It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Cesena kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Mantova will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.93, and 2 involvements.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Bologna have kept their man, and Mantova go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The name of Luca Sonzogni has come up in conversations Mantova were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Marked 8.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 87. Empoli had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Massimo Rossi after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Nobody at Mantova 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.
Cesena next, and one man in the Mantova dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Mariano Barreda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Massimo Rossi after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The words a physio says slowly. 15 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Position 18 and 13 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 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.
Mariano Barreda 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 words a physio says slowly. 22 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Silvio Del Vecchio is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Something was said to Francesco Ruocco and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tommaso Lupinetti, and the manager let it.
The dugout6 Dec 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Massimo Rossi chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
The words a physio says slowly. 29 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Simone Trimboli’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Mantova needing him to play as if none of it matters.
36 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mantova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Mariano Barreda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The team at the top of the table next, and the honest measure of where this side actually is. Anybody can beat the club below them; the question is what happens against Palermo.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Mantova will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The words a physio says slowly. 44 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
There were 85 minutes on the clock and Südtirol had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Mantova did not stop to explain themselves.
Mariano Barreda 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.
At 15 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Massimo Rossi on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
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.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Mario Vilardi
51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mantova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Giuseppe D'Agostino has, at Mantova, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Massimo Rossi after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
58 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mantova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.12, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Massimo Rossi, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
65 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mantova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Mariano Barreda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Cremonese? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
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.
72 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mantova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
6 goals in one match, Mario Vilardi on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Mantova and Juve Stabia.
Fahem Benaïssa 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 words a physio says slowly. 80 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Successful dribbles: 26. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
1 for Youssef Maleh, marked 7.73, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Youssef Maleh had Mantova level again within 1 minutes, and Padova never got to play with a lead at all.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Massimo Rossi left the room before anybody could ask which.
The words a physio says slowly. 87 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.41, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings4 Oct 2027
Antonio Fiori was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.29. 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 goal that put Reggiana ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Mantova equalised, 3 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
94 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mantova lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Diego Pérez did not need any: 7.61, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
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.
Mariano Barreda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The words a physio says slowly. 102 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
8 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Tommaso Lupinetti is living that version at Mantova, and it tends to show in the first month.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 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.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Massimo Rossi was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Mantova dressing room was either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Marouane Calame is 21, 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 Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Mantova asked and Rangers International said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mantova have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
6 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.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 22 arrived, 12 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mario Vilardi is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Mantova asked and Sorrento said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Ettore Gliozzi was one of the reasons people came, and $3.5M does not replace that by itself.
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Yassin Banna is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Giacomo Fedel has improved at 25, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Fahem Benaïssa and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Luca Sonzogni had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
FC Nordsjaelland paid $6.6M and Mantova took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Andrea Meroni has gone, the accounts have $6.6M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Luca Sonzogni is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
3 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.
At 24 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Francesco Ruocco 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 no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Achille Bertoni has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
In brief
BoardroomMantova say no to the training-ground money
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Marouane Calame is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Genoa paid $580.0K and Mantova took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all 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 Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Mantova know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Mantova would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 3 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
Mantova asked and Napoli said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The offer from Lillestrom for Ettore Gliozzi 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.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Inter is saying, and nobody at Mantova is enjoying the guessing.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Inter have kept their man, and Mantova go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Francesco Ruocco and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Manuel Gasparini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
$970.0K on the table at Inter. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The chase for Marouane Calame ended with $710.0K changing hands and Lecce out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Fahem Benaïssa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Casertana have kept their man, and Mantova go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Mantova will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Mantova would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Luca Sonzogni had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Mariano Barreda is living that version at Mantova, and it tends to show in the first month.
There comes a point where a club either backs its own ambition or admits it does not have any. Mantova have paid $560.0K for Mariano Barreda, which is the loudest way there is of saying which one it chose.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at PSV is saying, and nobody at Mantova is enjoying the guessing.
The fee is $300.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Sorrento drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Mantova people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Mantova had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Arab Contractors, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Mantova have done the hard part with Sorrento, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
$560.0K on the table at Sorrento. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have shaken hands with Arab Contractors; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Stefano Cella has gone, the accounts have $1.6M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. David Wieser will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Mantova the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Arzignano paid $1.6M and Mantova took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
$290.0K was the most the club would pay and Lecce were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 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.
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Diego Pérez has just signed for Mantova, and for once the answer mattered.
The name of Tommaso Del Lungo has come up in conversations Mantova were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mantova lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Andrea Meroni and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Umberto Donadoni is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Fabio Giordano has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Michele D'Angelo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Mattia Cassano has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The words a physio says slowly. 36 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Siracusa waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Mantova is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Maat Daniel Caprini is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Vanja Vlahović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrea Meroni signs something — a contract at Mantova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Nicolò Buso’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
The words a physio says slowly. 43 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Mantova have lost him in all but the paperwork.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Rachid Kouda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about 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 Mantova can pretend not to have heard.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Fiorello Allushi 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.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Danilo Farina is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mattia Paro is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Sandro Marchetti is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Nicolò Buso
The dugoutStefano Cella knocks on the manager’s door
BoardroomOpen for business: Mantova enter the window
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mantova, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Rachid Kouda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrea Meroni signs something — a contract at Mantova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Mantova would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lorenzo Mosca trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Francesco Bardi has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
Position 12 on 45 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Mantova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mantova has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vanja Vlahović 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.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Mantova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Andrea Meroni 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mantova know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Cesena in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Mantova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Mantova and Monza, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Marked 8.01 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
In brief
BoardroomNobody left the Mantova dressing room in a hurry
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Rachid Kouda 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 2027
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vanja Vlahović 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.
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Massimo Rossi chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 85 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Rachid Kouda 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 particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Vanja Vlahović has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vanja Vlahović. 1‑0 against Sampdoria, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
12 goals and a season average of 7.23 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolò Radaelli 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.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Vanja Vlahović.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Massimo Rossi after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Mantova will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vanja Vlahović provided it, and the 8.83 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
A point taken on 90 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Davide Bragantini has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Stefano Cella, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Massimo Rossi kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mantova will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Massimo Rossi on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vanja Vlahović provided it, and the 9.01 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vanja Vlahović. 3‑2 against Catanzaro, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Vanja Vlahović had Mantova level again within 1 minutes, and Catanzaro never got to play with a lead at all.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mantova can pretend not to have heard.
9 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Mantova and Empoli in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Ettore Gliozzi wins it after the whistle should have gone
94 minutes played. Ettore Gliozzi found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Modena went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Rachid Kouda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Maat Daniel Caprini has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.35 — 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.
Rachid Kouda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Radaelli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Massimo Rossi after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ettore Gliozzi’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Mantova needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ettore Gliozzi signs something — a contract at Mantova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
In brief
The dugoutDavid Wieser asks for a word with the manager
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova 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 Mantova and Reggiana in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Vanja Vlahović has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Ettore Gliozzi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.76. 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.
8.17. 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Massimo Rossi, on a 4‑2 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mantova know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mantova can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mantova have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Maat Daniel Caprini did not need any: 7.80, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 4 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed 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 Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Vanja Vlahović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Alfonso Ventura has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Alfonso Gatti has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Filippo Caprioli has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Rareş Ilie has gone, the accounts have $4.8M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.
Udinese paid $4.8M and Mantova took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all 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 Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vanja Vlahović is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Stefano Cella has his answer from Mantova; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Massimo Rossi after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vanja Vlahović. 4‑3 against Carrarese, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Mantova and Carrarese in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
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 words a physio says slowly. 19 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Vanja Vlahović 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. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Mantova and Cesena in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Rachid Kouda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It finished 2‑0, and it was Ettore Gliozzi’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Mantova.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Vanja Vlahović was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.36. 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.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Ettore Gliozzi was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.13. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Massimo Rossi, on a 2‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Kostas Chrysopoulos and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nobody at Mantova is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Andrea Meroni 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.
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.25 — 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.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Massimo Rossi on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Tiago Gonçalves 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.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Massimo Rossi on a 2‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Vanja Vlahović and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Radaelli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Francesco Bardi, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Massimo Rossi left the room before anybody could ask which.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Manuel Gasparini 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.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Nicolò Buso’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Mantova needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Nobody at Mantova is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
Two goals and a mark of 8.83 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Rachid Kouda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vanja Vlahović is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Davide Bragantini has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
9 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Bari were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by 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 Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Radaelli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Radaelli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Massimo Rossi to a room that had heard them before.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Andrea Meroni signs something — a contract at Mantova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Andrea Meroni and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Mantova and Empoli, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.00 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolò Radaelli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Tommaso Marras had Mantova level again within 2 minutes, and Modena never got to play with a lead at all.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Rachid Kouda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mantova know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Modena in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Rachid Kouda was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
0‑5 to Spezia, 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.
0‑1 against Guidonia Montecelio, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolò Radaelli 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.
Andrea Meroni 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Spezia in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Nobody at Mantova is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Nicolò Radaelli had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
1 for Andrea Meroni, marked 7.73, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Mantova close the window on a squad of their own making
10 in and 1 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
7.68, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
13 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vanja Vlahović was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The plan went upstairs and came back down. Nothing about that will make a headline anywhere else, and everybody who works at the training ground will remember it for years.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mantova, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Rachid Kouda and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and David Wieser was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Romano Lombardi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ignazio Raimondi has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Daniele Vannucci has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Leandro Tedesco has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
His past walked in ahead of him. Players who have been where he has been get a hearing in a dressing room before they have earned one, and he has it for as long as his form does.
Andrea Meroni and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vanja Vlahović 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.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
6 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Mantova, another week without a signature from Nicolò Radaelli.