Marked for Facundo Rizzi
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Nov 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 The request is on a desk at Güemes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
Santiago Sala and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager makes an example of Juan Mendoza
“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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Güemes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Milton Gerez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Wages eat 125% of everything Güemes 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.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Güemes counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Güemes now.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
David Veliz 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 David Veliz trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market1 Nov 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Santiago Sala signs something — a contract at Güemes or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A programme of his own, away from the group, aimed at one thing the staff think is holding him back. Most improvement happens like this and none of it makes the paper.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Sep 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market6 Sep 2027
Franco Bergés 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 Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
Santiago Sala and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market6 Sep 2027
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Güemes will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Milton Gerez 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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
124% of the income goes out in wages at Güemes
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.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Franco Bergés
“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.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Belts tighten at Güemes
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Facundo Rizzi 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 Facundo Rizzi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Tomás Palleres: 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.” Güemes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match28 Aug 2027
The wait goes on for Güemes
5 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
Leandro Finochietto and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match28 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Milton Gerez 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.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Gianfranco Baier did the work nobody counts — 6.77
10 combined actions and 6.77. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jorge Morales after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Facundo Rizzi 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
Tomás Palleres is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Güemes has been clear about where Tomás Palleres stands, which is more than many ever get.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Aug 2027
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Santiago Sala had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
David Veliz and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Milton Gerez 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
Axel Bordón told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Axel Bordón has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Güemes.
The dugout16 Aug 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 dugout16 Aug 2027
Juan Mendoza 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 dugout16 Aug 2027
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
Market16 Aug 2027
The Maico Quiroz story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Maico Quiroz signs something — a contract at Güemes or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Facundo Rizzi wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Güemes have no good answer.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Jun 2027
74 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Güemes lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Güemes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
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 Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
Squad7 Jun 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
Leandro Finochietto and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Rizzi, and the manager let it.
Match5 Jun 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Milton Gerez 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 dugout7 Jun 2027
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
A promise honoured at Güemes
Something was said to Óscar Vanegas and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
Exequiel Banegas damages knee ligaments — 81 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 81 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 dugout31 May 2027
Alan González: 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.” Güemes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
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 Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
Match29 May 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was David Veliz’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Güemes.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Ninety minutes of David Veliz at his very best
Marked 8.10. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Güemes.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Güemes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gastón Espósito was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout31 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Jorge Morales, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout31 May 2027
Facundo Rizzi 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 Facundo Rizzi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Exequiel Banegas
102 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Güemes lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market10 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.
Squad10 May 2027
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz 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.
Match8 May 2027
1‑2 to Tristán Suárez, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Gianluca Pugliese was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.01. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout10 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Mendoza, and the manager let it.
Squad10 May 2027
Gastón Espósito 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 dugout10 May 2027
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
The dugout10 May 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 Jorge Morales left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout12 Apr 2027
Franco Bergés: 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.” Güemes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market12 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 Güemes, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout12 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.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Milton Gerez 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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Gianfranco Baier was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.16. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Match10 Apr 2027
No time for San Martín to settle
The goal that put San Martín ahead was still being replayed on the concourse when Güemes equalised, 2 minutes later. Leads are only worth what you do with them.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Milton Gerez 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
Steady
Match3 Apr 2027
The 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Gianfranco Baier was at the centre of it, Quilmes were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
A brace, and Gianfranco Baier takes the afternoon — 8.42
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gianfranco Baier provided it, and the 8.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
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 Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings5 Apr 2027
A defender's goal wins it for Güemes — 7.56
1 for Maico Quiroz, marked 7.56, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
Fernando Godoy 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
A 3‑2 win over Quilmes, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad5 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Güemes
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Milton Gerez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Gastón Espósito
“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 dugout5 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.” Jorge Morales kept it short after the 3‑2 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Mar 2027
The cup run ends for Güemes
0‑1 against Estudiantes, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market8 Mar 2027
Jorge Enrico 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 Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout8 Mar 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fernando Godoy commits to Güemes for another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
Leandro Finochietto 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
Güemes cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Match6 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout8 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Gastón Espósito 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
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 Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match13 Feb 2027
0‑1 to Ferro Carril Oeste, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gastón Espósito 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Tomás Galván 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 dugout15 Feb 2027
Franco Bergés gets picked when it counts
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 Franco Bergés is on it.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
Facundo Rizzi 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 Güemes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market15 Feb 2027
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Güemes know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 10. 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
Squad11 Jan 2027
A falling-out at Güemes
Leandro Finochietto and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout11 Jan 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.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Santiago Farrera 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.
Market11 Jan 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Facundo Rizzi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
Nicolás Ibáñez 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 Nicolás Ibáñez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market11 Jan 2027
The market said no: Rodrigo Ruiz stays put
Güemes opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Rodrigo Ruiz stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Güemes
Maico Quiroz was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gastón Espósito 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.
Transfer targets14 Dec 2026
Gimnasia y Esgrima have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Axel Tévez, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Juan Mendoza 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Facundo Rizzi’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
A fracture rules Fernando Godoy out for 28 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Güemes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Marcos Lange
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Güemes lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad16 Nov 2026
A falling-out at Güemes
Leandro Finochietto and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
Maico Quiroz 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Gastón Espósito 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Facundo Rizzi 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 Facundo Rizzi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad28 Sep 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 77 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Güemes's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Güemes has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Güemes
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Gastón Espósito 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 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.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Nobody on the pitch touched Facundo Rizzi
7.26, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Güemes had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Jorge Morales after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad28 Sep 2026
One booking too many, and Facundo Melillán sits out. Güemes lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Sep 2026
84 days out for Fernando Godoy after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Güemes will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match19 Sep 2026
Nowhere to hide for Güemes
0‑4 against Atlanta, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Güemes
Fernando Godoy and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout21 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.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
Nobody left the Güemes dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑4, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
0 saves does not settle the argument about whose fault it was, and the argument will run all week. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines whoever caused them.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Franco Bergés gets picked when it counts
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 Franco Bergés is on it.