Marked for Gabriel Ramírez
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match21 Aug 2027
The wait goes on for All Boys
9 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market23 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. All Boys have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market23 Aug 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Market23 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bautista Agostinelli will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around All Boys the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad23 Aug 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match21 Aug 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Alexis Melo gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Rodríguez 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Aug 2027
No end in sight to All Boys's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at All Boys has to find a result from somewhere.
Loan watch16 Aug 2027
The goals keep arriving from Benjamín González’s exile
23 goals in 29 games at Zamora — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at All Boys updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Market16 Aug 2027
“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 The request is on a desk at All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market16 Aug 2027
Only the photograph left for Ariel Torres
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Ariel Torres will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around All Boys the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Gabriel Ramírez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alexis Melo 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.
Market16 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Bruno Medina again, and this time the name on the line is Vorskla. All Boys are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Yago De Vito commits to All Boys for another 3 years.
Match14 Aug 2027
Level with 90 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon All Boys had all but put away. Almagro will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Aug 2027
Beaten 0‑3 by San Miguel, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market9 Aug 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match7 Aug 2027
No end in sight to All Boys's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at All Boys has to find a result from somewhere.
Market9 Aug 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Vorskla had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market9 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Claudio Campostrini will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around All Boys the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The terraces9 Aug 2027
All Boys sell a favourite for $1.7M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Santiago Apa was one of the reasons people came, and $1.7M does not replace that by itself.
Market9 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at All Boys
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market2 Aug 2027
Santiago Apa hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Market2 Aug 2027
All Boys say no — this time
The offer from Estudiantes for Claudio Campostrini 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.
Match31 Jul 2027
The wait goes on for All Boys
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market2 Aug 2027
The phone has started ringing about Santiago Apa again, and this time the name on the line is Pakhtakor. All Boys are listening politely and promising nothing.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match31 Jul 2027
Santiago Apa scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Patronato, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Gabriel Ramírez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market26 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Estudiantes de Caracas waiting with a shirt. Nobody at All Boys is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Match24 Jul 2027
No end in sight to All Boys's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at All Boys has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
All Boys close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 5 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
Squad26 Jul 2027
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad26 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Barrientos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match24 Jul 2027
Racing left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Alexis Melo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market19 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and San Martín waiting with a shirt. Nobody at All Boys is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market19 Jul 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Loan watch19 Jul 2027
The goals keep arriving from Benjamín González’s exile
20 goals in 26 games at Zamora — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at All Boys updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Market19 Jul 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at All Boys is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match17 Jul 2027
No end in sight to All Boys's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at All Boys has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Gabriel Ramírez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Barrientos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market12 Jul 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market12 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around All Boys people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market12 Jul 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Beroe had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Squad12 Jul 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez 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 dugout12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Iván Zafarana, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jul 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Matías Rodríguez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Lucas Ojeda left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market5 Jul 2027
Alexis Melo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Market5 Jul 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around All Boys people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at All Boys
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at All Boys is running low.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Barrientos 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.
Match3 Jul 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Wages eat 107% of everything All Boys earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Alexis Melo beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Market28 Jun 2027
Zorya come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and All Boys did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad28 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Jun 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Barrientos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“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.
Match26 Jun 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Quilmes leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Lucas Ojeda after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
The plan did not have a place for Thiago Calone
Nobody at All Boys is suggesting he is out of form. The manager simply wanted somebody with a different set of qualities for ninety specific minutes, and there is nothing a player can train to fix that.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match19 Jun 2027
Los Andes will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. All Boys were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Both of them Lucas Cano's — 9.03
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.03, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market21 Jun 2027
Axel Abet puts it in writing
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Loan watch21 Jun 2027
22 appearances at Zamora and the goals keep coming. All Boys are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Gabriel Ramírez 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 dugout21 Jun 2027
Alexis Melo gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market21 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. All Boys have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad21 Jun 2027
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Santiago Apa was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Jun 2027
Matías Nouet hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Squad14 Jun 2027
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Alexis Melo pops up at the right end — 7.49
7.49, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Loan watch14 Jun 2027
21 appearances at Zamora and the goals keep coming. All Boys are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Gimnasia La Plata paid $190.0K and All Boys took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Barrientos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match12 Jun 2027
Three points for All Boys, 2‑0 the final word against Atlanta in a contest settled by the finer margins.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thiago Calone, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Jun 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at All Boys
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at All Boys is running low.
Loan watch7 Jun 2027
The goals keep arriving from Benjamín González’s exile
18 goals in 20 games at Zamora — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at All Boys updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Barrientos 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.
Market7 Jun 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Gabriel Ramírez has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at All Boys.
Market7 Jun 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. All Boys have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
101% of the income goes out in wages at All Boys
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market31 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 May 2027
1‑2 to Tristán Suárez, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout31 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout31 May 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Player ratings31 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match31 May 2027
The half-term report on All Boys
Position 13, 19 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Rodríguez 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 dugout31 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Lucas Ojeda to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 May 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout24 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” All Boys may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Loan watch24 May 2027
18 appearances at Zamora and the goals keep coming. All Boys are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
Squad24 May 2027
Gabriel Ramírez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Barrientos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match22 May 2027
Alvarado made All Boys work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The dugout24 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Apa, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Ninety minutes of Alejo Tabares at his very best
Marked 8.16. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at All Boys.
Loan watch24 May 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at All Boys, and 4 appearances in 16 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 May 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match10 May 2027
All Boys are in real trouble now
Position 16, 13 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Match8 May 2027
4 matches without a win for All Boys
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around All Boys are no longer polite ones.
Squad10 May 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match8 May 2027
Beaten 1‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout10 May 2027
Lucas Cano gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Loan watch10 May 2027
16 appearances away from home and 13 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Player ratings10 May 2027
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
In brief
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Squad
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
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Boardroom
Wages eat 96% of everything All Boys earn
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market3 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 May 2027
8 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad3 May 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maximiliano Coronel and All Boys agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Barrientos 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.
Match1 May 2027
The goals have deserted All Boys
3 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at All Boys can tell you which week it ends in.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Match1 May 2027
Arsenal left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout3 May 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match21 Apr 2027
The small margins put All Boys out
Out, 0‑3 to Instituto, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
The terraces26 Apr 2027
All Boys are taken apart by Instituto — and the town wants answers
It finished 0-3. A cup exit is a disappointment; this was a public dismantling, and the difference between the two is the number of people who will still be talking about it in August.
Market26 Apr 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Gabriel Ramírez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Barrientos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Apa, and the manager let it.
Boardroom26 Apr 2027
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at All Boys, and 4 appearances in 12 say he has earned the hearing.
Loan watch26 Apr 2027
14 appearances away from home and 10 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market19 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Match17 Apr 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Santiago Apa’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to All Boys.
Squad19 Apr 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Nobody on the pitch touched Alejo Tabares
7.94, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. All Boys had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Loan watch19 Apr 2027
“I watch every All Boys game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at HJK runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Lucas Ojeda kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad12 Apr 2027
14 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match10 Apr 2027
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. All Boys scored in the 91th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
Market12 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match10 Apr 2027
It had gone 8 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Nicolás Barrientos 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.
Match10 Apr 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Ignacio Palacio’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to All Boys.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Alexis Melo reaches 100 appearances
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad5 Apr 2027
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.
Market5 Apr 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Match3 Apr 2027
8 matches without a win for All Boys
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around All Boys are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Luca Pichin Wayttorn did not need any: 7.66, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
A hand in 2 of them from Santiago Apa — 7.50
Marked 7.50. 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match3 Apr 2027
Beaten 3‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Match3 Apr 2027
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about All Boys and Patronato in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Barrientos 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Mar 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 29 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match27 Mar 2027
All Boys throw away a 2-goal lead
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Racing the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that All Boys will enjoy reviewing.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
A brace, and Claudio Campostrini takes the afternoon — 8.41
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Claudio Campostrini provided it, and the 8.41 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match27 Mar 2027
No end in sight to All Boys's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at All Boys has to find a result from somewhere.
Market29 Mar 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad29 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Match27 Mar 2027
Racing left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Santiago Apa beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad22 Mar 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 36 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market22 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Match20 Mar 2027
The wait goes on for All Boys
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Nicolás Barrientos 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.
Match20 Mar 2027
All Boys hit back inside 2 minutes
Maipú held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. All Boys answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch22 Mar 2027
The goals keep arriving from Benjamín González’s exile
9 goals in 9 games at Zamora — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at All Boys updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Match20 Mar 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 Mar 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 44 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Market15 Mar 2027
Alexis Melo hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Match13 Mar 2027
No end in sight to All Boys's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at All Boys has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Nicolás Barrientos 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.
Match13 Mar 2027
Ferro Carril Oeste left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Loan watch15 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at All Boys, and 0 appearances in 0 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Lucas Ojeda after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad8 Mar 2027
51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market8 Mar 2027
Axel Abet hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Mateo Arrieta: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” All Boys have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match6 Mar 2027
No end in sight to All Boys's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at All Boys has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Nicolás Carrizo and All Boys agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match6 Mar 2027
Santiago Apa scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to San Martín, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas Cano, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Mar 2027
58 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market1 Mar 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad1 Mar 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Barrientos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match27 Feb 2027
Late, late show earns All Boys a point
Minute 94, against Quilmes, 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 dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alejo Rodríguez, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Ricardo Blanco slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ricardo Blanco is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Match27 Feb 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad22 Feb 2027
65 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market22 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Alexis Melo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Ninety minutes of Alejo Tabares at his very best
Marked 8.09. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at All Boys.
Match20 Feb 2027
Late, late show earns All Boys a point
Minute 86, against Los Andes, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Feb 2027
73 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market15 Feb 2027
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around All Boys people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market15 Feb 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Feb 2027
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about All Boys and Atlanta in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Match13 Feb 2027
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolás Carrizo, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
80 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market8 Feb 2027
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Forli had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Market8 Feb 2027
Axel Abet puts it in writing
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market8 Feb 2027
The bid was some way short and All Boys did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match6 Feb 2027
All Boys make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now All Boys have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad8 Feb 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
1 academy players handed senior numbers at All Boys
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Ricardo Blanco 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Pablo Ponce is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
87 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” All Boys may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market1 Feb 2027
“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 All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 Feb 2027
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Blanco 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
The phone has started ringing about Brandon López again, and this time the name on the line is Prykarpattia. All Boys are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Iván Zafarana, and the manager let it.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at All Boys, and 1 appearances in 0 say he has earned the hearing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
94 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Blanco 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Ricardo Blanco
“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.
Market25 Jan 2027
Bnei Yehuda are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. All Boys will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Market25 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Tiago Libares has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at All Boys.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Ulises Delgado knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ulises Delgado trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Diego Guallama is on it.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at All Boys that is a harder question to answer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
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.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Ricardo Blanco: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” All Boys have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Blanco 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 dugout18 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Alexis Melo
“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.
Market18 Jan 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Claudio Campostrini has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at All Boys.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market11 Jan 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. All Boys have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” All Boys may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market11 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Market11 Jan 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Güemes moved on, Luca Pichin Wayttorn reports back to All Boys, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Ricardo Blanco 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
The medical room confirms 43 days on the sidelines for Felipe Coronel, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Loan watch11 Jan 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at All Boys, and 0 appearances in 0 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at All Boys, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
The bid was some way short and All Boys did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market4 Jan 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez 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 Jan 2027
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market4 Jan 2027
The interest is real enough to have reached print. All Boys have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Market4 Jan 2027
Güemes are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. All Boys will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Benjamín González 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.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Alexis Melo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Ignacio Palacio
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Alejo Rodríguez: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” All Boys have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market28 Dec 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market28 Dec 2026
All Boys say no — this time
The offer from Zamora for Brandon López 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Gabriel Ramírez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Ricardo Blanco 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 97% of everything All Boys earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Market28 Dec 2026
Lukas Ramil Sauer returns from a loan that taught him nothing
4 appearances and 2 clean sheets. A goalkeeper learns his job by playing it, and a season that gave him neither the games nor the shut-outs is a year taken off the front of a career.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
Alexis Melo asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gabriel Ramírez
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market7 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alexis Melo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Santiago Apa slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Santiago Apa is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
Loan watch7 Dec 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at All Boys, and 4 appearances in 13 say he has earned the hearing.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Ricardo Blanco asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gabriel Ramírez
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market30 Nov 2026
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A falling-out at All Boys
Ricardo Blanco and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gian Ortega Ocampo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gian Ortega Ocampo, and the manager let it.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
96% of the income goes out in wages at All Boys
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Loan watch30 Nov 2026
“I watch every All Boys game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Arzignano runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Blas Vicente has had enough of the bench
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and All Boys will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
Gabriel Ramírez damages knee ligaments — 33 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 33 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” All Boys may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at All Boys
Ricardo Blanco 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hernán Grana 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Claudio Campostrini, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Tomás Molinas knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at All Boys, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad16 Nov 2026
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Gabriel Ramírez damages knee ligaments — 48 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 48 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.
Market9 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at All Boys, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch9 Nov 2026
“I watch every All Boys game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at OFI runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Alexis Melo knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Alexis Melo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Nobody at All Boys 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.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
55 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Matías Cantero: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” All Boys have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Ricardo Blanco 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Iván Zafarana
“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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
96% of the income goes out in wages at All Boys
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
“I watch every All Boys game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Arzignano runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Diego Guallama 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.
Market2 Nov 2026
The name of Alejo Tabares keeps appearing in other people's back pages. All Boys say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Oct 2026
Gabriel Ramírez damages knee ligaments — 62 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 62 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Blanco 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Claudio Campostrini, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A muscle injury sidelines Ariel Torres for 17 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. All Boys will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Iván Zafarana knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at All Boys, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gabriel Ramírez
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad19 Oct 2026
A falling-out at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Blanco 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Gabriel Ramírez
76 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. All Boys lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market12 Oct 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what All Boys can pretend not to have heard.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at All Boys
Gabriel Ramírez 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Ricardo Blanco 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
Ricardo Blanco asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tiago Libares, and the manager let it.
Market12 Oct 2026
No place for Lionel Paz in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Lionel Paz has his answer from All Boys; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Nobody at All Boys 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
84 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Gabriel Ramírez was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Words at All Boys training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ricardo Blanco 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.
Market5 Oct 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ezequiel Romero has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market5 Oct 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Juan Martín Arce is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market5 Oct 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Miguel Ángel Di María has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Blas Vicente
“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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
Wages swallow 101% of the All Boys income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at All Boys
21 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
92 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. All Boys lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match26 Sep 2026
The 87th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Ignacio Palacio decided nobody was going anywhere. Alvarado had no time left to answer.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at All Boys
Santiago Apa 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.
Market28 Sep 2026
All Boys may not be able to give Alexis Melo what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Alexis Melo wants continental football; whether All Boys can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match26 Sep 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ignacio Palacio. 2‑1 against Alvarado, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Squad28 Sep 2026
21 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
Gabriel Ramírez damages knee ligaments — 100 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 100 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Santiago Apa was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match19 Sep 2026
The drought breaks for All Boys
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Madryn were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at All Boys
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ricardo Blanco was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ricardo Blanco, and the manager let it.
Match19 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑0, and it was Thiago Calone’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to All Boys.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
In brief
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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The dugout
The plan did not have a place for Ricardo Blanco
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The dugout
Thiago Calone knocks on the manager's door
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match29 Aug 2026
4 matches without a win for All Boys
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around All Boys are no longer polite ones.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at All Boys
Santiago Apa 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
The medical room confirms 17 days on the sidelines for Iván Zafarana, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Ricardo Blanco 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Santiago Apa
“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.
Match29 Aug 2026
A point taken on 92 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Squad31 Aug 2026
22 new faces, and All Boys are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Match29 Aug 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Ferro Carril Oeste leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Lucas Ojeda after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market17 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at All Boys this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market17 Aug 2026
The name of Bruno Medina has come up in conversations All Boys were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Gabriel Silva has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Noah Cabrera is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Matías Nouet 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 dugout17 Aug 2026
Matías Nouet gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout17 Aug 2026
Gabriel Ramírez is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.