Independência had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Botafogo-SP, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Independência have done the hard part with Atlético Mineiro, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Jônata Bastos 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Figueirense have kept their man, and Independência go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kiuan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
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 Independência have had the benefit of it.
The deal with Atlético Mineiro 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Atlético Mineiro keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independência this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Independência asked and Atlético Mineiro said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jônata Bastos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan Allan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Independência, another week without a signature from Wesley Bolinha.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Independência will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jônata Bastos signs something — a contract at Independência or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
BoardroomOpen for business: Independência enter the window
Successful dribbles: 29. 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.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 12 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped 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 Independência this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
288% of the income goes out in wages at Independência
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jônata Bastos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Mateus Martins after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Jônata Bastos 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Independência training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan Allan 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.
Tuna Luso next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jônata Bastos trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Tuna Luso next, and one man in the Independência dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words at Independência training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hítalo Rogério 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.
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.
The dugout9 Nov 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.” Mateus Martins chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other 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 Independência, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Imperatriz defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
1 for Henrique Silva, marked 7.72, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jônata Bastos 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independência 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 Silva. 2‑0 against Maranhão, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Imperatriz next, and the two sides the division is watching meet each other. Whoever wins will be told nothing is decided in the same breath as being congratulated.
The words a physio says slowly. 14 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Jônata Bastos 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at Independência training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rhuan Allan 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 8.17 — 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
In brief
Squad24 new faces, and Independência are still learning each other
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Independência lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Independência have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Jônata Bastos 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.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Thomaz Kenedi 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 words a physio says slowly. 28 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Weverton 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.
Everybody at Independência saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Henrique Silva’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Independência needing him to play as if none of it matters.
35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Independência lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.78 for the rest 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 Independência this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Rhuan Allan 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
289% of the income goes out in wages at Independência
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.
Level with 89 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Independência had all but put away. Águia de Marabá will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
42 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Independência lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Jônata Bastos 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.
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
49 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Independência lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hítalo Rogério was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
8.60. 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.
23 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.
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 level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Independência know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
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.
“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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independência this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Edy has come out of that comparison in the side, and Independência have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Independência are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Independência this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Independência training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jônata Bastos 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 8.31 — 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 dugout31 Aug 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.” Mateus Martins, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Rodrigo Maranhão provided it, and the 8.50 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Jônata Bastos 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.
9 goals in one match, Henrique Silva on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Independência and Manaus.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rhuan Allan was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Two goals and a mark of 8.71 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Wesley Bolinha provided it, and the 8.25 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
The ground has had enough
“We travel everywhere and we get this.” 5 of the 22 senior players heard it walking off, and the ones who did not hear it were not playing.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jônata Bastos and Independência agree another 3 years.
Weverton and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Jônata Bastos 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.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Samuel Moura is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Alex Rodrigues 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. André Gomes 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 academy exists for exactly this morning. Júnior Peixoto 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.
Manauara left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Mateus Martins left the room before anybody could ask which.
Humaitá next, and one man in the Independência dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Independência have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.