Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Bidvest Wits waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Add another name to the list: São Paulo have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Breno Bidon. The answer from Sporting CP B has not changed — yet.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Breno Bidon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Nacional waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mateo Gamarra will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad16 Jun 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Taibo 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.
45 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Sporting CP B lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 The request is on a desk at Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Sporting CP B will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Taibo 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Adilson trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
What was a back-page story is now a matter for the terraces, and the terraces do not do nuance. Sporting CP B would like it dealt with before it becomes the only question anybody asks.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The phone has started ringing about Cardoso Varela again, and this time the name on the line is Bidvest Wits. Sporting CP B are listening politely and promising nothing.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Gabriel Silva 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Eduardo Felicíssimo 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 May 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Taibo 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.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Sporting CP B have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Souleymane Faye and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 May 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Taibo 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.
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Diego Callai will call it something else in private.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniel Bragança trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Sporting CP B could ask drops and the wages Eduardo Felicíssimo can ask rise.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Eduardo Felicíssimo signs something — a contract at Sporting CP B or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Daniel Bragança trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Dudu wants continental football; whether Sporting CP B can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adilson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Eduardo Felicíssimo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adilson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; Sporting CP B are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Eduardo Felicíssimo signs something — a contract at Sporting CP B or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adilson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Sporting CP B will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Denilson Santos will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Eduardo Felicíssimo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adilson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Sporting CP B will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Portimonense will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sporting CP B were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 67 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
Two goals and a mark of 8.30 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Souleymane Faye 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 unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad31 Mar 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Breno Bidon 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.
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, 7.02, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
10 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Breno Bidon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Sergio Siza has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Víctor Guzmán will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adilson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A new face in his position and a shirt he thought he owned suddenly up for discussion. Sporting CP B have promised nothing, which is what clubs promise at this stage.
In brief
The dugoutMoncef Zekri asks for a word with the manager
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Liam Lindsay
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Denilson Santos will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Eduardo Felicíssimo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Sporting CP B can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad10 Mar 2031
Breno Bidon 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 words a physio says slowly. 101 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Breno Bidon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Breno Bidon.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Sporting CP B can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Moncef Zekri
110 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sporting CP B lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rodrigo Rêgo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
6 goals in one match, Rodrigo Rêgo on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Sporting CP B and Alverca.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 4 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Souleymane Faye provided it, and the 9.16 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Daniel Bragança provided it, and the 7.75 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança 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.
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.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Sporting CP B and Lusitânia Lourosa in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Sporting CP B heard it as anything else.
Squad10 Feb 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Breno Bidon is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Sporting CP B pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Sporting CP B scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Víctor Guzmán had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
The offer from Farense for Daniel Bragança 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Breno Bidon is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Sporting CP B pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
In brief
Player ratingsThe afternoon belonged to Rodrigo Rêgo
Successful dribbles: 29. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The offer from Maritimo for Arnau Rafús 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.
One scored and one made, which is a different afternoon from scoring twice and an easier one to overlook. Marked 7.90, and involved in 2 of his side's goals.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Breno Bidon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bento Estrela will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Moncef Zekri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 17 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Costa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Two goals and a mark of 8.13 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
A 3‑1 win over Feirense, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings30 Dec 2030
Souleymane Faye was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.74. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Adilson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Sporting CP B 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 offer from Defensa y Justicia for Eduardo Felicíssimo 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.
6 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tijs Velthuis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Souleymane Faye 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.
Leixões made Sporting CP B work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Daniel Costa 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.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Souleymane Faye provided it, and the 9.28 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
5 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Moncef Zekri will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lelê will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Marked 8.20 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.01 — 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Víctor Guzmán will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 10.00 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings25 Nov 2030
Víctor Guzmán was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.45. 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Costa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tijs Velthuis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Eduardo Felicíssimo scored, was marked 7.80, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.85, and 2 involvements.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Souleymane Faye provided it, and the 9.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Souleymane Faye. 2‑1 against Maritimo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Daniel Costa 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.
“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 Nov 2030
Paulo Cardoso 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.
Marked 8.03 — 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad4 Nov 2030
Paulo Cardoso 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.
Minute 96, against Felgueiras, 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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Lucas Taibo has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for João Rijo
The dugoutBreno Bidon knocks on the manager’s door
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
1‑2 to Alverca, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad28 Oct 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Taibo 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.
Nobody at Sporting CP B 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.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Paulo Cardoso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
Player ratingsThe chances came and went for Víctor Guzmán
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança 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.
A 2‑1 win over Lusitânia Lourosa, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paulo Cardoso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.09 — 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança 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.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Sporting CP B know it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paulo Cardoso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Oliveirense held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Sporting CP B answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
1‑2 to Nacional, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad7 Oct 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Taibo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Paulo Cardoso was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 18. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings30 Sep 2030
Souleymane Faye was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.16. 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.
Minute 93, against Santa Clara, 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Víctor Guzmán will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad23 Sep 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vitor Hugo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It finished 1‑0, and it was Souleymane Faye’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Sporting CP B.
Player ratings23 Sep 2030
Souleymane Faye was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.09. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Successful dribbles: 24. 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.
Souleymane Faye 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.
Every run ends on an afternoon somebody had marked down as routine. This one went 8 matches, which is long enough that a town had stopped counting, and short enough that it will remember exactly who stopped it.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; Sporting CP B are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sporting CP B have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Breno Bidon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Add another name to the list: Leixões have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Tamás Szűcs. The answer from Sporting CP B has not changed — yet.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
12 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Breno Bidon was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Bernardo Folha
The dugoutVitor Hugo dropped after a run of poor form
The dugoutBreno Bidon knocks on the manager’s door
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Sporting CP B have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Penafiel waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Two goals and a mark of 8.55 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Brais Martínez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Simone Giorgeschi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
11 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Sporting CP B know it.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bernardo Folha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Eduardo Felicíssimo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
In brief
SquadWords at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sporting CP B will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The offer from Liverpool Montevideo for Matías Dufour was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Jul 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Bragança 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.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Sporting CP B could ask drops and the wages Rodrigo Dias can ask rise.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Santa Clara waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Sporting CP B will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bobby De Cordova-Reid will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Eduardo Felicíssimo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Torreense had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The name of Rafael Nel has come up in conversations Sporting CP B were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Eduardo Felicíssimo and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Rodrigo Dias was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
The name of Gabriel Silva has come up in conversations Sporting CP B were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; Sporting CP B are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Sporting CP B told Rodrigo Dias something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 23 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 23 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Eduardo Felicíssimo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad24 Jun 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Bragança 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Maritimo waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Rodrigo Dias and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sporting CP B have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Eduardo Felicíssimo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The phone has started ringing about Santiago Asprilla again, and this time the name on the line is Cortulua. Sporting CP B are listening politely and promising nothing.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rodrigo Dias will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad27 May 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaique is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
1 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Sporting CP B could ask drops and the wages Issiaga Sylla can ask rise.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rafael Nel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Sporting CP B had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 May 2030
Rodrigo Dias 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kaique trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kaique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; Sporting CP B are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kaique trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Sporting CP B could ask drops and the wages Rodrigo Dias can ask rise.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad6 May 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaique is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Tijs Velthuis has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rodrigo Dias trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad29 Apr 2030
Rodrigo Dias 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 list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Eduardo Felicíssimo may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Sporting CP B could ask drops and the wages Heinz Mörschel can ask rise.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kaique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Sporting CP B will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Sporting CP B can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Sporting CP B will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
4 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
Position 5 on 64 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Involvement in 2 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.82 beside his name.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Sporting CP B will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The words a physio says slowly. 21 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
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 Chiquinho.
The words a physio says slowly. 30 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kaique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 14. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
In brief
The dugoutRodrigo Dias knocks on the manager’s door
41 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sporting CP B lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Beat anybody else and it is three points. Beat them, with his name on it, and it is a year of bragging rights for Sporting CP B and a story that will outlast his contract.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Squad11 Mar 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaique 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.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
The words a physio says slowly. 49 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Heinz Mörschel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Porto B next, which means a week that starts on Monday. Everything else on this page will be forgotten by Saturday; this fixture will not be forgotten for a year.
The words a physio says slowly. 59 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
6 goals in one match, Víctor Guzmán on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Sporting CP B and Maritimo.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rodrigo Dias is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 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.
The words a physio says slowly. 66 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Chiquinho provided it, and the 8.04 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
8 home matches unbeaten. Visiting sides arrive already talking about the atmosphere, which is usually the sign that they have half-lost before kickoff.
In brief
Player ratingsPaulo Cardoso was on a different afternoon to everybody else
The words a physio says slowly. 75 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Grasshopper waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
The offer from Vitoria Guimaraes for Kaique was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The words a physio says slowly. 84 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Auckland City waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Two goals and a mark of 9.35 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Add another name to the list: KV Oostende have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Antony. The answer from Sporting CP B has not changed — yet.
Daniel Bragança 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.
91 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sporting CP B lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Penafiel waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kostas Kotsaris will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.83, and 2 involvements.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Sporting CP B and Tondela, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
99 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Sporting CP B lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Estoril Praia for Antony was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Two goals and a mark of 7.89 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
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.
The words a physio says slowly. 107 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Chiquinho provided it, and the 8.26 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sporting CP B have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Heinz Mörschel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The offer from CSKA Sofia for Denilson Santos 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Chiquinho. 3‑1 against Penafiel, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Melgar waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Nacional for Kaique 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Sporting CP B have had the benefit of it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antony was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Marked 8.21 — 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.
Benfica B held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Sporting CP B answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Leiria will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sporting CP B were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Two goals and a mark of 8.39 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The offer from Vitória for Antony was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Bragança 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.
Feirense will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑2, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Sporting CP B were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings17 Dec 2029
A brace, and Rafael Nel takes the afternoon — 8.92
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Rafael Nel provided it, and the 8.92 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Kaique will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Sporting CP B and Feirense in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Chiquinho at his very best
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antony was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Daniel Bragança provided it, and the 8.33 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mike Trésor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
5 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
The name of Antony has come up in conversations Sporting CP B were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
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.
Mike Trésor 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
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.
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.
Match24 Nov 2029
Another one collected away from home
4 on the bounce on the road for Sporting CP B. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Mike Trésor was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Tomi Horvat. 2‑0 against Santa Clara, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad19 Nov 2029
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antony 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.
“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 dugout19 Nov 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Nuno Cardoso kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Antony will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Mike Trésor and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match10 Nov 2029
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Sporting CP B. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Abdelkahar Kadri provided it, and the 8.20 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mike Trésor will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.91, and 4 involvements.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Bragança was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Marked 8.05. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Sporting CP B.
Boardroom29 Oct 2029
Nobody left the Sporting CP B 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.
Squad29 Oct 2029
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antony 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 3-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Tomi Horvat was at the centre of it, Felgueiras were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings22 Oct 2029
Sebastián Osorio, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.77
A mark of 7.77 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Involvement in 3 goals, from a player who spent the ninety minutes doing the thing a manager actually wants: being where the ball was going to end up. 7.81 beside his name.
Felgueiras made Sporting CP B work for it, but the scoreboard read 4‑3 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad22 Oct 2029
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Bragança is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 Oct 2029
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Rodrigo Dias 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Daniel Bragança provided it, and the 8.37 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Marked 7.95. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Sporting CP B and Leixões in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Paulo Cardoso 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.
A brace, and Rafael Nel takes the afternoon — 8.84
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Rafael Nel provided it, and the 8.84 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rodrigo Dias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Antony reports back to Sporting CP B with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 94. Penafiel had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Two goals and a mark of 8.07 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Braga waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Boris Popović will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The offer from Gil Vicente for Kaique 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sporting CP B have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Rafael Nel will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sporting CP B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rodrigo Dias was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Sporting CP B have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Sporting CP B, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The phone has started ringing about Abdelkahar Kadri again, and this time the name on the line is JS Kabylie. Sporting CP B are listening politely and promising nothing.
Daniel Bragança and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Famalicao waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Feirense the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Sporting CP B will enjoy reviewing.
Two goals and a mark of 8.54 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Sporting CP B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Daniel Bragança was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kaique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Pacos de Ferreira waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Sporting CP B this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Aug 2029
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaique is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Sporting CP B can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Sporting CP B people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Rafael Camacho is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad6 Aug 2029
Words at Sporting CP B training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaique is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Every 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 Daniel Bragança is on it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Lugano waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The offer from Famalicao for Rafael Nel 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.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Sporting CP B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Daniel Bragança 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.
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at Sporting CP B will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Sporting CP B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The dugoutFrederico Gomes is still being punished for one mistake