits to ABC for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wellington Carvalho 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

The manager makes an example of Anderson Pato

“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.

Boardroom

$1.4M taken back off the ABC table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

Squad

Is this Dudu Mandai’s last season?

“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Dudu Mandai is 34, with 8 appearances behind him, and ABC will have to plan for whichever answer comes.

In brief