7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bragantino and Internacional in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Marked 9.56 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Bragantino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juninho Capixaba 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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.05 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Gustavo Marques 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 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 goal that put Palmeiras ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Bragantino equalised, 1 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Something was said to Henry Mosquera and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
12 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.34, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Bragantino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juninho Capixaba 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bragantino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bragantino, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juninho Capixaba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Isidro Pitta was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.12. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Minute 86, against Vasco da Gama, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Bragantino, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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.
Gustavo Marques and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Eric Ramires 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Eduardo Sasha. 3‑1 against Ceará, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is 22 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.
Marked 8.07 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
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.
“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 ratings26 Oct 2026
Isidro Pitta was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.64. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.07 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Something was said to Isidro Pitta and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad26 Oct 2026
12 new faces, and Bragantino 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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bragantino will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
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.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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 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 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Bragantino told Agustín Sant'Anna something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Lucas Barbosa
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Bragantino will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Bragantino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guzmán Rodríguez 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bragantino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Fabrício has improved at 26, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Márcio Pacheco after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Agustín Sant'Anna is on it.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Bragantino will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juninho Capixaba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Gabriel Vasconcelos 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 one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Márcio Pacheco after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Bragantino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juninho Capixaba 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.
Gustavo Marques 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gustavo Neves. 2‑1 against Grêmio, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is 22 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Karanga, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
11 new faces, and Bragantino 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Márcio Pacheco, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
The dugoutLucas Barbosa dropped after a run of poor form
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Vinicinho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Guzmán Rodríguez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Gustavo Marques 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.
Successful dribbles: 16. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Bragantino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juninho Capixaba 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.
Gabriel Vasconcelos 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Márcio Pacheco after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Agustín Sant'Anna is on it.
São Paulo will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑2, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Bragantino were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bragantino and São Paulo in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Agustín Sant'Anna and Bragantino agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juninho Capixaba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.41 — 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.
Marked 8.40 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Cruzeiro go through and Bragantino go home, 1‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.35 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Dudu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Eric Ramires 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.
At 22 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.
Marked 8.42 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Two goals and a mark of 10.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A brace, and Isidro Pitta takes the afternoon — 9.41
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Isidro Pitta provided it, and the 9.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Fernando provided it, and the 9.37 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Bragantino this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bragantino and Fortaleza in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Bragantino and Atlético Mineiro in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
In brief
SquadWords at Bragantino training over how hard people work
The offer from Derby County for José María Herrera 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.
Dudu 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 Aug 2026
Words at Bragantino training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juninho Capixaba 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.
He is 23 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.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Bragantino are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
In brief
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Gustavo Neves
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Fera 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bruno Nogueira is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Diego Rodrigues 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.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Mateus Assis 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.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 94th minute. Cruzeiro will replay every second of the added time for a week.
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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Gabriel Vasconcelos is living that version at Bragantino, and it tends to show in the first month.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“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 Bragantino hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
He is 22 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.
In brief
Player ratingsIsidro Pitta was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Gustavo Neves at his very best