From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for Bra
17 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.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Ismet Sinani: 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.” Bra have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market22 Feb 2027
“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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Bra
Damián Ramírez 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.
Match20 Feb 2027
3 matches without a goal for Bra
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Match20 Feb 2027
Forli take the points off Bra
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Damián Ramírez
“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.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Riccardo Campedelli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Feb 2027
16 matches without a win for Bra
The run now stands at 16, and the questions being asked around Bra are no longer polite ones.
Market15 Feb 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Feb 2027
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Federico Tonin: 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.” Bra have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Bra
Franklyn Akammadu 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.
Match13 Feb 2027
A bad afternoon for Bra against Pontedera
0‑1 to Pontedera, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Giorgio Lionetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
No place for Ismet Sinani on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Bra pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match6 Feb 2027
The wait goes on for Bra
15 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.
Match8 Feb 2027
Bra sink to position 17
15 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad8 Feb 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market8 Feb 2027
“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 Bra, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Bologna keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bra
Franklyn Akammadu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match6 Feb 2027
A bad afternoon for Bra against Ternana
0‑1 to Ternana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Giorgio Lionetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match30 Jan 2027
14 matches without a win for Bra
The run now stands at 14, and the questions being asked around Bra are no longer polite ones.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 Bra, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Bra until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Market1 Feb 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bra is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match30 Jan 2027
Bra are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Potenza have kept their man, and Bra go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match30 Jan 2027
Bra come up short against Gubbio
Gubbio left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“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
Match23 Jan 2027
The wait goes on for Bra
13 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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Nowhere to hide for Bra
1‑4 against Ascoli, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Market25 Jan 2027
“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 Jan 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Tempers go at Bra
Damián Ramírez 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.
Transfer targets25 Jan 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Match23 Jan 2027
Bra are shipping goals every week
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Bra training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgio Lionetti is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Looking ahead25 Jan 2027
Everything rides on Gubbio
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. Bra know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
In brief
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Boardroom
Inquest at Bra
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Alessio Brambilla
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match16 Jan 2027
12 matches without a win for Bra
The run now stands at 12, and the questions being asked around Bra are no longer polite ones.
Market18 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match16 Jan 2027
Enrico Baldini scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Pianese, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
Bra asked and Perugia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ismet Sinani, and the manager let it.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Bra training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgio Lionetti is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Transfer targets18 Jan 2027
A loan move for Dion Cakolli is in the works
Bra have made the call to Atalanta. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Bra's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bra has to find a result from somewhere.
Match11 Jan 2027
Every point is an argument now for Bra
Position 16 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets11 Jan 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Picerno have kept their man, and Bra go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match9 Jan 2027
Guidonia Montecelio left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Looking ahead11 Jan 2027
Bra face Pianese in the game that matters most
Two sides from the bottom of the table, three points, and an afternoon that will be described afterwards as a relegation decider by whoever loses it.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Squad
A row about effort at Bra
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Transfer targets
A loan move for Luca Bacchin is in the works
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match2 Jan 2027
10 matches without a win for Bra
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Bra are no longer polite ones.
Match2 Jan 2027
A hiding for Bra
Beaten 0‑4 by Perugia, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Bra know it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Market4 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bra have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Franklyn Akammadu, and the manager let it.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Bra
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgio Lionetti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
Nobody left the Bra 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.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Alessio Russo to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Bra's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bra has to find a result from somewhere.
Market28 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bra can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Gioele Conte, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.75
A mark of 7.75 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market28 Dec 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lorenzo Lancellotti will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Bra the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad28 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Giorgio Lionetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
105% of the income goes out in wages at Bra
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match26 Dec 2026
Bra and Arezzo take a point apiece
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Tonin, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for Bra
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.
Market21 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Bra can pretend not to have heard.
Squad21 Dec 2026
7 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Bra
Franklyn Akammadu 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Livorno take the points off Bra
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“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.
Match21 Dec 2026
Bra at the halfway mark
Half the programme played, position 14, 14 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Alessio Russo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Riccardo Campedelli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
9 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Match12 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for Bra
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Bra
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgio Lionetti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Riccardo Campedelli, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Half-satisfied: Alessio Russo on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
13 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Ismet Sinani left out for tactical reasons at Bra
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Match12 Dec 2026
Bra and Torres cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Torres came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match5 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Bra's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bra has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
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 Dec 2026
Words exchanged at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
Bra supporters have found a favourite in Mattia Leoncini
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Mattia Leoncini has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ismet Sinani, and the manager let it.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Giorgio Lionetti falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match5 Dec 2026
A goal on 86 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Marked 7.66. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Match5 Dec 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.57 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market30 Nov 2026
“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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
Match28 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Bra's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Bra has to find a result from somewhere.
Market30 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bra is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Bra
Damián Ramírez 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Nov 2026
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
105% of the income goes out in wages at Bra
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market23 Nov 2026
“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 Bra, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match21 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Bra
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match21 Nov 2026
The goals have deserted Bra
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Bra can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bra
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgio Lionetti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgio Lionetti, and the manager let it.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
7.89, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Bra had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Half-satisfied: Alessio Russo on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match14 Nov 2026
The goals have deserted Bra
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Bra can tell you which week it ends in.
Match14 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Bra
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgio Lionetti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Stefano Tuzza
“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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Alessio Russo to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Ismet Sinani left out for tactical reasons at Bra
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Franklyn Akammadu has written the date down.
Squad16 Nov 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Bra will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Bra
Franklyn Akammadu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ismet Sinani, and the manager let it.
Match7 Nov 2026
Bra come up short against Carpi
Carpi left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Riccardo Campedelli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The plan did not have a place for Ismet Sinani
Nobody at Bra is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes Stefano Tuzza a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Bra. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The suspension is over, which is the half of a ban nobody prints. He has watched from the stand for long enough to have opinions about the shape, and the manager now has a decision he did not have last week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad2 Nov 2026
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.
Market2 Nov 2026
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Bra is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match31 Oct 2026
A bad afternoon for Bra against Ravenna
0‑2 to Ravenna, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad2 Nov 2026
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
105% of the income goes out in wages at Bra
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Alessio Russo after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Alessio Brambilla is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Oct 2026
Bra run riot against Forli
4‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 9.43 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Up for the corner, and Alessio Brambilla delivers — 7.64
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Alessio Brambilla scored, was marked 7.64, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Gianmarco Di Biase has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Squad26 Oct 2026
50 goals in these colours now, every one of them somebody’s memory. There is a supporter in the stand who can tell you where he was for most of them.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Giorgio Lionetti, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Bra
13 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bra
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Riccardo Campedelli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
Ismet Sinani does not fit this one
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The dugout
Federico Tonin gets picked when it counts
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Gioele Conte, 19, steals the show — 7.93
Marked 7.93 at 19, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces19 Oct 2026
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Match17 Oct 2026
Three points for Bra, 1‑0 the final word against Pontedera in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Riccardo Campedelli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Gioele Conte is the weekend's best young player
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Ismet Sinani left out for tactical reasons at Bra
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“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
Uneasy
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Two goals and a mark of 8.01 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match10 Oct 2026
4 matches without a win for Bra
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Bra are no longer polite ones.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ismet Sinani, and the manager let it.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Ninety minutes of Enrico Baldini at his very best
Marked 8.15. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Bra.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Bra training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgio Lionetti is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Match10 Oct 2026
Bra caught on 95 minutes
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Ternana scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Match10 Oct 2026
Honours even between Bra and Ternana
3‑3, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
A promise honoured at Bra
Something was said to Gioele Conte and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market5 Oct 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bra they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Bra
Damián Ramírez 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
141% of the income goes out in wages at Bra
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match3 Oct 2026
Gubbio take the points off Bra
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Bra
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgio Lionetti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Stefano Tuzza
“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.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Gioele Conte
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Gioele Conte has come out of that comparison in the side, and Bra have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Franklyn Akammadu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Sep 2026
The cup run ends for Bra
1‑3 against Catanzaro, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.02 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Davide Renzetti is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match26 Sep 2026
A bad afternoon for Bra against Ascoli
0‑1 to Ascoli, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Bra are still strangers to each other
13 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Alessio Russo to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.69, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Gioele Conte, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.67
A mark of 7.67 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Bra
Franklyn Akammadu and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Enrico Baldini’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Bra.
The terraces21 Sep 2026
Bra supporters have found a favourite in Gioele Conte
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Gioele Conte has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Alessio Russo could afford to be generous.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Gioele Conte is the weekend's best young player
At 19 he is being measured against the rest of the division's kids and coming out in front. The senior version of this award is where the club would like this to lead.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Bra
Franklyn Akammadu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market14 Sep 2026
One of our own: Achille Basile joins the Bra first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Achille Basile is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Edoardo Amato has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Damián Ramírez, and the manager let it.
Squad14 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Bra
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Giorgio Lionetti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Alessio Russo was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Bra dressing room was either.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Match12 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Guidonia Montecelio will be the happier side with the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match5 Sep 2026
A hiding for Bra
Beaten 0‑3 by Perugia, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
The terraces7 Sep 2026
The stands have turned
“Enough is enough. We have watched this for months.” 6 of the 30 senior players walked off to it, and the message was not aimed at any one of them.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Window shuts: 17 in, 1 out at Bra
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 17 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Market7 Sep 2026
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Bra they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Bra
Damián Ramírez 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.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Bra training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Giorgio Lionetti is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Doors closed at Bra
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 ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad31 Aug 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad31 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Aug 2026
Bra come up short against Arezzo
Arezzo left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad31 Aug 2026
13 new faces, and Bra are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Alessio Russo after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
A loan move for Flynn Macnack is in the works
Bra have made the call to Torino. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“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 ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The plan did not have a place for Stefano Tuzza
Nobody at Bra is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Bra have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Bra training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riccardo Campedelli is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Bra
Damián Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market17 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Bra have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Riccardo Campedelli falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad17 Aug 2026
The formation has left Gioele Conte behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Bra will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Squad17 Aug 2026
He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Bra has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The paperwork begins on Iván López
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Bra have done the hard part with Juventus, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bra this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
Bra asked and Torres said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Roberto Raimondi has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gianmarco Barbieri is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Michele Sala has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gregorio Moretti is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad10 Aug 2026
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Bra know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
A loan move for Flynn Macnack is in the works
Bra have made the call to Torino. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Enrico Baldini and Bra agree another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Bra
Enrico Baldini was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
8 new faces, and Bra are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Bra training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Riccardo Campedelli is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan move for Gioele Conte is in the works
Bra have made the call to Spezia. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.