Marked for Daniel Abello
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 Dec 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Daniel Abello
44 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Ayacucho lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
Carlos Reyna has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ayacucho can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Diego Encinas breaks a bone — 47 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 47 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Boardroom6 Dec 2027
The Ayacucho board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Market6 Dec 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Daniel Abello was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad6 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Ferreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets6 Dec 2027
A loan enquiry to Cesar Vallejo: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets6 Dec 2027
A loan move for Rafael Livia is in the works
Ayacucho have made the call to Melgar. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Nov 2027
51 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ayacucho lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Diego Encinas breaks a bone — 57 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 57 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello 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
Squad22 Nov 2027
58 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ayacucho lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces22 Nov 2027
The mood at Ayacucho has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Ayacucho boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad22 Nov 2027
65 days out for Diego Encinas after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ayacucho will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alonso Tamariz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Nov 2027
Ayacucho are in real trouble now
Position 11, 15 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.
Market15 Nov 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.
Squad15 Nov 2027
73 days out for Diego Encinas after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ayacucho will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad15 Nov 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 Ayacucho this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Alonso Tamariz 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 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Paolo Méndez, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Nov 2027
Carlos Reyna has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ayacucho can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad8 Nov 2027
81 days out for Diego Encinas after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ayacucho will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad8 Nov 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Gianfranco Castellanos and Ayacucho agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Daniel Abello 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
29 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout8 Nov 2027
The manager's exit leaves Alonso Tamariz exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Alonso Tamariz is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad1 Nov 2027
A fracture rules Diego Encinas out for 88 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ayacucho will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello 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 Nov 2027
Alonso Tamariz 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 dugout1 Nov 2027
The manager's exit leaves Alonso Tamariz exposed
Every squad has men who were signed by a particular manager and men who were merely inherited. Alonso Tamariz is in the first group, and the man who wanted him here is no longer in the building.
The dugout1 Nov 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.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fabián Palomino, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces25 Oct 2027
The mood at Ayacucho has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Ayacucho
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Ayacucho is running low.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A fracture rules Diego Encinas out for 95 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ayacucho will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match18 Oct 2027
Ayacucho sink to position 11
15 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Diego Encinas breaks a bone — 102 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 102 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad18 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jorge Bosmediano commits to Ayacucho for another 1 years.
Squad18 Oct 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 Ayacucho this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yéiner Vargas 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 Oct 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad11 Oct 2027
Diego Encinas breaks a bone — 109 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 109 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Daniel Abello was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alonso Tamariz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Pedro Zúñiga 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jhonarby Salazar commits to Ayacucho for another 2 years.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
Jiries Salem 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 Jiries Salem trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
Carlos Reyna has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ayacucho can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Squad4 Oct 2027
A fracture rules Diego Encinas out for 116 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ayacucho will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad4 Oct 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Neira and Ayacucho agree another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello 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 Oct 2027
Alonso Tamariz 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 dugout4 Oct 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 dugout4 Oct 2027
Daniel Abello without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Daniel Abello was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The dugout4 Oct 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 Kevin Ferreyra is on it.
Market4 Oct 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Ayacucho, another week without a signature from Santiago Ormeño.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces27 Sep 2027
The mood at Ayacucho has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom27 Sep 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ayacucho
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad27 Sep 2027
123 days out for Diego Encinas after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ayacucho will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market27 Sep 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 Ayacucho can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yéiner Vargas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Deyair Reyes
“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 dugout27 Sep 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 Ayacucho, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Edison Unocc has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ayacucho 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match20 Sep 2027
Every point is an argument now for Ayacucho
Position 11 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad20 Sep 2027
A fracture rules Diego Encinas out for 130 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ayacucho will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad20 Sep 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 Ayacucho this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Sep 2027
At 36, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Squad20 Sep 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Ferreyra 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 dugout20 Sep 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Paolo Méndez, and the manager let it.
Market20 Sep 2027
Jiries Salem returns from a loan that gave him nothing
4 appearances and 1 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
The dugout20 Sep 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.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
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
Crisis
Squad13 Sep 2027
A fracture rules Diego Encinas out for 137 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ayacucho will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Daniel Abello 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.
Squad13 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Ferreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Time is catching up with Saúl Reyes
Everybody at Ayacucho saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 35 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
The dugout13 Sep 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.
The dugout13 Sep 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Fabián Palomino'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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Sep 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.
Market6 Sep 2027
Yéiner Vargas 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 Ayacucho can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Jorge Bosmediano 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Abello 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.
Loan watch6 Sep 2027
“I watch every Ayacucho game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Melgar runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Erick Chávez commits to Ayacucho for another 2 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Santiago Ormeño is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Kevin Ferreyra has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ayacucho 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 dugout6 Sep 2027
Edison Unocc loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Edison Unocc's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces30 Aug 2027
Anger at Ayacucho spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market30 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 Ayacucho, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ayacucho
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Ferreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Aug 2027
Ayacucho are in real trouble now
Position 11, 15 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.
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 Ayacucho this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Ferreyra 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 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Paolo Méndez, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Aug 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 Ayacucho, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Edison Unocc has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ayacucho 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ayacucho may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Jorge Bosmediano 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
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Abello was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Dylan Sandoval
“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 dugout16 Aug 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 Carlos Jiménez is on it.
The dugout16 Aug 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Ayacucho may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello 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.
Transfer targets9 Aug 2027
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad9 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Kevin Ferreyra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saúl Reyes, and the manager let it.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Fabián Palomino and Ayacucho agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces2 Aug 2027
Supporters organise against the Ayacucho board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
Carlos Reyna has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Ayacucho can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market2 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 Ayacucho, and it is not being withdrawn.
Boardroom2 Aug 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Ayacucho
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Ayacucho is running low.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
Ayacucho asked and Universitario said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alonso Tamariz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets2 Aug 2027
The clock did what Deportivo Municipal would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
The dugout2 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Diego Encinas
“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
Match26 Jul 2027
Every point is an argument now for Ayacucho
Position 11 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sporting Cristal is saying, and nobody at Ayacucho is enjoying the guessing.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Paul Bashi: 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.” Ayacucho have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Window shuts: 2 in, 1 out at Ayacucho
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
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 Ayacucho this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Abello 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
A stepping stone, not a home, for Daniel Abello
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Ayacucho were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
The clock did what Cienciano would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
The dugout26 Jul 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
Crisis
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Brian Mieres: 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.” Mitre have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market21 Jun 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 Mitre, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Mitre
Ignacio Pietrobono 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The Favio Cabral conversation is coming
Everyone has stopped pretending: Zaragoza will make the call about Favio Cabral this week. Mitre have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Mitre training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tiago Ferreyra 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 dugout21 Jun 2027
Nobody at Mitre 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Santiago Rosales may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
Favio Cabral 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 terraces21 Jun 2027
Supporters make their feelings known about Favio Cabral
The speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Mitre would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market14 Jun 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.
Match14 Jun 2027
Every point is an argument now for Mitre
Position 14 and 8 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mitre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Mitre
Ignacio Pietrobono 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 Jun 2027
Brian Mieres 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 dugout14 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.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Favio Cabral 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 Favio Cabral trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
Market14 Jun 2027
The shop window has Enzo Avaro in it
Mitre have let the market know Enzo Avaro can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 May 2027
Mitre sink to position 14
8 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Match15 May 2027
The wait goes on for Mitre
7 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.
Market17 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Tempers go at Mitre
Ignacio Pietrobono 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 dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Santiago Rosales, and the manager let it.
Match15 May 2027
Racing Club left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad17 May 2027
Brian Mieres 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 ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout17 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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Gael Figueroa to a room that had heard them before.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad11 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 Mitre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
14 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José María Ingratti, and the manager let it.
Market11 Jan 2027
The name of Rodrigo González keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Mitre say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad11 Jan 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Mitre will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Squad11 Jan 2027
A wage question at Mitre
Daniel Abello has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Nov 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Juan Alessandroni
73 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mitre 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words exchanged at Mitre
Ignacio Pietrobono 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.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Pablo Minissale 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.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 254% of the Mitre 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.
Market30 Nov 2026
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Mitre can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Abello, and the manager let it.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
A promise honoured at Mitre
Something was said to Matías Maluf and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Juan Pablo Zárate has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Oct 2026
77 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mitre lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mitre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Mitre
Rodrigo González 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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at Mitre
17 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.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Daniel Abello
“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 dugout12 Oct 2026
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.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
The leaders are next for Mitre
Nueva Chicago top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Market12 Oct 2026
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Joaquín Ledesma has his answer from Mitre; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Brian Mieres 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
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
Daniel Abello damages knee ligaments — 84 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 84 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A defender's goal wins it for Mitre — 7.66
1 for Tiago Ferreyra, marked 7.66, 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 Oct 2026
Words exchanged at Mitre
Rodrigo González 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Juan Alessandroni 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.
Match3 Oct 2026
Three points for Mitre, 2‑1 the final word against Chacarita Juniors in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
360% of the income goes out in wages at Mitre
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.
Match3 Oct 2026
Mitre keep winning on the road
3 away wins in a row. Travelling support is the truest kind, and this season it is being repaid in the only currency that counts.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Martín Rodríguez, and the manager let it.
Squad5 Oct 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Gonzalo Córdoba and Mitre agree another 4 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad28 Sep 2026
91 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mitre lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Mitre
Rodrigo González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Mitre training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Alessandroni 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.
Market28 Sep 2026
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Mateo Montenegro wants continental football; whether Mitre can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Marcos Machado
“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 ratings28 Sep 2026
Marked 7.75. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Match26 Sep 2026
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Gael Figueroa chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad21 Sep 2026
99 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mitre lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
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.
Match19 Sep 2026
Mitre make it 3 in a row
Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Mitre have 3 straight wins of it.
Squad21 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 Mitre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match19 Sep 2026
A 2‑1 win over Chaco For Ever, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Alessandroni, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Marcos Machado 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 ratings21 Sep 2026
Ninety minutes of Rodrigo González at his very best
Marked 8.12. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Mitre.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad14 Sep 2026
The knee: Daniel Abello out for 106 days
106 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mitre lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The match ball belongs to Favio Cabral, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.
Squad14 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Tempers go at Mitre
Rodrigo González was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 9.57 — 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.
Match12 Sep 2026
It finished 3‑1, and it was Favio Cabral’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Mitre.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.34, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout14 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.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
The knee: Daniel Abello out for 113 days
113 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mitre lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market7 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words exchanged at Mitre
Rodrigo González 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Mitre training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Pablo Minissale 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Mitre are still strangers to each other
17 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tobías Peralta, and the manager let it.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Tiago Ferreyra 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 Tiago Ferreyra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market7 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Market7 Sep 2026
The Enzo Avaro talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Mitre know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad31 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Daniel Abello
120 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mitre lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Mitre
Rodrigo González and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market31 Aug 2026
Enzo Avaro wants European nights
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.
Match29 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Favio Cabral. 1‑0 against San Telmo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes of Favio Cabral at his very best
Marked 8.02. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Mitre.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Gael Figueroa on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Facundo Ledesma
“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.
Market31 Aug 2026
The Favio Cabral story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Favio Cabral signs something — a contract at Mitre or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Nobody at Mitre 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
The knee: Daniel Abello out for 127 days
127 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Mitre lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market24 Aug 2026
Mitre may not be able to give Oscar Garrido what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Oscar Garrido wants continental football; whether Mitre can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad24 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 Mitre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Words at Mitre training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Alessandroni 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Favio Cabral had Mitre level again within 2 minutes, and Central Norte never got to play with a lead at all.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joaquín Ledesma, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Aug 2026
A knee injury of the worst kind for Daniel Abello
134 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mitre lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match12 Aug 2026
The small margins put Mitre out
Out, 0‑1 to Argentino de Quilmes, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad17 Aug 2026
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.
Squad17 Aug 2026
3 goals in one game. The first was taken well, the second was taken greedily, and by the third the crowd were simply waiting for him to get the ball.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Mitre
Rodrigo González 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.
Match15 Aug 2026
It finished 4‑3, and it was Favio Cabral’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Mitre.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Favio Cabral was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.43. 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.