From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Nov 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 13 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Tempers go at Bari
Matthias Verreth was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings11 Nov 2030
A performance of 8.75 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings11 Nov 2030
Marked 8.26 — 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.
Squad11 Nov 2030
Defences have started doubling up on Giacomo Manzari
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.
Squad11 Nov 2030
The manager makes an example of Diego Perillo
“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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Nov 2030
Nicola Leali decides it from twelve yards
2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Match30 Oct 2030
Bari through in the cup
A 0‑0 win over Padova, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market4 Nov 2030
“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 Nov 2030
“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.
Squad4 Nov 2030
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 Nov 2030
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings4 Nov 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Oct 2030
Bari taken apart
0‑3 to Carrarese, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market28 Oct 2030
“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.
Match26 Oct 2030
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.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Tempers go at Bari
Matthias Verreth 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 Oct 2030
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 ratings28 Oct 2030
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom28 Oct 2030
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.
Squad28 Oct 2030
6 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings28 Oct 2030
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
Squad21 Oct 2030
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.
Squad21 Oct 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 Oct 2030
Tempers go at Bari
Matthias Verreth 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 ratings21 Oct 2030
Marked 9.14 — 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.
Squad21 Oct 2030
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 ratings21 Oct 2030
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match19 Oct 2030
Bari and Cesena take a point apiece
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The terraces21 Oct 2030
The spotlight tightens on Pedro Mendes
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.
Market21 Oct 2030
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
Steady
Squad14 Oct 2030
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 ratings14 Oct 2030
Marked 8.81 — 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.
Squad14 Oct 2030
44 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad14 Oct 2030
“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.
Match12 Oct 2030
A 1‑1 draw with Juve Stabia leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Pedro Mendes 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 Pedro Mendes trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings14 Oct 2030
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
Squad7 Oct 2030
There were 17 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.
Squad7 Oct 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Matthias Verreth commits to Bari for another 3 years.
Player ratings7 Oct 2030
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Oct 2030
Tempers go at Bari
Matthias Verreth 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.
Match5 Oct 2030
Giuseppe Sibilli scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑4 to Monza, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad7 Oct 2030
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.
Player ratings7 Oct 2030
Marked 8.57 — 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.
Boardroom7 Oct 2030
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 ratings7 Oct 2030
Shots: 12. 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
Squad30 Sep 2030
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.
Market30 Sep 2030
Moussa Manè 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.
Match28 Sep 2030
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.
Squad30 Sep 2030
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.
Match28 Sep 2030
Pescara made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings30 Sep 2030
Marked 8.54 — 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 ratings30 Sep 2030
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings30 Sep 2030
Defensive actions: 16, 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 Sep 2030
“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
Squad23 Sep 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad23 Sep 2030
The match ball belongs to Omari Forson, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad23 Sep 2030
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.
Match21 Sep 2030
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 ratings23 Sep 2030
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.
Match21 Sep 2030
Sampdoria made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad23 Sep 2030
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 ratings23 Sep 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.84, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings23 Sep 2030
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad16 Sep 2030
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.
Squad16 Sep 2030
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.
Match14 Sep 2030
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 ratings16 Sep 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.96, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings16 Sep 2030
Marked 8.37 — 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 Sep 2030
The medical room confirms 75 days on the sidelines for Leonardo Alonso, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad16 Sep 2030
“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.
Match14 Sep 2030
It needed Giacomo Manzari to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Palermo, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Market16 Sep 2030
The Mehdi Dorval talk will not go away
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
Squad9 Sep 2030
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.
Squad9 Sep 2030
22 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad9 Sep 2030
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 Sep 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego Perillo commits to Bari for another 4 years.
Player ratings9 Sep 2030
A performance of 9.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match7 Sep 2030
It needed Giacomo Manzari to find the net to bring anything home at all: 2‑2 against Pisa, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Market9 Sep 2030
The name of Enrico Delprato keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
Player ratings9 Sep 2030
The one thing Omari Forson could not do
Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Player ratings9 Sep 2030
The one thing Pedro Mendes 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market2 Sep 2030
The unthinkable, invoiced: Óscar Aranda sold
Atalanta arrived with $22.3M and left with the best player in the building. The board will call it business; the queue at the ticket office will use other words.
Match31 Aug 2030
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.
Market2 Sep 2030
“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.
Market2 Sep 2030
“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.
Squad2 Sep 2030
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.
Match31 Aug 2030
Bari get the job done against Südtirol
A 3‑1 win over Südtirol, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings2 Sep 2030
Marked 9.23 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad2 Sep 2030
“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 ratings2 Sep 2030
Marked 8.72 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Aug 2030
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 Aug 2030
The medical room confirms 34 days on the sidelines for Michele Cerofolini, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Market26 Aug 2030
The shirt still fits. Tiziano Grasso 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.
Market26 Aug 2030
As if he never left: Silvio Greco returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Silvio Greco is a Bari player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market26 Aug 2030
The shirt still fits. Andrea Ruggiero 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.
Market26 Aug 2030
The shirt still fits. Stefano Lombardo 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Aug 2030
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 Aug 2030
110 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad19 Aug 2030
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom12 Aug 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Bari
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad12 Aug 2030
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.
Squad12 Aug 2030
55 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
Uneasy
Boardroom5 Aug 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Mirko Grassi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad5 Aug 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market5 Aug 2030
Moussa Manè 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.
Market5 Aug 2030
“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 Aug 2030
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 Aug 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Borys Skraburski and Bari agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Jul 2030
“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 Jul 2030
66 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad29 Jul 2030
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
Uneasy
Squad22 Jul 2030
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 Jul 2030
“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.
Market22 Jul 2030
The Mehdi Dorval talk will not go away
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
Uneasy
Boardroom15 Jul 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Bari
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad15 Jul 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market15 Jul 2030
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Mirko Grassi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Market8 Jul 2030
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.
Market8 Jul 2030
Moussa Manè 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.
Squad8 Jul 2030
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 Jul 2030
“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.
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
Wages eat 85% of everything Bari earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad8 Jul 2030
“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.
Market8 Jul 2030
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.
Boardroom8 Jul 2030
$2.2M taken back off the Bari table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Jul 2030
“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.
Squad1 Jul 2030
102 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad1 Jul 2030
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
Uneasy
Market24 Jun 2030
“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.
Squad24 Jun 2030
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.
Market24 Jun 2030
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Bari has been clear about where Valerio Mantovani stands, which is more than many ever get.
Squad24 Jun 2030
“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.
Market24 Jun 2030
The Mehdi Dorval talk will not go away
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.
Squad24 Jun 2030
Omari Forson 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
Uneasy
Boardroom17 Jun 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Bari
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad17 Jun 2030
121 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad17 Jun 2030
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
Uneasy
Market10 Jun 2030
“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.
Squad10 Jun 2030
“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.
Market10 Jun 2030
The fee is $1.2M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Empoli drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Squad10 Jun 2030
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 Jun 2030
Omari Forson 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.
Market10 Jun 2030
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Jun 2030
“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.
Squad3 Jun 2030
131 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market3 Jun 2030
“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.
Squad3 Jun 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicola Leali commits to Bari for another 2 years.
Squad3 Jun 2030
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.
Market3 Jun 2030
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Giacomo Manzari has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Bari.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 May 2030
Benjamín Krom 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.
Squad27 May 2030
“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.
Squad27 May 2030
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom20 May 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Bari
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Bari is running low.
Squad20 May 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match18 May 2030
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.
Squad20 May 2030
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 ratings20 May 2030
Marked 9.35 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match18 May 2030
Bari get the job done against Avellino
A 2‑1 win over Avellino, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings20 May 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.88, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings20 May 2030
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.
Squad20 May 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Benjamín Krom, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 May 2030
“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.
Squad13 May 2030
Óscar Aranda is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.51 with 17 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad13 May 2030
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.
Match11 May 2030
Catanzaro made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings13 May 2030
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.
Player ratings13 May 2030
A performance of 8.83 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings13 May 2030
Marked 8.73 — 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 ratings13 May 2030
Marked 8.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad13 May 2030
The manager makes an example of Omari Forson
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 May 2030
A season average of 7.69 with 23 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match4 May 2030
5‑0, and Óscar Aranda took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bari tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Boardroom6 May 2030
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Squad6 May 2030
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings6 May 2030
Defensive actions: 26, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Market6 May 2030
“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 May 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Giuseppe Sibilli commits to Bari for another 2 years.
Squad6 May 2030
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 May 2030
A performance of 10.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Apr 2030
No end in sight to Bari's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bari has to find a result from somewhere.
Market29 Apr 2030
Benjamín Krom 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.
Player ratings29 Apr 2030
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad29 Apr 2030
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.
Squad29 Apr 2030
9 goals and a season average of 7.47. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match27 Apr 2030
Bari come up short against Modena
Modena left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad29 Apr 2030
“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 ratings29 Apr 2030
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.
Player ratings29 Apr 2030
Shots: 11. 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
Crisis
Boardroom22 Apr 2030
Pressure builds in the Bari boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Match20 Apr 2030
The wait goes on for Bari
10 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.
Market22 Apr 2030
“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.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Óscar Aranda is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.48 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad22 Apr 2030
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.
Squad22 Apr 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pedro Mendes, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 Apr 2030
Marked 8.66 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match20 Apr 2030
Bari share the spoils with Padova
A 1‑1 draw with Padova leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Player ratings22 Apr 2030
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
Crisis
Match13 Apr 2030
The wait goes on for Bari
9 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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
22 goals and a season average of 7.68. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad15 Apr 2030
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.
Market15 Apr 2030
“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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
“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.
Squad15 Apr 2030
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 ratings15 Apr 2030
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.
Player ratings15 Apr 2030
A performance of 8.76 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings15 Apr 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Apr 2030
Mirko Grassi has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Bari can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad8 Apr 2030
A season average of 7.67 with 21 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Match6 Apr 2030
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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
“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.
Squad8 Apr 2030
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.
Match6 Apr 2030
Bari come up short against Palermo
Palermo left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings8 Apr 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings8 Apr 2030
Marked 8.28 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
-
Player ratings
A costly moment from Ebrima Darboe
-
Player ratings
Pedro Mendes keeps on missing
-
Boardroom
85% of the income goes out in wages at Bari
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Apr 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market1 Apr 2030
“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.
Match30 Mar 2030
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.
Squad1 Apr 2030
Óscar Aranda is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.46 with 14 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad1 Apr 2030
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 ratings1 Apr 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.78, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings1 Apr 2030
A performance of 8.53 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 Apr 2030
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.
Squad1 Apr 2030
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom25 Mar 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Bari
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market25 Mar 2030
“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.
Match23 Mar 2030
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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Francesco Rodio: 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.
Squad25 Mar 2030
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 Mar 2030
A bad afternoon for Bari against Südtirol
0‑1 to Südtirol, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad25 Mar 2030
Defences have started doubling up on Omari Forson
7 goals and a season average of 7.36 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad25 Mar 2030
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings25 Mar 2030
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
Crisis
Market18 Mar 2030
“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.
Match16 Mar 2030
5 matches without a win for Bari
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Bari are no longer polite ones.
Squad18 Mar 2030
Defences have started doubling up on Óscar Aranda
13 goals and a season average of 7.44 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad18 Mar 2030
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.
Squad18 Mar 2030
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.
Match16 Mar 2030
Virtus Entella left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings18 Mar 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.75, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad18 Mar 2030
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 Mar 2030
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Mar 2030
20 goals and a season average of 7.68. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Market11 Mar 2030
“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.
Market11 Mar 2030
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.
Match9 Mar 2030
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.
Squad11 Mar 2030
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.
Match9 Mar 2030
Whatever happens, Bari do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings11 Mar 2030
A performance of 9.12 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad11 Mar 2030
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.
Squad11 Mar 2030
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Michele Cerofolini will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom4 Mar 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Mirko Grassi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad4 Mar 2030
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.
Squad4 Mar 2030
“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.
Market4 Mar 2030
“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 Mar 2030
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Omari Forson and Bari agree another 4 years.
Squad4 Mar 2030
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 ratings4 Mar 2030
Marked 8.67 — 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 ratings4 Mar 2030
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match2 Mar 2030
Honours even between Bari and Cesena
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
In brief
-
Boardroom
86% of the income goes out in wages at Bari
-
Player ratings
The one thing Óscar Aranda could not do
-
Player ratings
Pedro Mendes keeps on missing
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Feb 2030
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
There were 15 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.
Boardroom25 Feb 2030
The scrutiny sharpens at Bari
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Bari is running low.
Squad25 Feb 2030
A season average of 7.66 with 19 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Market25 Feb 2030
“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.
Squad25 Feb 2030
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 Feb 2030
“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 Feb 2030
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.
Match23 Feb 2030
A 1‑1 draw with Juventus leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Market25 Feb 2030
The name of Óscar Aranda keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Feb 2030
“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 Feb 2030
18 goals and a season average of 7.63. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad18 Feb 2030
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 ratings18 Feb 2030
Marked 8.90 — 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 Feb 2030
“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.
Match16 Feb 2030
Bari and Monza take a point apiece
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad18 Feb 2030
“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 ratings18 Feb 2030
Shots: 11. 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.
Market18 Feb 2030
The Mehdi Dorval story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Mehdi Dorval signs something — a contract at Bari or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 Feb 2030
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.
Squad11 Feb 2030
17 goals and a season average of 7.59. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
Defensive actions: 27. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market11 Feb 2030
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.
Squad11 Feb 2030
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 ratings11 Feb 2030
A performance of 9.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings11 Feb 2030
A performance of 8.96 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match9 Feb 2030
Three points for Bari, 2‑0 the final word against Pescara in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad11 Feb 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Devis Vásquez, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Boardroom4 Feb 2030
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Mirko Grassi has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Squad4 Feb 2030
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.
Market4 Feb 2030
“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 Feb 2030
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 Feb 2030
A performance of 9.44 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match2 Feb 2030
A 3‑1 win over Sampdoria, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings4 Feb 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.64, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad4 Feb 2030
“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 ratings4 Feb 2030
Shots: 13. 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
Boardroom28 Jan 2030
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Bari
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market28 Jan 2030
Inter 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.
Squad28 Jan 2030
A season average of 7.56 with 16 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad28 Jan 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad28 Jan 2030
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 Jan 2030
Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad28 Jan 2030
“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 ratings28 Jan 2030
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 ratings28 Jan 2030
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Jan 2030
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market21 Jan 2030
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad21 Jan 2030
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 Jan 2030
Defences have started doubling up on Óscar Aranda
12 goals and a season average of 7.42 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Match19 Jan 2030
Mantova made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings21 Jan 2030
Marked 8.79 — 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 ratings21 Jan 2030
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.55, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad21 Jan 2030
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 ratings21 Jan 2030
Shots: 14, 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
Squad14 Jan 2030
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.
Market14 Jan 2030
“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.
Squad14 Jan 2030
A season average of 7.53 with 15 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad14 Jan 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Jan 2030
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 Jan 2030
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
A performance of 8.72 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings14 Jan 2030
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
Upbeat
Squad7 Jan 2030
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market7 Jan 2030
Juventus 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.
Market7 Jan 2030
“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.
Squad7 Jan 2030
13 goals and a season average of 7.49. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad7 Jan 2030
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pedro Mendes commits to Bari for another 3 years.
Squad7 Jan 2030
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 Jan 2030
A performance of 9.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings7 Jan 2030
Marked 9.20 — 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 Jan 2030
It finished 2‑1, and it was Matthias Verreth’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom31 Dec 2029
Pressure builds in the Bari boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad31 Dec 2029
Omari Forson takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad31 Dec 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 ratings31 Dec 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.
Match29 Dec 2029
Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad31 Dec 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.
Boardroom31 Dec 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.
Player ratings31 Dec 2029
Shots: 12. 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
Squad24 Dec 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 16 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad24 Dec 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad24 Dec 2029
12 goals and a season average of 7.45. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad24 Dec 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.
Match22 Dec 2029
It finished 2‑1, and it was Pedro Mendes’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings24 Dec 2029
A performance of 9.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings24 Dec 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.
The terraces24 Dec 2029
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.
Market24 Dec 2029
The name of Mehdi Dorval keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Bari say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2029
Bari bow out of the cup
Genoa go through and Bari go home, 2‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad17 Dec 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.
Market17 Dec 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.
Squad17 Dec 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.
Player ratings17 Dec 2029
Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad17 Dec 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.
Squad17 Dec 2029
Defences have started doubling up on Óscar Aranda
10 goals and a season average of 7.37 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 Dec 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.
Match15 Dec 2029
Three points for Bari, 2‑0 the final word against Modena in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market10 Dec 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.
Squad10 Dec 2029
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.
Squad10 Dec 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match8 Dec 2029
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.
Squad10 Dec 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.
Match8 Dec 2029
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Giacomo Manzari. 4‑3 against Padova, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings10 Dec 2029
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 Dec 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.18, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 Dec 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
Boardroom3 Dec 2029
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Bari
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Boardroom3 Dec 2029
Mirko Grassi has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Bari can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad3 Dec 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market3 Dec 2029
“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.
Market3 Dec 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.
Squad3 Dec 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.
Match1 Dec 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.
Squad3 Dec 2029
A season average of 7.42 with 11 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings3 Dec 2029
Marked 8.75 — 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
Upbeat
Squad26 Nov 2029
Vicente Pendino: 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.
Squad26 Nov 2029
The medical room confirms 26 days on the sidelines for Nicola Leali, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad26 Nov 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.
Match24 Nov 2029
Whatever happens, Bari do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad26 Nov 2029
A season average of 7.36 with 9 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Player ratings26 Nov 2029
Marked 8.89 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match24 Nov 2029
Bari and Palermo take a point apiece
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings26 Nov 2029
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings26 Nov 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.
In brief
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Player ratings
The one thing Pedro Mendes could not do
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Market
Mehdi Dorval linked with a move away
-
Boardroom
The Bari production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad19 Nov 2029
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Match17 Nov 2029
Bari make it 5 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Bari have 5 straight wins of it.
Squad19 Nov 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.
Squad19 Nov 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 ratings19 Nov 2029
A performance of 9.83 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad19 Nov 2029
10 goals and a season average of 7.40. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Match17 Nov 2029
Hellas Verona made Bari work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings19 Nov 2029
Marked 9.04 — 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 Nov 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match10 Nov 2029
4‑1, and Óscar Aranda took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bari tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad12 Nov 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Nov 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 Nov 2029
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.
Squad12 Nov 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.
Squad12 Nov 2029
The medical room confirms 29 days on the sidelines for Hassane Kamara, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings12 Nov 2029
Marked 9.18 — 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.
Player ratings12 Nov 2029
A performance of 9.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings12 Nov 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match31 Oct 2029
Bari through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Crotone, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Boardroom5 Nov 2029
Pressure builds in the Bari boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market5 Nov 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.
Market5 Nov 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.
Squad5 Nov 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Nicola Leali commits to Bari for another 2 years.
Match3 Nov 2029
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.
Squad5 Nov 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.
Match3 Nov 2029
It finished 3‑2, and it was Matthias Verreth’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bari.
Player ratings5 Nov 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.42, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match27 Oct 2029
5‑2, and Pedro Mendes took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Bari tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Pedro Mendes takes the match ball home
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
Squad29 Oct 2029
The medical room confirms 57 days on the sidelines for Nicola Leali, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad29 Oct 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 ratings29 Oct 2029
A performance of 9.36 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad29 Oct 2029
The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Riccardo Burgio, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.57, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings29 Oct 2029
Shots: 9. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
In brief
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Market
Mehdi Dorval linked with a move away
-
The terraces
The press have found their man in Pedro Mendes
-
Boardroom
The Bari production line keeps running
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Oct 2029
A one-man rearguard from Nicola Leali
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.
Match20 Oct 2029
The wait goes on for Bari
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad22 Oct 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market22 Oct 2029
Benjamín Krom 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.
Squad22 Oct 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.
Squad22 Oct 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.
Match20 Oct 2029
Bari come up short against Cesena
Cesena left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Marked 8.75 — 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 ratings22 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Oct 2029
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.
Match13 Oct 2029
7 matches without a win for Bari
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Bari are no longer polite ones.
Squad15 Oct 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.
Squad15 Oct 2029
64 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad15 Oct 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.
Match13 Oct 2029
Juventus left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.54 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings15 Oct 2029
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
Crisis
Match6 Oct 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.
Market8 Oct 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.
Squad8 Oct 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Giuseppe Sibilli commits to Bari for another 2 years.
Squad8 Oct 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.
Match6 Oct 2029
Óscar Aranda scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Monza, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Player ratings8 Oct 2029
A performance of 8.61 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Boardroom8 Oct 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.
Squad8 Oct 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lorenzo Dickmann, and the manager let it.
Player ratings8 Oct 2029
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
Crisis
Squad1 Oct 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Bari may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match29 Sep 2029
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.
Squad1 Oct 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 ratings1 Oct 2029
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Oct 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.
Match29 Sep 2029
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad1 Oct 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raffaele Romano commits to Bari for another 4 years.
The terraces1 Oct 2029
The spotlight tightens on Pedro Mendes
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 ratings1 Oct 2029
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
Crisis
Market24 Sep 2029
Benjamín Krom 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.
Squad24 Sep 2029
Benjamín Krom: 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.
Match22 Sep 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.
Squad24 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.
Match22 Sep 2029
A bad afternoon for Bari against Sampdoria
2‑3 to Sampdoria, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad24 Sep 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.
Player ratings24 Sep 2029
Marked 8.93 — 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 Sep 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.
Boardroom24 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.
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.
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.