Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 67 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Two goals and a mark of 9.58 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.91 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad13 Sep 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Giovanni Baldini has just signed for Juventus, and for once the answer mattered.
9.38. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.28 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Juventus will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.49 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Kenan Yıldız was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match28 Aug 2038
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Juventus. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ulises Piedrabuena provided it, and the 8.90 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.24 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Squad23 Aug 2038
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 9 goals between Juventus and Juve Stabia, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Pierre Kalulu 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.
10 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad16 Aug 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Cambiaso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Juventus, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lloyd Kelly will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“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 Juventus, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mattia Scaringi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad2 Aug 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventus can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2038
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Juventus will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Juventus know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Simone Serafini is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I watch every Juventus game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Audace Cerignola runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lloyd Kelly will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“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 Juventus, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2038
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Santiago Bravo is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“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 Juventus, and it is not being withdrawn.
“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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Mattia Scaringi has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
18 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Juventus lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cristiano Alberti will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Juventus lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2038
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alessandro Martini and Juventus agree another 4 years.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Juventus has been clear about where Federico Accornero stands, which is more than many ever get.
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Juventus lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lloyd Kelly will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Lloyd Kelly has agreed terms with Hellas Verona for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Juventus will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
In brief
SquadWords at Juventus training over how hard people work
A season average of 6.61 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Juventus know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Riccardo Paonessa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Juventus will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad31 May 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Benit Borasio was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Juventus will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Juventus will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
23 goals in 31 games at Südtirol — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
At 37 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.19 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Michele Di Gregorio commits to Juventus for another 2 years.
Player ratings3 May 2038
Vasilije Adžić was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.53. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Squad3 May 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Cambiaso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Shots: 12. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.32 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
21 goals in 29 games at Südtirol — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Rafiu Durosinmi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Destiny Elimoghale is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
21 goals in 33 games at Carrarese — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
19 goals in 28 games at Südtirol — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad19 Apr 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 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.
Marked 8.50 — 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.
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 7 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Riccardo Paonessa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad12 Apr 2038
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Two goals and a mark of 10.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
500 appearances across 13 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
Kenan Yıldız was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Everybody's debut is one of two stories and this was the other one. 5.60, and the only consolation available is that nobody's career has ever been decided by ninety minutes in a shirt he had just been given.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Juventus heard it as anything else.
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.
30 appearances away from home and 18 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Squad29 Mar 2038
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
17 goals in 25 games at Südtirol — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Pierre Kalulu 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.
Vasilije Adžić had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Inter were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vasilije Adžić provided it, and the 8.40 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.39 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with AC Milan the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Juventus will enjoy reviewing.
Two goals and a mark of 9.25 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
16 goals in 23 games at Südtirol — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad15 Mar 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Destiny Elimoghale is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Inter go through and Juventus go home, 3‑5 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Vasilije Adžić had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Napoli were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
449 appearances across 14 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.64 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Player ratings8 Mar 2038
Up for the corner, and Wout Gielen delivers — 7.89
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Wout Gielen scored, was marked 7.89, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
8 goals in one match, Teun Koopmeiners on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Juventus and Inter.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Federico Gatti will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
448 appearances across 14 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9.30. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Vasilije Adžić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Juventus, and 0 appearances in 26 say he has earned the hearing.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kenan Yıldız signs something — a contract at Juventus or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
11 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
3 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Francisco Conceição will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Juventus escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Juventus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.79 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Federico Gatti has agreed terms with Napoli for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad15 Feb 2038
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Two goals and a mark of 9.08 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Francisco Conceição and Juventus agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Feb 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Juventus, and 0 appearances in 32 say he has earned the hearing.
Marked 8.14 — 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.21 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
6 goals in one match, Rafiu Durosinmi on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Juventus and Atalanta.
Pierre Kalulu 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.
6 goals and a season average of 7.57 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad1 Feb 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Destiny Elimoghale is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Juventus, and 2 appearances in 32 say he has earned the hearing.
Hellas Verona are out and Juventus go through, 2‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Player ratings25 Jan 2038
Raffaele Melis, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Michele Di Gregorio 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.
Squad25 Jan 2038
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Add another name to the list: Audace Cerignola have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Raffaele Melis. The answer from Juventus has not changed — yet.
The offer from Pescara for Federico Gatti 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.
Rafiu Durosinmi 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.
23 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Marked 9.39 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The offer from Pescara for Rafiu Durosinmi 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.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.08 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
7 goals in one match, Kenan Yıldız on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Juventus and Juve Stabia.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I watch every Juventus game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Casertana runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Marked 8.93 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Two goals and a mark of 9.08 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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 Juventus have had the benefit of it.
At 36 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.81 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Juventus hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.19 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
Add another name to the list: Santos have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ulises Piedrabuena. The answer from Juventus has not changed — yet.
Marked 9.27 — 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.
Three points for Juventus, 2‑1 the final word against Parma in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad28 Dec 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Cambiaso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Derby days make names, and Ulises Piedrabuena made his against Torino. 1‑0, bragging rights secured, and one half of town will be tired of hearing about him by Tuesday.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Riccardo Paonessa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Pierre Kalulu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Destiny Elimoghale is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every Juventus game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cavese runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Kenan Yıldız had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Palermo were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Juventus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Raffaele Melis did not need any: 7.81, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 35 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad14 Dec 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.83 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Juventus game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cremonese runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
8.61. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Juventus dressing room in a hurry
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.96 — 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Juventus, and 0 appearances in 24 say he has earned the hearing.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.21 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad23 Nov 2037
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
8.97. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.91 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
Marked 8.98. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Juventus.
Squad16 Nov 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Cambiaso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
11 goals in 12 games at Südtirol — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vasilije Adžić provided it, and the 8.82 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 9.26 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Juventus and Guidonia Montecelio in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad9 Nov 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Destiny Elimoghale is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
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.
Squad2 Nov 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every Juventus game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cremonese runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
10 goals in 10 games at Südtirol — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Juventus updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Juventus and Napoli in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
In brief
SquadWords at Juventus training over how hard people work
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Vasilije Adžić at his very best
Two goals and a mark of 10.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Juventus scored in the 93th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Two goals and a mark of 9.44 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.60 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ulises Piedrabuena. 4‑3 against Reggiana, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Khéphren Thuram, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Oct 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Destiny Elimoghale is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.95 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Squad12 Oct 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 11 goals between Juventus and Udinese, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
8.94. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
Player ratingsSamuele Ferrara was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Juventus will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Vasilije Adžić will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Juventus escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.29 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Player ratings5 Oct 2037
Vasilije Adžić was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.22. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Marked 8.30 — 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 32 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad28 Sep 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Cambiaso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every Juventus game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Cremonese runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
10 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Kenan Yıldız signs something — a contract at Juventus or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Kenan Yıldız
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 41 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.92 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2037
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
22 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Marked 9.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 48 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
3 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Como the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Juventus will enjoy reviewing.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.68 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 55 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Destiny Elimoghale provided it, and the 8.94 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Pescara moved on, Federico Gatti reports back to Juventus, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
276 appearances across 14 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.03 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
8 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Juventus and Genoa in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 64 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The offer from Bari for Rafiu Durosinmi 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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.86 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Michele Di Gregorio 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.
Squad31 Aug 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Santiago Bravo is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Kenan Yıldız had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Lecce were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 8 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
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.
Rafiu Durosinmi 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.
10 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Tobías Zurita has just signed for Juventus, and for once the answer mattered.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Lecce will make the call about Rafiu Durosinmi this week. Juventus have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad17 Aug 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrea Cambiaso is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Juventus, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Juventus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The phone has started ringing about Federico Gatti again, and this time the name on the line is Pescara. Juventus are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2037
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Mattia Scaringi has just signed for Juventus, and for once the answer mattered.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Juventus, and 0 appearances in 8 say he has earned the hearing.
Mattia Scaringi arrives at 34 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Kenan Yıldız was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Santiago Bravo is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Cagliari pay $3.4M, 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.
Squad20 Jul 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kenan Yıldız is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every dressing room knows how to read a signing like this one. Antoan Stoyanov is not here to sit and wait indefinitely, and the man whose place he has been bought to take knows it better than anyone.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventus can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Bari for Rafiu Durosinmi 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Andrew Watson is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Juventus hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Andrea Cambiaso was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 Jun 2037
Kenan Yıldız falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Francisco Conceição signs something — a contract at Juventus or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The offer from Pescara for Federico Gatti 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.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Juventus hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Mohamed Force Touré has just signed for Juventus, and for once the answer mattered.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Juventus heard it as anything else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Juventus will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
461 appearances across 11 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
“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.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Artem Chistyakov is living that version at Juventus, and it tends to show in the first month.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Juventus will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Kenan Yıldız was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 May 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Edon Zhegrova will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Juventus will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Napoli will replay every second of the added time for a week.
Kenan Yıldız was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rafiu Durosinmi. 4‑3 against Napoli, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
212 appearances across 15 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.78 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Edon Zhegrova has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
In brief
Player ratingsVasilije Adžić was on a different afternoon to everybody else
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.52 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Juventus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Kenan Yıldız was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Juventus has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad27 Apr 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Juventus and Palermo, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Edon Zhegrova will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Destiny Elimoghale, and the manager let it.
Player ratings20 Apr 2037
Kenan Yıldız was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.63. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“I have watched this squad. There is more in it than the table says.” First press conference, first promise — Bruno Araujo made the one every new manager makes, and now comes the part where it gets checked.
Two goals and a mark of 8.21 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.13 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad13 Apr 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Matija Frigan had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Bologna were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
576 appearances across 12 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.28 at 37, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Riccardo Paonessa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
36 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Juventus heard it as anything else.
Two goals and a mark of 9.95 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventus can pretend not to have heard.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.90 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Giorgio Costa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad30 Mar 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Two goals and a mark of 7.80 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.32 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The approach has been made to Wa All Stars and the answer is somebody else's to give. These things are settled in private and reported in public, usually in that order.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 23 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.91 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Juventus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Michele Di Gregorio and Juventus agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Juventus they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Juventus and Lecce, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Day 8 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Interim Coach clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Vasilije Adžić will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Juventus escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Not an interim appointment — an institution with an empty coaching office. Somebody unfamiliar will run the sessions this week, and the question of how a club gets into this state is one the board will be asked and will not answer.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Interim Coach recited it perfectly.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.32 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
20 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vasilije Adžić provided it, and the 9.59 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.52 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
19 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Two goals and a mark of 9.09 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.23 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventus can pretend not to have heard.
Kenan Yıldız was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Jonas Rouhi has agreed terms with Napoli for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
In brief
SquadWords at Juventus training over how hard people work
18 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ulises Piedrabuena provided it, and the 8.74 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 10.00 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Vasilije Adžić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The offer from Catanzaro for Mark Watson 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.
Squad9 Feb 2037
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 17 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Atalanta kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Juventus will be asked about the last half hour all week.
“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 Juventus, and it is not being withdrawn.
Two goals and a mark of 9.14 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
454 appearances across 12 seasons in one shirt. Nobody builds a career like that on purpose any more; it happens to a certain kind of footballer at a certain kind of club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
16 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Juventus is running low.
Match24 Jan 2037
Kenan Yıldız wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Kenan Yıldız found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Cesena went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.94 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 15 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.89 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Juventus can pretend not to have heard.
“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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
14 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vasilije Adžić provided it, and the 8.91 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Juventus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.14 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
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 Juventus have had the benefit of it.
The offer from Hellas Verona for Riccardo Paonessa 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.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 12 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Juventus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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 ratings29 Dec 2036
Vasilije Adžić was on a different afternoon to everybody else
10.00. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
10.00. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Juventus and Napoli, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
11 games now with at least two against. The back line has been rearranged, the goalkeeper has been backed publicly, and the goals keep going in anyway.
3 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Torino the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Juventus will enjoy reviewing.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.86 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 10 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
Squad15 Dec 2036
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
7 goals in one match, Vasilije Adžić on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Juventus and Palermo.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Interim Coach has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Juventus and Hellas Verona in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. AS Roma kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Juventus will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Two goals and a mark of 9.45 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 8 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
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.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.37 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Kenan Yıldız 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.
Squad1 Dec 2036
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Two goals and a mark of 8.89 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.27 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Riccardo Paonessa will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Juventus the goodbyes have quietly begun.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.71 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 6 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Squad17 Nov 2036
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Juventus and Como, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
1‑4 to Genoa, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.98 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bremer, and the manager let it.
Player ratings10 Nov 2036
Kenan Yıldız was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.85. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 10 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.14 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
10.00. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Juventus and Siracusa in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Two goals and a mark of 8.98 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Juventus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Juventus is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Kenan Yıldız had Juventus level again within 1 minutes, and Lecce never got to play with a lead at all.
He has had enough of the noise. Whether Juventus can be a quieter place for him, or whether the only cure is a move somewhere the phone-ins are gentler, is a question for the next few months.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Parma the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Juventus will enjoy reviewing.
Vasilije Adžić 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.
Squad20 Oct 2036
Words at Juventus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bremer is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings20 Oct 2036
Kenan Yıldız was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.09. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.