From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Sep 2029
98 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad17 Sep 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.86 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.73 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The manager makes an example of Ebrima Darboe
“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.
Squad17 Sep 2029
The medical room confirms 37 days on the sidelines for Tommaso Rizzo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match15 Sep 2029
It needed Óscar Aranda to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Frosinone, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings17 Sep 2029
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Bari, and it is a cruel one.
The terraces17 Sep 2029
The spotlight tightens on Mehdi Dorval
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match8 Sep 2029
Nowhere to hide for Bari
2‑5 against Mantova, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad10 Sep 2029
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Nicola Leali 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 ratings10 Sep 2029
Marked 8.61 — 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 ratings10 Sep 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.32, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom10 Sep 2029
Doors closed at Bari
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The terraces10 Sep 2029
Everybody has an opinion about Enrico Delprato
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.
Squad10 Sep 2029
Óscar Aranda finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Bari have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match1 Sep 2029
Chastening afternoon for Bari
A 1‑5 beating by Sassuolo was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
The terraces3 Sep 2029
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 9 of the 38 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Market3 Sep 2029
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bari heard it as anything else.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hassane Kamara and Bari agree another 2 years.
Squad3 Sep 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enrico Delprato, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Sep 2029
A performance of 8.92 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom3 Sep 2029
Inquest at Bari
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad3 Sep 2029
Nicola Leali lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market27 Aug 2029
Bari say no — this time
The offer from Oviedo for Gabriele Moncini 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.
Boardroom27 Aug 2029
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
Squad27 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market27 Aug 2029
The shirt still fits. Davide Paganelli is back at Bari, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market27 Aug 2029
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market27 Aug 2029
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Edoardo Rinaldi is a Bari player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad20 Aug 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Aug 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francesco Amatucci, and the manager let it.
Market20 Aug 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matthias Verreth signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Aug 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
“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.
Squad13 Aug 2029
15 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market13 Aug 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Enrico Delprato signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Pedro Mendes has company in his position
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Pedro Mendes keeps the shirt for now, at Bari's convenience rather than his own.
Market13 Aug 2029
A season-long audition: Athletic Bilbao still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Bari's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market6 Aug 2029
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicolò Moranduzzo commits to Bari for another 5 years.
Squad6 Aug 2029
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad6 Aug 2029
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Bari are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Boardroom6 Aug 2029
Bari release $8.6M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Jul 2029
“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.
Squad30 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market30 Jul 2029
Forli are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Bari will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Jul 2029
“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.
Market23 Jul 2029
Oviedo come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bari did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market23 Jul 2029
“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.
Market23 Jul 2029
The paperwork is done: Borys Skraburski joins from Genoa in a deal worth $1.0M. Now comes the harder part.
Squad23 Jul 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market23 Jul 2029
Ospitaletto are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Bari will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market16 Jul 2029
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market16 Jul 2029
Sorrento are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Bari will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad16 Jul 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Riccardo Burgio, and the manager let it.
Market16 Jul 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Enrico Delprato signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad16 Jul 2029
Francesco Vicari 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
Nicola Leali has seen what the next man earns
-
Boardroom
Bari keep producing them
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market9 Jul 2029
Forli come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bari did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market9 Jul 2029
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bari have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad9 Jul 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Jul 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francesco Vicari and Bari agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Market9 Jul 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Bari will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad9 Jul 2029
The medical room confirms 56 days on the sidelines for Alessandro Rocca, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Jul 2029
“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.
Market2 Jul 2029
Add another name to the list: Oviedo have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Gabriele Moncini. The answer from Bari has not changed — yet.
Squad2 Jul 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad2 Jul 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Francesco Vicari commits to Bari for another 2 years.
Boardroom2 Jul 2029
$8.6M on the table at Bari
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Market2 Jul 2029
Jacopo Landi is 20, and Bari have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Jun 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jun 2029
“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.
Squad25 Jun 2029
Hassane Kamara 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 Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market18 Jun 2029
“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 Bari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Jun 2029
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. Bari will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad18 Jun 2029
“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.
Market18 Jun 2029
Frosinone pay $3.3M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad18 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market18 Jun 2029
Everyone has stopped pretending: Sorrento will make the call about Francesco Amatucci this week. Bari have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Jun 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Jun 2029
The fee is $2.8M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Modena drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Market11 Jun 2029
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bari have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad11 Jun 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jun 2029
The medical room confirms 87 days on the sidelines for Alessandro Rocca, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad11 Jun 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market4 Jun 2029
Enrico Delprato wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Bari hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad4 Jun 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“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.
Boardroom4 Jun 2029
$8.6M on the table at Bari
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Market4 Jun 2029
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Squad4 Jun 2029
“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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 May 2029
Omari Forson: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 May 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad28 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valerio Mantovani, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 May 2029
Giulio Maggiore: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad21 May 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Andrea Meroni
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 May 2029
Óscar Aranda is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.77 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market14 May 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bari they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad14 May 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match12 May 2029
Still nobody has beaten Bari
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.
Player ratings14 May 2029
A performance of 9.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings14 May 2029
A performance of 9.17 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match12 May 2029
Three points for Bari, 2‑1 the final word against Avellino in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad14 May 2029
The manager makes an example of Nicola Leali
“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.
Squad14 May 2029
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Michele Cerofolini knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match5 May 2029
No mercy from Bari
Catanzaro will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Bari were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad7 May 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 May 2029
Marked 9.60 — 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.
Match5 May 2029
6 unbeaten for Bari
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Bari did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings7 May 2029
A performance of 8.98 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 May 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.73, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings7 May 2029
A performance of 8.43 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad7 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francesco Vicari, and the manager let it.
Squad7 May 2029
A season average of 7.31 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 23, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad30 Apr 2029
“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 ratings30 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Giuseppe Sibilli
6 goals and a season average of 7.28 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings30 Apr 2029
Izu Onunta 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.
Squad30 Apr 2029
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Bari lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
Market30 Apr 2029
The Óscar Aranda story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Óscar Aranda signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Apr 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Matthias Verreth
13 goals and a season average of 7.55 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad23 Apr 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Apr 2029
25 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Match21 Apr 2029
It finished 3‑2, and it was Andrea Meroni’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
A performance of 9.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
A performance of 9.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.81, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match14 Apr 2029
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 6‑2 against Padova, and it could have been more.
Squad16 Apr 2029
The match ball belongs to Cristian De Angelis, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Óscar Aranda is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.73 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad16 Apr 2029
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.
Market16 Apr 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bari is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad16 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
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 ratings16 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.56, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Apr 2029
A performance of 9.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match7 Apr 2029
8 matches without a win for Bari
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Bari are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Matthias Verreth
12 goals and a season average of 7.50 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad9 Apr 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicola Leali and Bari agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings9 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings9 Apr 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.69, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match7 Apr 2029
It needed Matthias Verreth to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Reggiana, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Apr 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match31 Mar 2029
No end in sight to Bari's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bari has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad2 Apr 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicola Leali and Bari agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Apr 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad2 Apr 2029
A season average of 7.47 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.94 on the card, and the Bari support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings2 Apr 2029
Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match24 Mar 2029
The wait goes on for Bari
6 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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
58 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad26 Mar 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michele Cerofolini, and the manager let it.
Match24 Mar 2029
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
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.
Squad26 Mar 2029
A season average of 7.23 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings26 Mar 2029
The one thing Andrea Meroni could not do
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Mar 2029
Óscar Aranda is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.71 with 13 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market19 Mar 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Raffaele Pucino will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bari the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match17 Mar 2029
The wait goes on for Bari
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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Nicola Leali 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 ratings19 Mar 2029
Marked 8.80 — 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 ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match17 Mar 2029
Honours even between Bari and Südtirol
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Shots: 9, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Mar 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Mar 2029
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.
Match10 Mar 2029
4 matches without a win for Bari
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Bari are no longer polite ones.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.40, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
A performance of 8.05 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad12 Mar 2029
“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.
Match10 Mar 2029
It needed Omari Forson to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Virtus Entella, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings12 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Mar 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market5 Mar 2029
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bari heard it as anything else.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Michele Cerofolini and Bari agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad5 Mar 2029
10 goals and a season average of 7.50. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match3 Mar 2029
Carrarese left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings5 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom5 Mar 2029
Doors closed at Bari
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings5 Mar 2029
A touch he did not want, a bounce he could not have read, and his name in the wrong column. There is no consoling a man after one of these, and Bari will not try tonight.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Feb 2029
12 goals and a season average of 7.68. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enrico Delprato, and the manager let it.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
A performance of 8.78 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.71, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match24 Feb 2029
Honours even between Bari and Cesena
4‑4, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Beaten 4 times, with 4 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Feb 2029
Chastening afternoon for Bari
A 0‑3 beating by Empoli was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Hassane Kamara: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 Feb 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bari is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
A season average of 7.50 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
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.
Squad19 Feb 2029
The manager makes an example of Mehdi Dorval
“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.
Boardroom19 Feb 2029
Inquest at Bari
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Player ratings19 Feb 2029
Shots: 13, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 36 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match10 Feb 2029
No mercy from Bari
Modena will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Bari were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Squad12 Feb 2029
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Squad12 Feb 2029
11 goals and a season average of 7.66. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad12 Feb 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
A performance of 9.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.19, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.53, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad12 Feb 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Feb 2029
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Market5 Feb 2029
The paperwork is done: Devis Vásquez joins from AS Roma in a deal worth $5.3M. Now comes the harder part.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Niccolò Rizzo: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad5 Feb 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hassane Kamara and Bari agree another 2 years.
Match3 Feb 2029
Giacomo Manzari scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Pescara, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.97, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings5 Feb 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Market5 Feb 2029
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Bari will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Jan 2029
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Óscar Aranda
10 goals and a season average of 7.60 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad29 Jan 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 Jan 2029
Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad29 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enrico Delprato, and the manager let it.
Player ratings29 Jan 2029
Marked 8.78 — 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 ratings29 Jan 2029
Marked 8.39 — 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 ratings29 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings29 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Jan 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Jan 2029
A season average of 7.57 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market22 Jan 2029
Como pay $1.1M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings22 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.73 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.35 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings22 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Nicola Leali lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match20 Jan 2029
Bari share the spoils with Palermo
A 2‑2 draw with Palermo leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Jan 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
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.
Market15 Jan 2029
Foggia come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bari did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Marked 9.33 — 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.
Match13 Jan 2029
Three points for Bari, 1‑0 the final word against Mantova in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings15 Jan 2029
Marked 8.47 — 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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Jan 2029
A hiding for Bari
Beaten 2‑5 by Sassuolo, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market8 Jan 2029
“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 Bari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Jan 2029
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad8 Jan 2029
A season average of 7.54 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mehdi Dorval, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Jan 2029
A performance of 8.90 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market8 Jan 2029
Cavese are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Bari will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Boardroom8 Jan 2029
Nobody left the Bari dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Jan 2029
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 Bari have had the benefit of it.
Market1 Jan 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bari is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Óscar Aranda
10 goals and a season average of 7.55 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad1 Jan 2029
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match30 Dec 2028
Avellino left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad1 Jan 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Enrico Delprato, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings1 Jan 2029
The one thing Óscar Aranda could not do
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Market1 Jan 2029
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Dec 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
There were 10 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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Matthias Verreth
7 goals and a season average of 7.52 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match23 Dec 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Andrea Meroni. 2‑1 against Catanzaro, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad25 Dec 2028
“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 ratings25 Dec 2028
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.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
A performance of 8.24 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match13 Dec 2028
The cup run ends for Bari
0‑3 against Spezia, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Marked 9.02 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad18 Dec 2028
6 goals and a season average of 7.46. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Izu Onunta 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.
Boardroom18 Dec 2028
Inquest at Bari
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Nicola Leali lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings18 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match16 Dec 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Dec 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match9 Dec 2028
It finished 3‑1, and it was Giuseppe Sibilli’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings11 Dec 2028
Marked 9.06 — 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 ratings11 Dec 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.86, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings11 Dec 2028
A performance of 8.15 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad11 Dec 2028
A season average of 7.40 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“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 ratings11 Dec 2028
The one thing Óscar Aranda could not do
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad11 Dec 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match2 Dec 2028
5‑2, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Óscar Aranda takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market4 Dec 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bari heard it as anything else.
Market4 Dec 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bari is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad4 Dec 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.56. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Dec 2028
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 ratings4 Dec 2028
A performance of 9.31 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad27 Nov 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Óscar Aranda
7 goals and a season average of 7.47 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
A performance of 8.94 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad27 Nov 2028
“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.
Match25 Nov 2028
It needed Óscar Aranda to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Reggiana, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
Izu Onunta 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.
Player ratings27 Nov 2028
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Market27 Nov 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Giuseppe Sibilli signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad27 Nov 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gabriele Moncini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Nov 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match18 Nov 2028
Bari come up short against Spezia
Spezia left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad20 Nov 2028
6 goals and a season average of 7.41. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad20 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Hassane Kamara
“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 ratings20 Nov 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad13 Nov 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
A defender's afternoon for Ebrima Darboe
Defensive actions: 32. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings13 Nov 2028
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 ratings13 Nov 2028
A performance of 9.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match11 Nov 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Izu Onunta. 2‑0 against Frosinone, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad13 Nov 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolò Martire and Bari agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad13 Nov 2028
The manager makes an example of Giulio Maggiore
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match1 Nov 2028
Bari march on in the cup
Pro Vercelli are out and Bari go through, 3‑0 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
A defender's afternoon for Filippo Nardi
Defensive actions: 28. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Market6 Nov 2028
Only the photograph left for Marco Pissardo
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marco Pissardo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bari the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad6 Nov 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings6 Nov 2028
Marked 9.32 — 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 ratings6 Nov 2028
A performance of 9.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad6 Nov 2028
“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.
Squad6 Nov 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Adnan Lukaku and Bari agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Marked 9.09 — 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicola Leali
“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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
A season average of 7.34 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
The one thing Óscar Aranda 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.
Squad30 Oct 2028
Nicola Leali lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Bari lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
Player ratings30 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad23 Oct 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
A performance of 9.57 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match21 Oct 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Óscar Aranda. 3‑1 against Carrarese, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
A performance of 9.14 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings23 Oct 2028
Marked 8.98 — 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 ratings23 Oct 2028
A performance of 8.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Óscar Aranda is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.37 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad23 Oct 2028
“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
-
Market
Mehdi Dorval linked with a move away
-
The terraces
The press cannot get enough of Nicola Leali
-
Boardroom
The Bari production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Oct 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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 ratings16 Oct 2028
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad16 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 9.13 — 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.
Match14 Oct 2028
It finished 2‑0, and it was Óscar Aranda’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 8.13 — 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 ratings16 Oct 2028
Marked 8.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad16 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valerio Mantovani, and the manager let it.
Squad16 Oct 2028
5 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Oct 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
There were 10 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market9 Oct 2028
Marco Pissardo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bari they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
A performance of 9.17 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match7 Oct 2028
Bari come up short against Empoli
Empoli left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad9 Oct 2028
“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 ratings9 Oct 2028
A mark of 4.24 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Player ratings9 Oct 2028
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Oct 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match30 Sep 2028
Still nobody has beaten Bari
The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Samuele Righetti: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad2 Oct 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad2 Oct 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mehdi Dorval, and the manager let it.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Marked 8.83 — 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 ratings2 Oct 2028
Marked 8.24 — 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.
Match30 Sep 2028
Bari share the spoils with Modena
A 1‑1 draw with Modena leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings2 Oct 2028
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Sep 2028
8 unbeaten for Bari
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Bari did not have in the autumn.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match23 Sep 2028
Pescara made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
A performance of 9.41 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.20, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giacomo Manzari, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Sep 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Nicola Leali knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Player ratings25 Sep 2028
One lapse, one goal, and ninety minutes of honest work counting for nothing. That is the job at Bari, and it is a cruel one.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Sep 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
There were 9 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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“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.
Squad18 Sep 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Enrico Delprato and Bari agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad18 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match16 Sep 2028
7 unbeaten for Bari
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Bari did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
A performance of 8.56 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match16 Sep 2028
It needed Giuseppe Sibilli to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Sampdoria, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings18 Sep 2028
There was no pressure on him and nowhere he had to be. Bari lost a goal to a decision that took half a second and will be discussed all week.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Sep 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Izu Onunta: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market11 Sep 2028
Only the photograph left for Marco Pissardo
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marco Pissardo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bari the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match9 Sep 2028
6 unbeaten for Bari
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Bari did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Marked 8.71 — 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 ratings11 Sep 2028
Marked 8.18 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad11 Sep 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Francesco Rodio commits to Bari for another 3 years.
Player ratings11 Sep 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Sep 2028
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bari heard it as anything else.
Squad4 Sep 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicola Leali and Bari agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Sep 2028
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.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Boardroom4 Sep 2028
Bari release $8.6M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Nicola Leali lets one through his hands
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Market4 Sep 2028
Everyone has stopped pretending: Avellino will make the call about Marco Pissardo this week. Bari have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Match2 Sep 2028
Bari share the spoils with Mantova
A 1‑1 draw with Mantova leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Aug 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market28 Aug 2028
“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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match26 Aug 2028
Sassuolo made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Marked 9.91 — 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The medical room confirms 43 days on the sidelines for Giulio Maggiore, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings28 Aug 2028
Marked 9.07 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad28 Aug 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicola Leali
“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 ratings28 Aug 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.63, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Aug 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Aug 2028
The shirt still fits. Enrico Castelli is back at Bari, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Market21 Aug 2028
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market21 Aug 2028
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Edoardo Zanetti is a Bari player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market21 Aug 2028
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Gianluca Barone is a Bari player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad21 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valerio Mantovani, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Aug 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Enrico Delprato 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.
Squad14 Aug 2028
30 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad14 Aug 2028
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Aug 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ebrima Darboe and Bari agree another 4 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market7 Aug 2028
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Filippo Nardi has his answer from Bari; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market7 Aug 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market7 Aug 2028
36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad31 Jul 2028
75 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market31 Jul 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Jul 2028
“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 Bari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad24 Jul 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jul 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Jul 2028
Filippo Faggi 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 Bari can pretend not to have heard.
Market17 Jul 2028
Lecco come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Bari did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Giacomo Manzari and Bari agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad17 Jul 2028
This league is too small for Hassane Kamara
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Bari will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
Market17 Jul 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Jul 2028
Ebrima Darboe: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Hassane Kamara and Bari agree another 2 years.
Market10 Jul 2028
Bari bring in an old head
Hassane Kamara is 34 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market10 Jul 2028
Everyone has stopped pretending: Padova will make the call about Marco Pissardo this week. Bari have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad10 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Riccardo Burgio
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Jul 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The medical room confirms 105 days on the sidelines for Giulio Maggiore, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad3 Jul 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lorenzo Caferri and Bari agree another 4 years.
Market3 Jul 2028
The phone has started ringing about Marco Pissardo again, and this time the name on the line is Padova. Bari are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market3 Jul 2028
He is 20, and nobody at Bari signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Jun 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market26 Jun 2028
“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 Bari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market26 Jun 2028
Bari get their man
The chase for Andrea Franzolini ended with $1.2M changing hands and Union Brescia out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad26 Jun 2028
30 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad26 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Michele Cerofolini, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market19 Jun 2028
Bari get their man
The chase for Nicolò Evangelisti ended with $2.9M changing hands and Cavese out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Market19 Jun 2028
Bari say no — this time
The offer from Casertana for Omari Forson 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samuele Righetti, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Jun 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market12 Jun 2028
“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 Bari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad12 Jun 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market12 Jun 2028
The phone has started ringing about Omari Forson again, and this time the name on the line is Casertana. Bari are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad12 Jun 2028
The medical room confirms 19 days on the sidelines for Sakoba Keita, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jun 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bari can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Jun 2028
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
Squad5 Jun 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad5 Jun 2028
“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.
Market5 Jun 2028
Raffaele Pucino is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bari has been clear about where Raffaele Pucino stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market5 Jun 2028
The name of Michele Cerofolini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad29 May 2028
“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.
Squad29 May 2028
66 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad29 May 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 May 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad22 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Samuele Righetti, and the manager let it.
Market22 May 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings15 May 2028
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad15 May 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 May 2028
A performance of 9.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad15 May 2028
A season average of 7.40 with 10 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad15 May 2028
52 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Match13 May 2028
Three points for Bari, 1‑0 the final word against Avellino in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings15 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.51, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad15 May 2028
“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 ratings15 May 2028
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings8 May 2028
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.
Squad8 May 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francesco Vicari and Bari agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 2028
“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.
Squad8 May 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Giacomo Manzari
6 goals and a season average of 7.20 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match6 May 2028
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 May 2028
Nicola Bellomo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bari they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad1 May 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match29 Apr 2028
Empoli made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings1 May 2028
A performance of 8.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Marked 8.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad1 May 2028
“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 terraces1 May 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Idrissa Guèye
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Bari's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bari has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Andrea Meroni, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Nicola Leali 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.
Match22 Apr 2028
Modena take the points off Bari
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Apr 2028
A season average of 7.29 with 8 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market24 Apr 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
The terraces24 Apr 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
In brief
-
Player ratings
A day to forget for Kenny Quetant
-
Boardroom
The Bari production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Apr 2028
Chastening afternoon for Bari
A 1‑5 beating by Pescara was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match15 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Bari
7 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Mehdi Dorval and Bari agree another 4 years.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Apr 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.41. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Doors closed at Bari
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Bari needed to.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 Apr 2028
6 matches without a win for Bari
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Bari are no longer polite ones.
Squad10 Apr 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings10 Apr 2028
A performance of 9.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad10 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Enrico Delprato
“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.
Squad10 Apr 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Nicola Leali knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match8 Apr 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Sampdoria leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The terraces10 Apr 2028
The spotlight tightens on Nicola Leali
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Player ratings10 Apr 2028
Shots: 9, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad10 Apr 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Apr 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Match1 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Bari's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bari has to find a result from somewhere.
Market3 Apr 2028
Nicola Bellomo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bari they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Marked 8.45 — 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 ratings3 Apr 2028
A performance of 8.25 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francesco Vicari, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Mar 2028
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Match25 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Bari's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bari has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings27 Mar 2028
Marked 8.40 — 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 ratings27 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Giuseppe Sibilli
8 goals and a season average of 7.28 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“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 ratings27 Mar 2028
The one thing Óscar Aranda could not do
Shots: 7, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Match25 Mar 2028
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad20 Mar 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Mar 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.42. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match18 Mar 2028
Andrea Meroni scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Mantova, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad20 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Mehdi Dorval
“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 ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Marked 8.15 — 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 ratings20 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.02 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom20 Mar 2028
Nobody left the Bari dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
A defender's afternoon for Andrea Meroni
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings13 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad13 Mar 2028
“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 ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Mar 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Francesco Vicari will call it something else in private.
The terraces13 Mar 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Match11 Mar 2028
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Virtus Entella will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market6 Mar 2028
Enrico Delprato wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Bari hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Market6 Mar 2028
Nicola Bellomo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bari they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Giuseppe Sibilli and Bari agree another 3 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Marked 8.71 — 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 ratings6 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.67 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad6 Mar 2028
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Bari pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
Match4 Mar 2028
A 2‑2 draw with Carrarese leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match26 Feb 2028
Cesena made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
A performance of 8.84 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad28 Feb 2028
The manager makes an example of Idrissa Guèye
“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 ratings28 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad28 Feb 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Giuseppe Sibilli
8 goals and a season average of 7.27 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Market28 Feb 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Bari know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Squad28 Feb 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings28 Feb 2028
Omari Forson 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 Bari had a different afternoon.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Feb 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Francesco Vicari
10 goals and a season average of 7.43 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad21 Feb 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match19 Feb 2028
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 Feb 2028
A mark of 4.72 tells the story without any need for embellishment. He will want the tape of this one quietly lost.
Market21 Feb 2028
Bari have made Samuele Righetti available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
Market21 Feb 2028
The name of Giuseppe Sibilli keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
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.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Match12 Feb 2028
Bari get the job done against Padova
A 2‑0 win over Padova, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“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 ratings14 Feb 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.95 on the card, and the Bari support went home talking about one name.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Enrico Delprato trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings14 Feb 2028
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.
Market14 Feb 2028
The name of Michele Cerofolini keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Feb 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market7 Feb 2028
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match5 Feb 2028
No end in sight to Bari's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bari has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicola Leali commits to Bari for another 2 years.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michele Cerofolini, and the manager let it.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
Marked 8.30 — 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 ratings7 Feb 2028
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.
Player ratings7 Feb 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jan 2028
The paperwork is done: Óscar Aranda joins from Bologna in a deal worth $7.6M. Now comes the harder part.
Market31 Jan 2028
Bari say no — this time
The offer from Bra for Vincenzo Colangiuli 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.
Match29 Jan 2028
The wait goes on for Bari
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.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings31 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.74, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad31 Jan 2028
7 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match29 Jan 2028
Honours even between Bari and Spezia
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Raffaele Pucino, and the manager let it.
Market31 Jan 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Vincenzo Colangiuli has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Bari.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Jan 2028
The cup run ends for Bari
0‑2 against Lazio, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad24 Jan 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Jan 2028
10 goals and a season average of 7.47. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad24 Jan 2028
The manager makes an example of Nicola Leali
“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 ratings24 Jan 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Marked 8.42 — 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 ratings24 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match22 Jan 2028
It needed Matthias Verreth to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Palermo, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The terraces24 Jan 2028
Everybody has an opinion about Nicola Leali
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Jan 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad17 Jan 2028
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 ratings17 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Defences have started doubling up on Francesco Vicari
9 goals and a season average of 7.43 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings17 Jan 2028
Marked 8.85 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
Defensive actions: 27, 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 ratings10 Jan 2028
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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
A performance of 9.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match8 Jan 2028
It finished 1‑0, and it was Giuseppe Sibilli’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings10 Jan 2028
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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“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.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Idrissa Guèye 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 Idrissa Guèye trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market10 Jan 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Michele Cerofolini signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings3 Jan 2028
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.
Market3 Jan 2028
“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 Bari, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Jan 2028
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. Bari will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“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.
Match1 Jan 2028
Avellino left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 Jan 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Enrico Delprato trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market3 Jan 2028
The name of Enrico Delprato keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
The terraces3 Jan 2028
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad27 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market27 Dec 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bari they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Match25 Dec 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad27 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.01, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom27 Dec 2027
Doors closed at Bari
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad27 Dec 2027
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Squad27 Dec 2027
One booking too many, and Ebrima Darboe sits out. Bari lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match15 Dec 2027
Bari through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Pescara, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Francesco Vicari
9 goals and a season average of 7.47 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 22 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 Dec 2027
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.
Match18 Dec 2027
A bad afternoon for Bari against Empoli
0‑1 to Empoli, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad20 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad13 Dec 2027
“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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
43 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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 ratings13 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match11 Dec 2027
Bari come up short against Modena
Modena left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
The one thing Idrissa Guèye could not do
Shots: 11, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad6 Dec 2027
“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.
Market6 Dec 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Bari heard it as anything else.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Dec 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match4 Dec 2027
Bari come up short against Pescara
Pescara left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Bari release $14.1M for the manager
The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Nicola Leali 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 Bari, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
Shots: 9, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad29 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market29 Nov 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Pedro Vian Seewald will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bari the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match27 Nov 2027
Sampdoria made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.47, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ebrima Darboe, and the manager let it.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Bari needed to.
Squad29 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gabriele Moncini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad22 Nov 2027
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Nov 2027
A bad afternoon for Bari against Udinese
0‑2 to Udinese, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad22 Nov 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad22 Nov 2027
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Nicola Bellomo, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings22 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market22 Nov 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matthias Verreth signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Defensive actions: 41, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Nicola Leali: 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.” Bari have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match15 Nov 2027
Bari up to position 3
22 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Match13 Nov 2027
Nobody wants to play Bari right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
A season average of 7.49 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings15 Nov 2027
Marked 9.65 — 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 ratings15 Nov 2027
A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match13 Nov 2027
Three points for Bari, 1‑0 the final word against Hellas Verona in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Nov 2027
There were 11 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match3 Nov 2027
Bari through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Salernitana, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Match6 Nov 2027
3‑0, and Omari Forson took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bari tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Defensive actions: 30, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match6 Nov 2027
Bari make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Bari have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ebrima Darboe and Bari agree another 4 years.
Player ratings8 Nov 2027
A performance of 9.41 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Bari
Mehdi Dorval 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.
Market1 Nov 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bari is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match30 Oct 2027
Three points for Bari, 4‑3 the final word against Virtus Entella in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad1 Nov 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ebrima Darboe commits to Bari for another 4 years.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Marked 9.26 — 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 ratings1 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings1 Nov 2027
Marked 9.11 — 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 ratings1 Nov 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Francesco Vicari
7 goals and a season average of 7.30 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Oct 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Mehdi Dorval 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 Bari this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 9.03 — 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
63 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Marked 8.05 — 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.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gabriele Moncini, and the manager let it.
Match23 Oct 2027
It needed Francesco Vicari to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Carrarese, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.