Marked for Gianluca Mancuso
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Mar 2027
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Central Norte lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market8 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 The request is on a desk at Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 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 Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mauricio Rosales and Central Norte agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero 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.
Match6 Mar 2027
Temperley made Central Norte work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Tomás Castro was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.02. 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Mar 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Elías Calderón
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Central Norte 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 The request is on a desk at Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Mar 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Maximiliano Ribero is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad1 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 Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 Feb 2027
0‑1 to San Telmo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ignacio Soria, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I did not go to Rukh to sit and watch. I want to come back to Central Norte and fight for my place.” 0 appearances in 0 matches say the rest.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
Elías Calderón damages knee ligaments — 49 days out
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.
Market8 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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom8 Feb 2027
The Central Norte board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Erik Bodencer 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 Central Norte
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
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market8 Feb 2027
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Noah Bruno has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Match6 Feb 2027
A 1‑0 win over Almirante Brown, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.02, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
Elías Calderón damages knee ligaments — 63 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 63 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.
Market25 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Castro 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.
Boardroom25 Jan 2027
Wages eat 114% of everything Central Norte 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.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Cuellar, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
Arián Pucheta has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Central Norte 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 dugout25 Jan 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Gianluca Mancuso trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad18 Jan 2027
Elías Calderón damages knee ligaments — 70 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 70 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.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Tomás Castro and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad18 Jan 2027
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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 has not finished forgetting Gianluca Mancuso's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout18 Jan 2027
Paolo Dorini 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 dugout18 Jan 2027
Gianluca Mancuso 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
Squad21 Dec 2026
99 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Central Norte lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market21 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Tomás Castro 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
Tomás Castro 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 Dec 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Central Norte have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Gianluca Mancuso's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Erik Bodencer 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 Erik Bodencer trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market21 Dec 2026
Alejo Soni told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Alejo Soni has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Central Norte.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Elías Calderón damages knee ligaments — 113 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 113 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.
Market7 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Tomás Castro 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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Lamosa was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tiago Taobas and Central Norte agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Leonardo Felissia, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Matías Moravec is on it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market7 Dec 2026
The Enzo Vázquez talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Central Norte know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Nov 2026
127 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Central Norte lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Castro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 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 dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Gianluca Mancuso's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
Market23 Nov 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Franco Vedoya signs something — a contract at Central Norte or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market9 Nov 2026
Erik Bodencer 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Gianluca Mancuso: 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.” Central Norte have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tomás Castro 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías Villarreal, and the manager let it.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Matías Moravec is on it.
Market9 Nov 2026
The Enzo Vázquez talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Central Norte know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market9 Nov 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Joaquín Mateo may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Central Norte may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Gianluca Mancuso 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 dugout26 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Gianluca Mancuso's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Erik Bodencer 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 Erik Bodencer trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Central Norte have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market19 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 Central Norte can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Castro is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“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 dugout19 Oct 2026
Something was said to Maximiliano Ribero and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad19 Oct 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Central Norte will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Norte, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market19 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Erik Bodencer signs something — a contract at Central Norte or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Sep 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Agustín Lamosa and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match26 Sep 2026
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout28 Sep 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Aleo 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
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.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Gianluca Mancuso 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 4.67, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market14 Sep 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 Central Norte, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match12 Sep 2026
Tomás Castro wins it after the whistle should have gone
93 minutes played. Tomás Castro found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and San Martín SJ went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Central Norte this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Sep 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Tomás Castro’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Central Norte.
Market14 Sep 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Juan Pablo Otero 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Juan Varela has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market14 Sep 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Pelado is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.08 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
In brief
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The dugout
Elías Calderón gets it from the manager
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
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Player ratings
Gonzalo Álvez runs at them all day
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match22 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑4 by Talleres, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A brace, and Matías Moravec takes the afternoon — 8.30
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Matías Moravec provided it, and the 8.30 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Paolo Dorini could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.49
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.49, 0 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 7.72 at 20, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Central Norte training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Lamosa 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Gianluca Mancuso 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 terraces24 Aug 2026
He is 20 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.