From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Mantova is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets28 Jun 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Ajax is saying, and nobody at Mantova is enjoying the guessing.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
At 24 the improving is meant to be over, and it is not: 3 points better than a year ago. It happens to the ones who take the boring parts seriously.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Stefano Cella 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
David Wieser 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.
Market28 Jun 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Andrea Meroni’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
Stefano Cella knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Mantova, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Tommaso Del Lungo is on it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Carpi waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Mantova is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market21 Jun 2027
Mantova say no — this time
The offer from Virtus Verona for Diego Cinetti 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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Red Bull Salzburg keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Eman Košpo is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad21 Jun 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Stefano Cella and Mantova agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad21 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Squad21 Jun 2027
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 dugout21 Jun 2027
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.
Market21 Jun 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Simone Trimboli’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market14 Jun 2027
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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Mantova
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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
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.
Squad14 Jun 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.
Loan watch14 Jun 2027
14 shut-outs in 34 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Luca Sonzogni has been having a lot of them.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yassin Banna commits to Mantova for another 4 years.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Wieser, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Mantova
Rachid Kouda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market7 Jun 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Renato Troisi 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.
Market7 Jun 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Daniele Sorrentino 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.
Market7 Jun 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Martino Piccini 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.
Market7 Jun 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Edoardo Dalla Valle 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“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 dugout7 Jun 2027
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
Open for business: Mantova enter the window
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
Rachid Kouda in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Market31 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Andrea Meroni’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout31 May 2027
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.
Loan watch31 May 2027
32 appearances at Cesena and the goals keep coming. Mantova are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
The dugout31 May 2027
Diego Cinetti knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Diego Cinetti trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 May 2027
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.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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 dugout24 May 2027
David Wieser gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say David Wieser is on it.
Market24 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Davide Bragantini’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout24 May 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Mantova. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout24 May 2027
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Andrea Meroni has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 May 2027
Full time on the season at Mantova
Position 11 on 49 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.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch17 May 2027
14 shut-outs in 34 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Luca Sonzogni has been having a lot of them.
Match15 May 2027
A bad afternoon for Mantova against Cesena
0‑1 to Cesena, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
The dugout17 May 2027
“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.
Squad17 May 2027
One booking too many, and a game watched from the stand. Mantova lose him for the most avoidable reason in the sport.
The dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kostas Chrysopoulos, and the manager let it.
Market17 May 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 39. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 May 2027
The hardest thing about being 21 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.
Squad10 May 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Match8 May 2027
A 2‑1 win over Juve Stabia, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The terraces10 May 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Fiorello Allushi 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Words exchanged at Mantova
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 dugout10 May 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.” Orazio Lucchesi, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout10 May 2027
The plan did not have a place for Andrea Meroni
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.
The dugout10 May 2027
Stefano Cella asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 36. 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.
Squad3 May 2027
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.
Squad3 May 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Match1 May 2027
Monza left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad3 May 2027
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.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad3 May 2027
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout3 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jean-Pierre Longonda, and the manager let it.
The dugout3 May 2027
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 Apr 2027
Nowhere to hide for Mantova
0‑6 against Pescara, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad26 Apr 2027
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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
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.
Match24 Apr 2027
Nobody could stop scoring
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Mantova and Pescara in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“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.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
Doors closed at Mantova
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Orazio Lucchesi after 0‑6, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
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Looking ahead
Mantova take on the side everybody is chasing
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Squad
Young player of the week: Yassin Banna
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The dugout
David Wieser gets picked when it counts
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Marked 7.67 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Squad19 Apr 2027
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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Sampdoria made Mantova work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The terraces19 Apr 2027
He is 21 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.
Loan watch19 Apr 2027
Luca Sonzogni’s loan is measured in nothing happening
14 clean sheets from 33 appearances at Ospitaletto. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
Squad19 Apr 2027
27 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.14, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.00, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match10 Apr 2027
A 2-goal lead gone for Mantova
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Venezia kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Mantova will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A brace, and Vanja Vlahović takes the afternoon — 8.64
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vanja Vlahović provided it, and the 8.64 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Rachid Kouda in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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 dugout12 Apr 2027
“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.
Match10 Apr 2027
It finished 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout12 Apr 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Orazio Lucchesi after the 2‑2 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Looking ahead12 Apr 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Mantova
Rachid Kouda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match3 Apr 2027
A 1‑0 win over Frosinone, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad5 Apr 2027
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Wieser 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 dugout5 Apr 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 1‑0, already talking about the next one.
Squad5 Apr 2027
The captaincy has been taken off Francesco Bardi. Mantova will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market5 Apr 2027
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.
Looking ahead5 Apr 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Venezia in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Mar 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 terraces29 Mar 2027
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.
Match27 Mar 2027
The drought breaks for Mantova
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Südtirol were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Match27 Mar 2027
Südtirol made Mantova work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad29 Mar 2027
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Marked 7.58 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Mantova had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Orazio Lucchesi could afford to be generous.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lorenzo Mosca, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Mantova's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mantova has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Vanja Vlahović 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.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
Luca Sonzogni’s loan is measured in nothing happening
14 clean sheets from 29 appearances at Ospitaletto. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
Squad22 Mar 2027
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 dugout22 Mar 2027
“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.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tommaso Marras, and the manager let it.
Squad22 Mar 2027
A booking nobody needed, on a night the game was already won. Mantova lose a player for the most avoidable reason there is.
Match20 Mar 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Bari defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mantova may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match13 Mar 2027
4 matches without a win for Mantova
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Mantova are no longer polite ones.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Mantova
Vanja Vlahović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match13 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rareş Ilie, and the manager let it.
Squad15 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“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.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
A promise honoured at Mantova
Something was said to Rareş Ilie and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mantova may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francesco Bardi and Mantova agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Mantova
Rachid Kouda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Vanja Vlahović 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
Late, late show earns Mantova a point
Minute 94, against Empoli, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.81 on the card, and the Mantova support went home talking about one name.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The team sheet said everything about Rareş Ilie
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 Rareş Ilie.
Match6 Mar 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Feb 2027
Nowhere to hide for Mantova
0‑3 against Modena, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at Mantova
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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Vanja Vlahović 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.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“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 dugout1 Mar 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
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.
Market1 Mar 2027
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.
Looking ahead1 Mar 2027
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Andrea Meroni’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.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 11. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Feb 2027
0‑3 to Padova, 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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
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.
Loan watch22 Feb 2027
14 shut-outs in 25 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Luca Sonzogni has been having a lot of them.
Boardroom22 Feb 2027
Nobody left the Mantova dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Squad22 Feb 2027
David Wieser 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.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Orazio Lucchesi to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
David Wieser gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
Rareş Ilie knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rareş Ilie trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.76 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Rachid Kouda in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Vanja Vlahović 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.
The terraces15 Feb 2027
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.
Match13 Feb 2027
Three points for Mantova, 2‑0 the final word against Reggiana in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
13 clean sheets on loan for Luca Sonzogni
24 appearances at Ospitaletto and the goals have stopped going in. Mantova lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
Squad15 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Francesco Ruocco and Mantova agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Rareş Ilie
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Transfer targets8 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Racing have kept their man, and Mantova go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“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.
Match6 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Loan watch8 Feb 2027
Luca Sonzogni’s loan is measured in nothing happening
12 clean sheets from 23 appearances at Ospitaletto. That is the whole of a goalkeeper’s job done properly, and it is being done a long way from the club that owns him.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Orazio Lucchesi after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The terraces8 Feb 2027
Every touch weighed, every quote parsed, every mistake replayed. Some players grow into that; some are quietly finished by it; nobody knows which until afterwards.
Squad8 Feb 2027
One booking too many, and Andrea Meroni sits out. Mantova lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
12 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Market1 Feb 2027
David Wieser hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mantova can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Window shuts: 4 in, 1 out at Mantova
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.
Match30 Jan 2027
Whatever happens, Mantova do not lose
6 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.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Mantova asked and Sporting CP said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad1 Feb 2027
A falling-out at Mantova
Stefano Cella and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Wieser 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.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Diego Cinetti and Mantova agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Orazio Lucchesi was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Mantova dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market25 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Vanja Vlahović 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market25 Jan 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Mattia Medici is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market25 Jan 2027
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Romano 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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Davide Martinelli is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad25 Jan 2027
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.
Match23 Jan 2027
Level with 85 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Mantova had all but put away. Avellino will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
A brace, and Ettore Gliozzi takes the afternoon — 9.29
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ettore Gliozzi provided it, and the 9.29 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market18 Jan 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Pontedera waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Mantova is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Rachid Kouda in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match16 Jan 2027
A 2‑0 win over Virtus Entella, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch18 Jan 2027
11 clean sheets on loan for Luca Sonzogni
20 appearances at Ospitaletto and the goals have stopped going in. Mantova lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
Squad18 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Orazio Lucchesi could afford to be generous.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lorenzo Mosca, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 25. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Mantova
Rachid Kouda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market11 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Diego Cinetti again, and this time the name on the line is Pontedera. Mantova are listening politely and promising nothing.
Match9 Jan 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Ettore Gliozzi’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Mantova.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Marked 8.72 — 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 dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Rareş Ilie
“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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
10 shut-outs in 19 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Luca Sonzogni has been having a lot of them.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑1, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.65 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Mantova have done the hard part with Napoli, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at Mantova
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 terraces4 Jan 2027
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 dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Francesco Bardi
“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.
Match2 Jan 2027
Late, late show earns Mantova a point
Minute 96, against Cesena, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match4 Jan 2027
The half-term report on Mantova
Position 10, 23 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Match2 Jan 2027
It needed Vanja Vlahović to find the net to bring anything home at all: 3‑3 against Cesena, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Loan watch4 Jan 2027
9 shut-outs in 18 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Luca Sonzogni has been having a lot of them.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match26 Dec 2026
At last: Mantova win one
7 matches without a win, and then this, against Juve Stabia. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad28 Dec 2026
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.
Match26 Dec 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Nicolò Radaelli. 2‑1 against Juve Stabia, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
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.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Marked 8.38 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Nicolò Radaelli at his very best
Marked 8.06. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Mantova.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 107% of the Mantova income
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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Wieser 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.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of David Wieser
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
When it matters, David Wieser plays
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Dec 2026
A 2-goal lead gone for Mantova
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Monza kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Mantova will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
A brace, and Vanja Vlahović takes the afternoon — 8.39
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vanja Vlahović provided it, and the 8.39 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match19 Dec 2026
The wait goes on for Mantova
7 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Mantova are shipping goals every 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.
Match19 Dec 2026
Vanja Vlahović scored, and precious little else went right: 3‑4 to Monza, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad21 Dec 2026
30 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Ninety minutes of Rachid Kouda at his very best
Marked 8.09. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Mantova.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market14 Dec 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Match12 Dec 2026
6 matches without a win for Mantova
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Mantova are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 Dec 2026
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.
Match12 Dec 2026
Mantova leaking at the back
4 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match12 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tommaso Del Lungo and Mantova agree another 4 years.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Orazio Lucchesi left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
A brace, and Vanja Vlahović takes the afternoon — 8.77
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vanja Vlahović provided it, and the 8.77 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match5 Dec 2026
5 matches without a win for Mantova
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Mantova are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at Mantova
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 terraces7 Dec 2026
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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A falling-out at Mantova
Francesco Ruocco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match5 Dec 2026
Late, late show earns Mantova a point
Minute 92, against Sampdoria, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fiorello Allushi and Mantova agree another 3 years.
Match5 Dec 2026
A 2‑2 draw with Sampdoria leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match28 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Mantova's wait for a win
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
Match28 Nov 2026
Venezia left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad30 Nov 2026
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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
107% of the income goes out in wages at Mantova
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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Wieser 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 dugout30 Nov 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Loan watch30 Nov 2026
7 clean sheets on loan for Luca Sonzogni
14 appearances at Ospitaletto and the goals have stopped going in. Mantova lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Nov 2026
Beaten 1‑5 by Frosinone, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Rachid Kouda in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Nov 2026
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Mantova and Frosinone, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Andrea Meroni
“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.
Boardroom23 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Mantova dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Orazio Lucchesi after 1‑5, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Beaten 5 times, with 4 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
Market23 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Simone Trimboli signs something — a contract at Mantova or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Looking ahead23 Nov 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Venezia in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Mantova
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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolò Buso, and the manager let it.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Orazio Lucchesi chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Match14 Nov 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Südtirol came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Rareş Ilie asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Looking ahead16 Nov 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Francesco Bardi’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.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
The plan did not have a place for David Wieser
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match7 Nov 2026
A bad afternoon for Mantova against Bari
1‑2 to Bari, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.18 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
The dugout9 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 Orazio Lucchesi left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Chances created: 10. Somebody has to open a door before anybody can walk through it, and he spent the afternoon opening doors.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Shots: 14. 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match31 Oct 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑0 against Catanzaro, and it could have been more.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.35, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
107% of the income goes out in wages at Mantova
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 dugout2 Nov 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.” Orazio Lucchesi, on a 4‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Chances created: 9. Somebody has to open a door before anybody can walk through it, and he spent the afternoon opening doors.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
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.
Looking ahead2 Nov 2026
Bari 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Mantova
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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Vanja Vlahović 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.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
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.
Match24 Oct 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Vanja Vlahović. 1‑0 against Empoli, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
7.66, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Mantova had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Mantova are still strangers to each other
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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Orazio Lucchesi could afford to be generous.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 12. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Wieser 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 dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Orazio Lucchesi left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Looking ahead19 Oct 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Empoli in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Mantova
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.
Match10 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Tommaso Del Lungo is on it.
Market12 Oct 2026
The name of Nicolò Radaelli keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Mantova say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 138% of everything Mantova earn
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.
Match3 Oct 2026
No time for Reggiana to settle
The goal that put Reggiana ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Mantova equalised, 4 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rareş Ilie, and the manager let it.
Match3 Oct 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Orazio Lucchesi chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
6 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The one goal every signing is asked about until it comes. It has come, and a press-conference question has been retired.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Nicolò Buso beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 45. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad28 Sep 2026
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Match23 Sep 2026
Mantova out of the cup
Guidonia Montecelio ended it 0‑0. The season narrows to the league now, and everyone in the ground knew it before the final whistle.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Rachid Kouda in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces28 Sep 2026
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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Three points for Mantova, 1‑0 the final word against Spezia in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A penalty is the one moment in football with nowhere to hide, and he did not score it. The walk back was long and the week will be longer.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
7.92, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Mantova had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Mantova training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Wieser 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.
In brief
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Squad
Mantova are still strangers to each other
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The dugout
No hiding place for Nicolò Buso
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Stefano Cella
“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 dugout21 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Orazio Lucchesi after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Looking ahead21 Sep 2026
Spezia 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.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Francesco Bardi wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Mantova have no good answer.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Mantova was different afterwards.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Alessio Castellini and Mantova agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Vanja Vlahović 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.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 10 actions, 7.40, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Rachid Kouda was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.01. 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 dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of David Wieser
“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.
Match12 Sep 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Avellino leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alessio Castellini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Looking ahead14 Sep 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Francesco Bardi’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.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Mantova
Andrea Meroni and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Virtus Entella made Mantova work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.10, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
Squad7 Sep 2026
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alessio Castellini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A brace, and Vanja Vlahović takes the afternoon — 8.84
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Vanja Vlahović provided it, and the 8.84 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Mantova
Vanja Vlahović and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match29 Aug 2026
It finished 3‑1, and it was Vanja Vlahović’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Mantova.
The terraces31 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 8.06 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Too much change too quickly at Mantova
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.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Orazio Lucchesi, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Mantova
Rachid Kouda and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
A loan move for Lúkas Petersson is in the works
Mantova have made the call to TSG Hoffenheim. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Luciano Colombo and Mantova agree another 3 years.
Boardroom24 Aug 2026
Mantova say no to the training-ground money
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.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luciano Colombo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Mantova
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
A row about effort at Mantova
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.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
Luciano Colombo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 Aug 2026
Rachid Kouda in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mantova this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Antonio De Santis is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Mauro Milani 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Giovanni Morelli 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Federico Baldini is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad10 Aug 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrea Meroni and Mantova agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Mantova
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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Andrea Meroni's contract
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Mantova are still strangers to each other
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.
Market3 Aug 2026
“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.