From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Nov 2026
1‑4 to Famalicao, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Market9 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad9 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 Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Abdu Conté
“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.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Casa Pia 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 terraces9 Nov 2026
Everybody has an opinion about Ricardo Batista
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Squad9 Nov 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Dominik Prpić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.39, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match31 Oct 2026
A 2‑1 win over Portimonense, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ricardo Batista, and the manager let it.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 8.47 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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 Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match24 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Kenny Quetant. 2‑1 against Santa Clara, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Marked 8.46 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad26 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Dominik Prpić is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.24 with 5 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
Squad26 Oct 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ricardo Batista trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Casa Pia's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Casa Pia has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Dominik Prpić 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.
Match17 Oct 2026
Tiago Morais scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Maritimo, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Cassiano
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market12 Oct 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 Casa Pia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Casa Pia
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad12 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 Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 21, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad12 Oct 2026
41 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market12 Oct 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.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Marked 7.60 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Casa Pia had the best player on the pitch.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
João Teixeira in trouble away from the ground
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Match3 Oct 2026
The wait goes on for Casa Pia
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Dominik Prpić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.81 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 8.45 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Training ground row involving João Teixeira
Tempers went at Casa Pia this week. Nothing a hard session and a quiet word cannot repair, though the story got out all the same.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kélian Nsona, and the manager let it.
Market5 Oct 2026
Casa Pia and Cassiano are talking past each other
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad28 Sep 2026
There were 12 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
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 Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Kevin Prieto gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Cassiano asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
5.68 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Dominik Prpić 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Ricardo Batista
“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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Rio Ave left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
The one thing Kenny Quetant could not do
Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Cassiano knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Cassiano trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Sep 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 Casa Pia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 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 Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Shots: 10. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 5.48, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
5.76 on the card. Some afternoons a footballer looks like a man who has only just been introduced to the game, and this was one of them.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Defensive actions: 139, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A defender's afternoon for David Sousa
Defensive actions: 26. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market7 Sep 2026
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Kaíque Rocha reports back to Casa Pia with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Market7 Sep 2026
The paperwork is done: Martim Almeida joins from Famalicao in a deal worth $960.0K. Now comes the harder part.
Player ratings7 Sep 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 Sep 2026
Dominik Prpić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A performance of 9.62 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match5 Sep 2026
Vizela made Casa Pia work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tiago Ferreira, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for David Sousa
Defensive actions: 24. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Abdu Conté in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match29 Aug 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Cassiano’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Casa Pia.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A masterclass from Cassiano
Marked 8.17 — 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.
Squad31 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.
Market31 Aug 2026
Estoril Praia are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Casa Pia will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market31 Aug 2026
Casa Pia have made Korede Osundina available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Aug 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.
Market24 Aug 2026
Patrick Sequeira has left for Benfica in a $3.0M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market24 Aug 2026
The paperwork is done: João Teixeira joins from Chaves in a deal worth $1.1M. Now comes the harder part.
Squad24 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Abdu Conté
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.38 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.36, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match22 Aug 2026
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market17 Aug 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 Casa Pia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market17 Aug 2026
Jérémy Livolant has left for Sporting CP in a $3.4M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market17 Aug 2026
João Goulart has left for Porto in a $2.9M deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Market17 Aug 2026
Braga pay $2.6M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Abdu Conté in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Kevin Prieto gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Every debut is a small story about the future: Tijn den Boggende, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Benfica come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Casa Pia did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market10 Aug 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Jérémy Livolant again, and this time the name on the line is Sporting CP. Casa Pia are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Sousa commits to Casa Pia for another 3 years.
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 Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market3 Aug 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 Casa Pia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Cassiano signs a new deal
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Cassiano commits to Casa Pia for another 1 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Jérémy Livolant 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Jérémy Livolant asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Sebastián Pérez’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.