From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
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.
Squad21 Dec 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 Dec 2026
Filippo Faggi 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 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Marked 8.01 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Dec 2026
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 5‑1 against Pineto, and it could have been more.
Market14 Dec 2026
Gustavo Veiga 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 Pontedera can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Dec 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
At 18, Louis Buffon is already the best thing here
An average of 7.06 in a first team he is several years too young for. Pontedera have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad14 Dec 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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
A performance of 10.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.28, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.22, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
A performance of 8.81 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
In brief
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Squad
Philip Yeboah gets it from the manager
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The terraces
The crowd stays with them
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The terraces
The press cannot get enough of Umberto Saracco
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match5 Dec 2026
No end in sight to Pontedera's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Pontedera has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad7 Dec 2026
An average of 7.32 in a first team he is several years too young for. Pontedera have something, and by now the whole division has noticed.
Squad7 Dec 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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Diego Blè commits to Pontedera for another 3 years.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings30 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
No end in sight to Pontedera's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Pontedera has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Umberto Saracco 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages eat 303% of everything Pontedera 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.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.70, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad30 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Pontedera are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The terraces30 Nov 2026
Everybody has an opinion about Umberto Saracco
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match21 Nov 2026
The wait goes on for Pontedera
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad23 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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Nov 2026
0‑1 to Ravenna, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad23 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 ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 5.57, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 35. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Gustavo Veiga: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Pontedera have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Umberto Saracco 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.
Squad16 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.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
A performance of 8.46 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match14 Nov 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Sanasi Sy 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 Pontedera, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Shots: 6, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Player ratings16 Nov 2026
Off the bench and decisive: Philip Yeboah
The substitution nobody applauded turned out to be the whole story. Pontedera were going nowhere until he came on.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match7 Nov 2026
Beaten 0‑4 by Ascoli, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match4 Nov 2026
Pontedera bow out of the cup
Fiorentina go through and Pontedera go home, 0‑3 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 33. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The terraces9 Nov 2026
The boos come down from three sides
“We pay for this every fortnight. The least we want is somebody who looks like he cares.” 12 of the 30 senior players walked off into it; the rest were not playing.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A season average of 7.26 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. Pontedera know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Sanasi Sy 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.
Boardroom9 Nov 2026
Nobody left the Pontedera 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.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Luca Piana's mistake decides it
Ten men and a goalkeeper behind him, and it still finished in the net. He knew before anybody told him, and nobody at Pontedera needed to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 32. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match31 Oct 2026
Nobody wants to play Pontedera right now
3 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.
Squad2 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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Marked 9.26 — 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages eat 303% of everything Pontedera 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.
Match31 Oct 2026
Ternana made Pontedera work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Philip Yeboah, and the manager let it.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 28 days on the sidelines for Elia Mannucci, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
24 years old, every age group at this club behind him, and a borrowed player of much the same standard in front of him every Saturday. The parents in the stand have noticed, and so has every kid below him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Filippo Faggi 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 ratings26 Oct 2026
A performance of 9.07 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match24 Oct 2026
A 2‑1 win over Gubbio, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.94, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad26 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.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
Shots: 6. 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Pontedera have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Gustavo Veiga has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Pontedera will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market19 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Pontedera, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Umberto Saracco 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 ratings19 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 21. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.96 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match17 Oct 2026
Bra made Pontedera work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Simone Emmanuello, and the manager let it.
Squad19 Oct 2026
28 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Oct 2026
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.
Squad12 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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
He is 21, he is averaging 7.05, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Squad12 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.
Match10 Oct 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 38. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Umberto Saracco 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
541% of the income goes out in wages at Pontedera
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.
Squad5 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Pontedera are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 58 days on the sidelines for Elia Mannucci, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match23 Sep 2026
A 1‑0 win over Torres, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 9.41 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.93 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Umberto Saracco, and the manager let it.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.69 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 8.36 — 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 2‑2, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Squad21 Sep 2026
Umberto Saracco 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
Three points for Pontedera, 3‑2 the final word against Arezzo in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 9.36 — 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. 9.31, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad21 Sep 2026
No hiding place for Sanasi Sy
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Sanasi Sy, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.61, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Marked 8.41 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad21 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 31. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Sanasi Sy 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Herculano Nabian, and the manager let it.
Match12 Sep 2026
Livorno left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad14 Sep 2026
67 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Every debut is a small story about the future: Lapo Paolieri, 20 years old, off the academy pitches and into the first team. The parents in the stand will keep the programme.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pontedera can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings7 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.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
366% of the income goes out in wages at Pontedera
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.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.89 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match5 Sep 2026
Three points for Pontedera, 1‑0 the final word against Torres in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The medical room confirms 89 days on the sidelines for Elia Mannucci, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad7 Sep 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
59 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 29. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market31 Aug 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Pontedera can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 1‑0 win over Vis Pesaro, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.13, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Marked 8.10 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market24 Aug 2026
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Umberto Saracco 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.
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.
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.
Market24 Aug 2026
He is 16, and nobody at Pontedera signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Andrea Mariani 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
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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Aug 2026
99 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Market17 Aug 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Motiejus Sapola has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Pontedera.
From our football correspondent
Steady
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 Pontedera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad10 Aug 2026
122 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Market10 Aug 2026
He is 20, and nobody at Pontedera signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Elvis Kabashi commits to Pontedera for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Umberto Saracco 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
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Pontedera, another week without a signature from Luca Piana.
Market3 Aug 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Luciano Ballan has his answer from Pontedera; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Guillermo Wagner’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Squad3 Aug 2026
A wage question at Pontedera
Umberto Saracco has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.