“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 The request is on a desk at Casa Pia, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Casa Pia ran out of time with Rio Ave. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
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.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jérémy Livolant. 2‑1 against Vitoria Guimaraes, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Jérémy Livolant was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.13. 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.
Rio Ave have accepted the money. What Casa Pia do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
12 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 1 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at Casa Pia 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.
Pau Víctor 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: 22. 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 said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jérémy Livolant was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. João Rego did not need any: 7.84, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Pau Víctor 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: Pau Víctor. 3‑2 against Alverca, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Marked 8.97 — 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.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Alverca spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lawrence Ofori was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 25. 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.
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Pau Víctor on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Casa Pia and Tondela.
In brief
SquadWords at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Add another name to the list: Braga have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Korede Osundina. The answer from Casa Pia has not changed — yet.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Enzo Boer has just signed for Casa Pia, and for once the answer mattered.
Casa Pia asked and Cesena said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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 Casa Pia have had the benefit of it.
Jérémy Livolant 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.
Casa Pia asked and Lecce said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
João Teixeira 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Goncalo Silva after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jérémy Livolant provided it, and the 8.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Pau Víctor 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Casa Pia and AVS, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Henrique Araújo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.78. 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.
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.
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jérémy Livolant 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Goncalo Silva after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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.
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.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
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.
A point taken on 97 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
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 dugout14 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Goncalo Silva chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
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.
Pau Víctor 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 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Kevin Prieto wants continental football; whether Casa Pia can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Half the programme played, position 4, 29 on the board. Doubling it is the sum every supporter has done and the only one nobody at the club will do out loud.
Ninety minutes of very little, and then everything at once. The winner arrived in the 87th, and Estoril Praia spent what remained of the match appealing to the referee rather than chasing the ball.
Abdu Conté 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jérémy Livolant was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A 2‑1 win over Estoril Praia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
In brief
The dugoutAndré Gomes dropped after a run of poor form
Famalicao made Casa Pia work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. João Teixeira 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.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Henrique Araújo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.22. 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Goncalo Silva after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
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.
Successful dribbles: 59. 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.
Pau Víctor 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 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Leonardo Monteiro is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Leonardo Neves is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Casa Pia, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager’s verdict
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than André Geraldes
Successful dribbles: 43. 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.
1 on the scoresheet on his first appearance and a mark of 7.67 beside it. Most debuts are got through; this one was enjoyed, by him and by everybody watching it.
1 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Pau Víctor 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.
6 goals in one match, Henrique Araújo on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Casa Pia and Estrela da Amadora.
12 goals and a season average of 7.32. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jérémy Livolant 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.
Marked 8.64 — 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.
14 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.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Casa Pia and Braga, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
“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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. João Teixeira 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.
Abdu Conté 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Bruno Borges 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. Simao Carvalho 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 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
Somebody else is better right now than André Gomes
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Abdu Conté 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 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Korede Osundina 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.
20 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Casa Pia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Goncalo Silva on a 3‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Casa Pia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Two goals and a mark of 8.78 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and João Teixeira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Goncalo Silva kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Casa Pia lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Henrique Araújo provided it, and the 9.08 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Pau Víctor was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jérémy Livolant 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Joao Pinto 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.
48 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Casa Pia lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Two goals and a mark of 9.38 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 24 arrived, 11 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Pau Víctor 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.
Casa Pia ran out of time with Leixões. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
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 fee is $16.0M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Braga drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Henrique Araújo provided it, and the 8.92 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“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 Casa Pia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Casa Pia have gone to Leixões with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Leixões have kept their man, and Casa Pia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Henrique Araújo. 3‑2 against AVS, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. João Rego 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 deal with Braga is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Casa Pia will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jérémy Livolant was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The offer went to Braga this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Braga have kept their man, and Casa Pia go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Abdu Conté 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jérémy Livolant was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everything agreed with another club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
The chase for João Teixeira ended with $490.0K changing hands and Chaves out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Mathys Jean Marie is living that version at Casa Pia, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Sousa 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.
Casa Pia asked and Universitario said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
$460.0K on the table at Criciuma. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Abdu Conté 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 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.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Casa Pia can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.