ABC U20

26 Dec 2026
Saturday
Process
21 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

21 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Luiz Fernando 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

Yan Silva signs on for more

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

Market

Boa are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. ABC will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Matheus Alves gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The terraces

Supporters make their feelings known about Esquerdinha

The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. ABC would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.

In brief

Back issues
20 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

14 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

ABC lose Luiz Fernando

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

Squad

Esquerdinha stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Esquerdinha and ABC agree another 5 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.

In brief

19 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

7 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lucas Marques 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

ABC say no — this time

The offer from Boa for Ronaldy 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.

Squad

ABC count the cost of losing João Pedro

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

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

Rhuan stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Rhuan and ABC agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Dudu Mandai told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Dudu Mandai has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at ABC.

In brief

18 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

30 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Régis Potiguar 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

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

ABC lose Lucas Marques

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

Boardroom

253% 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

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.

Market

Rhuan brings the grey hairs ABC lacked

At 34, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.

In brief

  • Market ABC shop where it costs nothing
  • Market ABC shop where it costs nothing
  • Market ABC pick up Lucas Luan for nothing
17 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

23 Nov 2026
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.

Squad

Wallyson 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

Darlan is out on the grass again

He came through the session, took part in everything and finished it smiling. ABC will not rush him, and he will spend the next fortnight trying to rush them.

16 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

16 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Wallyson: 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

ABC lose Luiz Fernando

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

In brief

  • Squad Randerson is training like a man with a point to make
15 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

9 Nov 2026
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.

Squad

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

Squad

Lucas Souza has settled at ABC

The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.

In brief

  • Squad Questions about Ronaldy on the training pitch
14 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

2 Nov 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

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

Lima 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.

Boardroom

253% 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.

In brief

13 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

26 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Clayton 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

Wallyson 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 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.

In brief

12 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

19 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Dudu Mandai 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

ABC lose Luiz Fernando

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

In brief

11 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

12 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Bruno Leite 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

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

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

In brief

10 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

5 Oct 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

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

Randerson signs on for more

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

Boardroom

Wages eat 463% of everything ABC earn

There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.

In brief

9 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

28 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wallyson 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

Wallyson keeps his manager's vote

The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Wallyson plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.

Squad

Oziel back in training

A welcome sight on the training pitch: Oziel has come through recovery and is pushing for a place again.

8 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

21 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Wallyson 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 plants his flag on Esquerdinha

“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Esquerdinha’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.

Squad

Good reports on Thalissinho

The word out of the training ground is that he has been the sharpest man there all week. It is the quietest story a paper carries and it usually runs the week before somebody's run in the side begins.

7 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

14 Sep 2026
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.

Player ratings

Wallyson 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

Tempers go at ABC

Wallyson 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 Luiz Fernando

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

Player ratings

Nothing got past Wellington Carvalho

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Lima 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

6 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

7 Sep 2026
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Wallyson 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 Lima

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.53, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Boardroom

392% 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

Wallyson 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 8.66 — 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

A masterclass from Bruno Leite

Marked 8.35 — 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

Lima is carrying ABC

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

Match

ABC share the spoils with Oeste

A 3‑3 draw with Oeste leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

Squad

Lima named player of the month

The award goes to Lima, and nobody around here is inclined to argue with the choice.

In brief

5 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

31 Aug 2026
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.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wallyson 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

Nautico take the points off ABC

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

  • Player ratings Wallyson runs at them all day
  • Squad Bruno Leite gets it from the manager
  • Squad Igor Bahia asks for a word with the manager
  • Player ratings The one thing Lima could not do
4 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

24 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Wallyson 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 Lima

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.52, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

ABC see off Paysandu

Three points for ABC, 2‑0 the final word against Paysandu in a contest settled by the finer margins.

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

Jhosefer runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 18. 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. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

3 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

17 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The small margins put ABC out

Out, 1‑3 to Atlético Mineiro, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.

The terraces

The boos come down from three sides

“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 8 of the 32 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.

Squad

Tempers go at ABC

Wallyson 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

Lima’s goal not enough for ABC

Lima scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Criciuma, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Lima

Marked 9.19 — 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

The manager makes an example of Wellington Carvalho

“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

A masterclass from Thalissinho

Marked 8.58 — 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

A masterclass from Jhosefer

Marked 8.28 — 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Thiaguinho

Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

2 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

10 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Jhosefer 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

Tempers go at ABC

Wallyson 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

A bad afternoon for ABC against Santa Cruz

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

Squad

The manager makes an example of Wallyson

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

Market

48 months and counting on Jhosefer

Still no offer on the table, and Jhosefer’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.

Market

ABC and Esquerdinha are talking past each other

“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Wellington Carvalho

Marked 4.13, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

Player ratings

The one thing Thalissinho could not do

Shots: 4, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

Player ratings

Lima leaves them behind him

Shots: 5. 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

  • Squad A wage question at ABC
  • Squad Edson looks at the other side of the line
1 Edition

The ABC Sentinel

3 Aug 2026
From our football correspondent Triumph

Match

ABC tear Boa apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 9‑0 against Boa, and it could have been more.

Squad

A day Lima 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

3 goals for Jhosefer

The match ball belongs to Jhosefer, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

3 goals for Esquerdinha

The match ball belongs to Esquerdinha, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

Wallyson stays put

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

Player ratings

One of those days for Lima

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 10.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Jhosefer in the eights

A performance of 10.00 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 Esquerdinha

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.49, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A masterclass from João Pedro

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.

In brief