From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match3 Oct 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 3‑0 against Bari, and it could have been more.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 27, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Match3 Oct 2026
Nobody wants to play Monza right now
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Monza
Matteo Pessina was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.38, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages eat 955% of everything Monza 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Dany Mota gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Marked 8.55 — 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match23 Sep 2026
Monza through in the cup
A 1‑0 win over Latina, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 31 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Sep 2026
Monza make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Monza have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad28 Sep 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 Monza this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 9.33 — 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Valentin Antov’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Monza.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.49, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Monza
Matteo Pessina was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 4‑3, and it was Patrick Cutrone’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Monza.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A masterclass from Dany Mota
Marked 9.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.66, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 8.30 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad21 Sep 2026
No hiding place for Hernâni
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hernâni, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Monza have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Paulo Azzi 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 Monza this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Patrick Cutrone
“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.
Loan watch14 Sep 2026
“I watch every Monza game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Padova runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Shots: 9, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Match12 Sep 2026
Monza and Modena cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Modena came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Filippo Delli Carri trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 10 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Monza
Paulo Azzi 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Wages eat 658% of everything Monza 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.
Match5 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Shots: 14, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Andrea Petagna, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad31 Aug 2026
A one-man rearguard from Demba Thiam
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market31 Aug 2026
Palermo come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Monza did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Demba Thiam 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 Monza this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.28 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match29 Aug 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Patrick Ciurria’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Monza.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.27, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad31 Aug 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.
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
Monza say no — this time
The offer from Avellino for Demba Thiam 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Monza
Matteo Pessina 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 Aug 2026
16 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market24 Aug 2026
No place for Pedro Obiang in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Pedro Obiang has his answer from Monza; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market24 Aug 2026
Lorenzo Marchetti is 16, and Monza have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market24 Aug 2026
He is 16, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market17 Aug 2026
Avellino pay $1.3M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad17 Aug 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 Monza this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market17 Aug 2026
Everyone has stopped pretending: Bra will make the call about Christian Fogliaro this week. Monza have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Bari come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Monza did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Demba Thiam commits to Monza for another 5 years.
Squad10 Aug 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 Monza this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Demba Thiam 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months and counting on Dany Mota
Still no offer on the table, and Dany Mota’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Market10 Aug 2026
The Omari Forson conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Ascoli will make the call about Omari Forson this week. Monza have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Andrea Colpani and Monza agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Monza
Matteo Pessina 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
The phone has started ringing about Omari Forson again, and this time the name on the line is Ascoli. Monza are listening politely and promising nothing.
Market3 Aug 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market3 Aug 2026
The clock runs on Matteo Pessina'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
Demba Thiam 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.