Juventude U20

15 Nov 2030
Friday
Process
224 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

11 Nov 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 33 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Ruan Yago signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ruan Yago commits to Juventude for another 4 years.

In brief

Back issues
223 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

4 Nov 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Lucca says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

Manuel Castro signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Manuel Castro commits to Juventude for another 2 years.

In brief

  • Squad The manager makes an example of Garraty
  • Boardroom Juventude keep producing them
222 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

28 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Gabriel keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Lucca stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Lucca and Juventude agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

221 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

21 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Victor Braga: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Pedro Rocha

“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.

In brief

220 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

14 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 33 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Jermain Fernandes

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jermain Fernandes, and the manager let it.

In brief

219 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

7 Oct 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Jermain Fernandes: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Juan Manuel Toloza signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Manuel Toloza and Juventude agree another 1 years.

In brief

  • Squad Lucca gets it from the manager
  • Boardroom Juventude sign a deal worth $3.1M a year
  • Market The clock runs on João Pedro's contract
  • Boardroom The Juventude production line keeps running
218 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

30 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Gabriel Pinheiro

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gabriel Pinheiro, and the manager let it.

Squad

Odivan 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 Odivan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

217 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

23 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Odivan 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.

Squad

Gabriel Pinheiro 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 Gabriel Pinheiro trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

216 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

16 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 33 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Squad

Alex Guaricuyu says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

In brief

215 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

9 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

3 goals for Alan Franco

The match ball belongs to Alan Franco, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Squad

Raí Ramos signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raí Ramos commits to Juventude for another 2 years.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

One of those days for Alan Franco

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 10.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Guillermo Soto

“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 ratings

Nobody could get near Émerson Galego

Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

214 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

2 Sep 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Émerson Galego runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Bruninho keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Raí Ramos signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Raí Ramos and Juventude agree another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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 ratings

Alan Franco in the eights

A performance of 8.94 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Luisinho

25 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

213 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

26 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

José Cabrera: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Player ratings

Victor Braga shuts the door

Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Lucca Prior

Marked 9.09 — 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.

Match

Juventude see off America Mineiro

Three points for Juventude, 2‑0 the final word against America Mineiro in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Alan Franco

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

João Scatolin 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.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Lucca Prior

5 goals and a season average of 7.22 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

In brief

212 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

19 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 28 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Squad

Odivan: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

Pedro Rocha 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 ratings

Raí runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Lucas Mineiro in the eights

A performance of 8.34 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Marcos Paulo

Marked 8.28 — 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.

Squad

Marcos Paulo is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.24 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Match

Juventude share the spoils with Atletico Goianiense

A 1‑1 draw with Atletico Goianiense leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

In brief

211 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

12 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Pedro Rocha

There were 6 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Émerson Galego

Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Juventude see off Oeste

Three points for Juventude, 1‑0 the final word against Oeste in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Victor Braga in the eights

A performance of 8.27 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Kleyman Ochoa

“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 ratings

A defender's afternoon for Lucas Mineiro

Defensive actions: 15. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Lucca changes it off the bench

He was not in the side at half past three and he had settled it before five. Half an hour, and Juventude had a different afternoon.

Squad

Raí 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.

In brief

210 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

5 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Alan Franco signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alan Franco commits to Juventude for another 2 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Match

Juventude come up short against Flamengo

Flamengo left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

One of those days for Émerson Galego

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Guillermo Soto

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Guillermo Soto, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

A day to forget for Alan Franco

Marked 4.57, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucca Prior

Successful dribbles: 12. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Alan Franco has company in his position

The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Alan Franco keeps the shirt for now, at Juventude's convenience rather than his own.

Market

Juventude shop where it costs nothing

Lucyo signs, and the fee column stays empty. Deals like this look small in July and clever by March — or they are never mentioned again.

In brief

209 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

29 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Raí

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Nautico take the points off Juventude

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

Juventude lose Paulo Costa

25 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

No hiding place for Santiago Zampieri

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Zampieri, and the manager let it.

Squad

Marcos Paulo is carrying Juventude

5 goals and a season average of 7.22. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

208 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

22 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude up to position 3

24 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Marcos Paulo

17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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 ratings

Émerson Galego runs at them all day

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.

Market

Eyes on Matías Caballero again

The phone has started ringing about Matías Caballero again, and this time the name on the line is Oeste. Juventude are listening politely and promising nothing.

Squad

The manager makes an example of João Scatolin

“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.

Match

Juventude come up short against Paysandu

Paysandu left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Luisinho out for 36 days

The medical room confirms 36 days on the sidelines for Luisinho, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

The one thing Marcos Paulo could not do

Shots: 6, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

In brief

207 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

15 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude bow out of the cup

Corinthians go through and Juventude go home, 0‑1 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.

Squad

Luis Henrique: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Juventude get the job done against ABC

A 2‑1 win over ABC, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Victor Braga

Marked 8.57 — 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 ratings

One of those days for João Scatolin

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.45, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Luis Henrique signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Luis Henrique commits to Juventude for another 3 years.

Squad

No hiding place for Kleyman Ochoa

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kleyman Ochoa, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Lucca Prior runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

In brief

206 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

8 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Alan Franco leads the rout of Boa

4‑1, and Alan Franco took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Juventude tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Market

Alex Guaricuyu hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

João Pedro: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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 ratings

One of those days for Alan Franco

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.38, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Marcos Paulo

Marked 9.21 — 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 ratings

One of those days for Lucca Prior

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.17, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Pedro Rocha

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pedro Rocha, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Émerson Galego

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

205 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

1 Jul 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Martín Coirolo: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Paulo Costa out for 53 days

The medical room confirms 53 days on the sidelines for Paulo Costa, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

204 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

24 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude up to position 3

18 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Market

Matías Caballero puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Matías Caballero

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Matías Caballero will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventude the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Luisinho

64 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Raí Ramos

“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.

Match

A bad afternoon for Juventude against Bahia

0‑1 to Bahia, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucca Prior

Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Guillermo Soto 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 Guillermo Soto trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

203 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

17 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Business is business: Natã Felipe goes

Botafogo paid $2.8M and Juventude took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo in the eights

A performance of 9.49 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Juventude get the job done against Parana

A 2‑1 win over Parana, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Émerson Galego

Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Odivan 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.

Market

No place for Alex Guaricuyu in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alex Guaricuyu has his answer from Juventude; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Market

Talks stall between Juventude and Garraty

“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.

Squad

Lucca Prior unhappy with how he is being used

Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Lucca Prior has let it be known that he does not like the way Juventude are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.

In brief

  • Squad Raí asks for a word with the manager
  • Market Juventude shop where it costs nothing
  • Boardroom The Juventude production line keeps running
202 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

10 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Émerson Galego runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 35. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Pedro Rocha keeps Juventude in it on his own

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.

Squad

Bruninho: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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 ratings

Lucas Mineiro shuts the door

Defensive actions: 23, 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 ratings

A defender's afternoon for Natã Felipe

Defensive actions: 18. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

No hiding place for Kleyman Ochoa

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kleyman Ochoa, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

Victor Braga shuts the door

Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Market

The Matías Caballero conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: Criciuma will make the call about Matías Caballero this week. Juventude have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

In brief

201 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

3 Jun 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude tear Atletico Goianiense apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 5‑2 against Atletico Goianiense, and it could have been more.

Market

Juventude say no — this time

The offer from Botafogo for Natã Felipe 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.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Marcos Paulo

Marked 9.14 — 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 ratings

Lucca Prior in the eights

A performance of 9.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Natã Felipe

Marked 8.81 — 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 ratings

Émerson Galego in the eights

A performance of 8.79 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

Raí signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raí commits to Juventude for another 3 years.

Squad

Alan Franco loses the armband

The captaincy has been taken off Alan Franco. Juventude will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.

In brief

200 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

27 May 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 11 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Player ratings

Lucca Prior runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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 ratings

A defender's afternoon for Natã Felipe

Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo in the eights

A performance of 9.20 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Juventude see off Oeste

Three points for Juventude, 1‑0 the final word against Oeste in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Player ratings

Manuel Castro in the eights

A performance of 8.49 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Guillermo Soto

“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.

Squad

Marcos Paulo finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Juventude have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

In brief

  • Squad Odivan has seen what the next man earns
  • The terraces The press cannot get enough of Marcos Paulo
  • The terraces The stand has a song for Manuel Castro
199 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

20 May 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Pedro Rocha decides it from twelve yards

2 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.

Match

Cup progress for Juventude

A 2‑2 win over Sport Recife, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?

Match

4 matches without a win for Juventude

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Juventude are no longer polite ones.

Squad

João Scatolin stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” João Scatolin and Juventude agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Gabriel

37 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Match

A bad afternoon for Juventude against Flamengo

1‑2 to Flamengo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Player ratings

One of those days for Natã Felipe

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.

Player ratings

One of those days for Bruninho

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.03, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

198 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

13 May 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Pedro Rocha

There were 7 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.

Squad

Alan Franco out for 30 days

The medical room confirms 30 days on the sidelines for Alan Franco, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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 ratings

One of those days for Lucca Prior

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.87, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

No hiding place for Pedro Rocha

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pedro Rocha, and the manager let it.

Match

Juventude and Nautico take a point apiece

It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.

In brief

  • Player ratings Raí runs at them all day
  • Player ratings Marcos Paulo keeps on missing
  • The terraces The press cannot get enough of Lucca Prior
  • Boardroom Juventude keep producing them
197 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

6 May 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 36. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Natã Felipe

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Odivan

“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.

Squad

Matías Caballero stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Matías Caballero and Juventude agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Victor Braga

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

In brief

196 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

29 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Marcos Paulo

Successful dribbles: 46. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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 ratings

A masterclass from Raí

Marked 9.22 — 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.

Squad

João Scatolin 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.

Match

Raí sends Juventude past ABC

It finished 1‑0, and it was Raí’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Juventude.

Player ratings

Victor Braga shuts the door

Defensive actions: 15, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

In brief

195 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

22 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

As if he never left: Thiago Silva returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Thiago Silva is a Juventude player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

Cristiano Fonseca comes home

The shirt still fits. Cristiano Fonseca is back at Juventude, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

As if he never left: Guilherme Assis returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Guilherme Assis is a Juventude player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

As if he never left: Pitbull returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Pitbull is a Juventude player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Gabriel

65 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Player ratings

One of those days for Raí

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Juventude see off Boa

Three points for Juventude, 1‑0 the final word against Boa in a contest settled by the finer margins.

In brief

194 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

15 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

João Pedro: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Juventude lose Alan Franco

58 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

In brief

193 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

8 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Manuel Castro stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Manuel Castro and Juventude agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

No hiding place for João Pedro

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Pedro, and the manager let it.

In brief

192 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

1 Apr 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 36 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Matías Caballero puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

In brief

191 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

25 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Martín Coirolo 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.

Squad

José Cabrera 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.

In brief

190 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

18 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Alan Franco out for 86 days

The medical room confirms 86 days on the sidelines for Alan Franco, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Bruninho

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bruninho, and the manager let it.

In brief

189 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

11 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Émerson Galego

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Émerson Galego, and the manager let it.

Squad

Victor Braga 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.

In brief

188 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

4 Mar 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 36 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Matías Caballero

“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.

In brief

187 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

25 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro has settled at Juventude

The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.

Squad

Alan Franco keeps his manager's vote

The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Alan Franco plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.

In brief

  • Squad Luisinho is out on the grass again
186 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

18 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Alan Franco

115 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

João Pedro says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

In brief

185 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

11 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Bruninho

“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.

Squad

Raúl Cáceres 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.

In brief

  • Squad Lucca has seen what the next man earns
184 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

4 Feb 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Juventude up to position 3

36 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Squad

Raí Ramos signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Raí Ramos commits to Juventude for another 2 years.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

183 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

28 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

Émerson Galego 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.

Squad

Alex Guaricuyu 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 Alex Guaricuyu trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

182 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

21 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for João Pedro

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Pedro, and the manager let it.

Squad

A season on the outside for Kleyman Ochoa

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Juventude has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

181 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

14 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

Pedro Rocha 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.

Squad

Bruninho 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.

In brief

180 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

7 Jan 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Juventude up to position 3

36 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Squad

The season belongs to Alan Franco

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 Juventude have had the benefit of it.

Market

Raúl Cáceres hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Business is business: Alex Juárez goes

Grêmio paid $3.8M and Juventude took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Market

The Sport Recife deal is off

Everything was agreed until it was not, and Matías Caballero reports back to Juventude with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

179 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

31 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Bruninho hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

Gabriel out for 40 days

The medical room confirms 40 days on the sidelines for Gabriel, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

178 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

24 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

The Matías Caballero conversation is coming

Everyone has stopped pretending: ABC will make the call about Matías Caballero this week. Juventude have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.

Squad

The manager makes an example of José Cabrera

“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.

In brief

177 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

17 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Market

Juventude get their man

The chase for Odivan ended with $280.0K changing hands and Bragantino out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Alex Guaricuyu

“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.

Market

No place for Raúl Cáceres in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Raúl Cáceres has his answer from Juventude; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Market

Experience through the door at Juventude

Guillermo Soto arrives at 35 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.

Market

Talks stall between Juventude and Ruan Yago

“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.

In brief

176 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

10 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Juventude are going up

Promotion, confirmed and mathematical, and a town that will not sleep much tonight. Whatever else this season had in it, it ends a division higher than it began.

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 36 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Bruno Henrique asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

The season belongs to Alan Franco

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 Juventude have had the benefit of it.

Market

Bruno Henrique is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventude is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

175 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

3 Dec 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Alex Juárez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

Juventude lose Gabriel

71 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Pedro Rocha 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.

Squad

Rhaisson signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rhaisson and Juventude agree another 4 years.

Market

Experience through the door at Juventude

Jorge Recalde arrives at 37 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.

In brief

174 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

26 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Pedro Rocha keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Lucca

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucca, and the manager let it.

In brief

173 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

19 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Bruno Henrique: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Jorge is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventude is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

In brief

172 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

12 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 36 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Bruno Henrique hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Bruno Henrique has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

In brief

171 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

5 Nov 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Alex Juárez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

João Pedro says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

In brief

170 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

29 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Pedro Rocha

“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.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Dylan Ledesma

32 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

169 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

22 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Jorge is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventude is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

Squad

Juventude lose Raúl Cáceres

57 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

  • Squad Tuta out for 29 days
  • Squad Kaynan out for 65 days
168 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

15 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Juventude up to position 3

36 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Market

Bruno Henrique puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Bruno Henrique

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bruno Henrique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventude the goodbyes have quietly begun.

In brief

167 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

8 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Alex Juárez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Lucca keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

In brief

166 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

1 Oct 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Dylan Ledesma

65 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

Juventude lose Lucca

17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

  • Squad The manager makes an example of Bruninho
  • Market The clock does Bruno Henrique’s negotiating for him
  • Boardroom The Juventude production line keeps running
165 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

24 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Jorge

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jorge will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventude the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Raúl Cáceres

88 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

In brief

164 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

17 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Juventude are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 36 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Market

Bruno Henrique puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Only the photograph left for Bruno Henrique

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bruno Henrique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventude the goodbyes have quietly begun.

In brief

163 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

10 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Only the photograph left for Alex Juárez

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alex Juárez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventude the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Alex Guaricuyu says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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 ratings

Nobody could get near Alex Juárez

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Lucca Prior’s goal not enough for Juventude

Lucca Prior scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑3 to Bahia, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

No hiding place for Marcos Paulo

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Marcos Paulo, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

One of those days for Lucca Prior

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.80, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Gabriel stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Gabriel and Juventude agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo keeps on missing

Shots: 12, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

In brief

162 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

3 Sep 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

João Pedro: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Manuel Castro signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Manuel Castro commits to Juventude for another 2 years.

Match

Juventude find a way past Parana

Parana made Juventude work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

One of those days for Manuel Castro

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.96, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

One of those days for Marcos Paulo

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.32, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

One of those days for Lucca Prior

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.09, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

Marcos Paulo is carrying Juventude

7 goals and a season average of 7.25. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

The one thing João Scatolin could not do

Shots: 10, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.

In brief

161 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

27 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Jorge: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Raúl Cáceres out for 118 days

The medical room confirms 118 days on the sidelines for Raúl Cáceres, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Market

Jorge has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Match

4 matches without a win for Juventude

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Juventude are no longer polite ones.

Player ratings

Lucas Mineiro shuts the door

Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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 ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

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.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Alan Franco

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Squad

Martín Coirolo 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.

In brief

160 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

20 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 32 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Bruno Henrique has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Natã Felipe

Defensive actions: 25. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Alan Franco shuts the door

Defensive actions: 20, 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 ratings

Alex Juárez runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Player ratings

Lucas Mineiro shuts the door

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.

Squad

Alan Franco is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.32 with 6 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

Márcio Farias out for 15 days

The medical room confirms 15 days on the sidelines for Márcio Farias, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

In brief

159 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

13 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Alex Juárez is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventude is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Market

Bruno Henrique asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

Gabriel says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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 ratings

Alex Juárez runs at them all day

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.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Marcos Paulo

Marked 8.44 — 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.

In brief

158 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

6 Aug 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Juventude come up short against Flamengo

Flamengo left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Pedro Rocha signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Pedro Rocha commits to Juventude for another 3 years.

Squad

Juventude count the cost of losing Raí

36 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

Squad

No hiding place for Raí Ramos

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Raí Ramos, and the manager let it.

Player ratings

A masterclass from João Scatolin

Marked 8.10 — 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.

Market

Juan Manuel Toloza brings the grey hairs Juventude lacked

At 35, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo keeps on missing

Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucca Prior

Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

In brief

157 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

30 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Squad

Bruno Henrique keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Market

Jorge has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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 ratings

Nobody could get near Alex Juárez

Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

One of those days for Marcos Paulo

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.25, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Match

Marcos Paulo the difference as Juventude beat Nautico

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Marcos Paulo. 2‑1 against Nautico, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Bruno Henrique

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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Gabriel

“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 ratings

Lucas Mineiro never got going

5.24 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.

In brief

156 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

23 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Juventude refuse to drop out of the race

Position 2, 27 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Bruno Henrique is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventude is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for João Scatolin

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to João Scatolin, and the manager let it.

Match

Paysandu take the points off Juventude

Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Alex Juárez

Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

The terraces

The spotlight tightens on João Scatolin

Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo keeps on missing

Shots: 5, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.

Squad

Alex Guaricuyu knocks on the manager's door

“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Juventude, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

155 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

16 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Triumph

Market

Alex Juárez is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventude is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Alex Juárez

Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Bruno Henrique hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

Match

7 unbeaten for Juventude

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Juventude did not have in the autumn.

Match

Marcos Paulo sends Juventude past ABC

It finished 2‑1, and it was Marcos Paulo’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Juventude.

Player ratings

One of those days for Marcos Paulo

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

One of those days for Manuel Castro

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.53, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Martín Coirolo

“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.

In brief

  • Squad Defences have started doubling up on Lucca Prior
  • Player ratings The one thing Lucca could not do
  • Squad Alex Guaricuyu knocks on the manager’s door
154 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

9 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Juventude tear Boa apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Boa, and it could have been more.

Market

Natã Felipe asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

Raí Ramos stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Raí Ramos and Juventude agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Only the photograph left for Joaquín Rodríguez

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Joaquín Rodríguez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventude the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

6 unbeaten for Juventude

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Juventude did not have in the autumn.

Squad

Raí out for 64 days

The medical room confirms 64 days on the sidelines for Raí, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

Alan Franco in the eights

A performance of 9.25 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Lucca Prior

Marked 8.86 — 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.

In brief

153 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

2 Jul 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Alex Juárez puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Raí Ramos stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Raí Ramos and Juventude agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Market

Corinthians expected to open talks for Alex Juárez

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Juventude will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

Squad

Pedro Rocha 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.

Squad

Manuel Castro 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 Manuel Castro trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

152 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

25 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventude are in among the leaders

Position 3 and 21 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Market

Matías Caballero puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Business is business: Caíque goes

Fortaleza paid $870.0K and Juventude took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Émerson Galego

Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Freddy Molina out for 45 days

The medical room confirms 45 days on the sidelines for Freddy Molina, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

Raúl Cáceres 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.

Squad

Alan Franco is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.34 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Match

Juventude and Bahia 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.

In brief

  • Player ratings Marcos Paulo leaves them behind him
  • Market Juventude shop where it costs nothing
  • Boardroom The Juventude production line keeps running
151 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

18 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Marcos Paulo

Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Bruno Henrique asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Market

Bruno Henrique is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventude is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Match

Juventude cannot stop winning

3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.

Market

Joaquín Borja Velázquez moves on

Internacional pay $1.3M, 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.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

Match

Juventude find a way past Parana

Parana made Juventude work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Lucas Mineiro

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 19 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

A defender's afternoon for Natã Felipe

Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

In brief

150 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

11 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Natã Felipe asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Market

Juventude turn down Fortaleza for Caíque

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Market

Joaquín Rodríguez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventude they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Raí out for 93 days

The medical room confirms 93 days on the sidelines for Raí, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Joaquín Borja Velázquez

Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Marcos Paulo

Marked 8.81 — 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 ratings

A defender's afternoon for Victor Braga

Defensive actions: 20. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Market

Internacional expected to open talks for Joaquín Borja Velázquez

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Juventude will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

149 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

4 Jun 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Alex Juárez hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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 ratings

Nobody could get near Marcos Paulo

Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Match

Lucca Prior the difference as Juventude beat Atletico Goianiense

Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Lucca Prior. 3‑2 against Atletico Goianiense, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.

Player ratings

One of those days for Lucca Prior

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Joaquín Borja Velázquez in the eights

A performance of 8.58 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

No hiding place for Pedro Rocha

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Pedro Rocha, and the manager let it.

Squad

Pedro Rocha lets one through his hands

A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.

Squad

Joaquín Borja Velázquez is carrying Juventude

5 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

148 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

28 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Match

Juventude up to position 3

11 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Match

4 matches without a win for Juventude

The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Juventude are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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 ratings

A masterclass from Alan Franco

Marked 8.86 — 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 ratings

One of those days for Joaquín Borja Velázquez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.67, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Alex Juárez in the eights

A performance of 8.30 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

No hiding place for Raúl Cáceres

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Raúl Cáceres, and the manager let it.

Match

Honours even between Juventude and Oeste

2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

In brief

147 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

21 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Pedro Rocha is the hero from the spot

A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Pedro Rocha: 4 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.

Match

The cup run ends for Juventude

1‑1 against Atlético Mineiro, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.

Market

Joaquín Borja Velázquez hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

João Pedro says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

João Scatolin signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” João Scatolin commits to Juventude for another 4 years.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Juventude come up short against Flamengo

Flamengo left with the points after a 3‑4 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

One of those days for Émerson Galego

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Alan Franco in the eights

A performance of 8.60 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

146 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

14 May 2029
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Market

Natã Felipe hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

Juventude lose Raí

123 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Player ratings

Joaquín Borja Velázquez in the eights

A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

No hiding place for Caíque

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Caíque, and the manager let it.

In brief

145 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

7 May 2029
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Alex Juárez asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

Martín Coirolo says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Match

Juventude make it 3 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Juventude have 3 straight wins of it.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Alan Franco in the eights

A performance of 9.39 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Lucca Prior in the eights

A performance of 9.24 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Match

Alan Franco sends Juventude past Paysandu

It finished 2‑1, and it was Alan Franco’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Juventude.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo in the eights

A performance of 8.31 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

One of those days for Alex Juárez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.21, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

In brief

144 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

30 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Bruninho keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

Match

Juventude find a way past ABC

ABC made Juventude work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Player ratings

One of those days for João Scatolin

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.54, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Alan Franco

Marked 8.04 — 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 ratings

A defender's afternoon for Natã Felipe

Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Raí

“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.

Squad

João Scatolin finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Juventude have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

In brief

143 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

23 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Juventude boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Match

Juventude tear Boa apart

Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Boa, and it could have been more.

Market

Joaquín Borja Velázquez asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Player ratings

Alan Franco in the eights

A performance of 9.71 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

Nothing got past Natã Felipe

Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 21 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.

Player ratings

One of those days for Joaquín Borja Velázquez

There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.90, and no argument anywhere in the ground.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo in the eights

A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Squad

João Scatolin 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.

In brief

142 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

16 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Natã Felipe puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Pedro Rocha: 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.” Juventude have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Marcos Paulo 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.

Market

Igor Viana comes home

The shirt still fits. Igor Viana is back at Juventude, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

Market

As if he never left: Felipe Barbosa returns

Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Felipe Barbosa is a Juventude player again, and the town has its story of the summer.

Market

Tuta comes home

The shirt still fits. Tuta is back at Juventude, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.

In brief

  • Boardroom Juventude are making the ground bigger
  • Squad No hiding place for Victor Braga
  • Squad Raí knocks on the manager's door
141 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

9 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Alex Juárez puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Joaquín Borja Velázquez says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

140 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

2 Apr 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

The armband comes off Marcos Paulo

Juventude will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Jorge

“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.

In brief

139 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

26 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Juventude

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Juventude is running low.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Matías Caballero

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías Caballero, and the manager let it.

In brief

138 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

19 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Joaquín Borja Velázquez hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Wadson says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

In brief

137 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

12 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Natã Felipe puts it in writing

“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 Juventude, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Natã Felipe 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 Natã Felipe trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

136 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

5 Mar 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Market

Alex Juárez asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

Marcos Paulo signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Marcos Paulo and Juventude agree another 4 years.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

In brief

  • Squad The manager makes an example of Raí
  • Squad Alex Juárez has seen what the next man earns
  • Boardroom The Juventude production line keeps running
135 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

26 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Juventude

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Squad

Marcos Paulo 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Juventude lose João Pedro

20 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

In brief

134 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

19 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Gabriel Pinheiro says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Squad

No hiding place for Caíque

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Caíque, and the manager let it.

In brief

133 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

12 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Émerson Galego keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Alan Franco 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.

In brief

132 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

5 Feb 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Luiz Freitas has until the next board meeting

What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Juventude can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

Squad

Manuel Castro signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Manuel Castro commits to Juventude for another 2 years.

Squad

Raúl Cáceres 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.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Alan Franco trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

Boardroom

$7.2M taken back off the Juventude table

What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.

In brief

131 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

29 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Pedro Rocha keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Juventude may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Boardroom

Pressure builds in the Juventude boardroom

The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

In brief

130 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

22 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Joaquín Borja Velázquez asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

Victor Braga says Juventude went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

In brief

129 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

15 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Natã Felipe hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Alan Franco signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alan Franco and Juventude agree another 3 years.

Squad

Alan Franco 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

The manager makes an example of José Cabrera

“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.

Market

Nobody at Juventude has picked up the phone to Émerson Galego

36 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.

Squad

Joaquín Borja Velázquez still has not settled

A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Juventude would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.

In brief

128 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

8 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

It is over: Juventude are relegated

The arithmetic ran out, and everybody could see it coming from a distance. The hard summer starts now, and next season's fixtures will be full of unfamiliar names.

Market

Alex Juárez hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Natã Felipe wants more than Juventude are offering

“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.

Squad

Juventude lose Caíque

18 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

João Scatolin stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” João Scatolin and Juventude agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Alan Franco 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.

In brief

127 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

1 Jan 2029
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Juventude go down

It is arithmetic now, and the arithmetic is done. A summer of hard questions starts early at Juventude, and next season's fixture list reads very differently.

Match

The wait goes on for Juventude

18 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.

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Juventude

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Matías Caballero asks to leave Juventude

“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.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Lucca Prior’s goal not enough for Juventude

Lucca Prior scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Palmeiras, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Raí Ramos

“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 ratings

Lucca Prior in the eights

A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Alex Juárez

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.

In brief

126 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

25 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

No end in sight to Juventude's wait for a win

17 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Juventude has to find a result from somewhere.

Market

Joaquín Borja Velázquez hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventude can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Juventude

Lucas Mineiro 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.

Match

Juventude come up short against Santos

Santos left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Player ratings

Marcos Paulo runs at them all day

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.

Market

Alex Juárez told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Alex Juárez has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Juventude.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Joaquín Borja Velázquez

“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.

Squad

Freddy Molina signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Freddy Molina commits to Juventude for another 4 years.

Squad

Raúl Cáceres 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 Raúl Cáceres trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

125 Edition

The Juventude Sentinel

18 Dec 2028
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Juventude

16 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.

Match

Juventude sink to position 19

22 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad

Álvaro Busso keeps Juventude in it on his own

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 ratings

Nobody could get near Marcos Paulo

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Lucas Mineiro 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 Juventude this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

No hiding place for Alan Franco

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alan Franco, and the manager let it.

Match

A bad afternoon for Juventude against Vasco da Gama

0‑1 to Vasco da Gama, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Alex Juárez

4 goals and a season average of 7.20 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

Player ratings

Caíque never got going

5.48 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.

In brief