Marked for Daniel Abello
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Mitre, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market16 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Nicolás Ruiz Paz will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Mitre the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom16 Aug 2027
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Squad16 Aug 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Mitre
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Alessandroni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match14 Aug 2027
0‑1 to Unión de Santa Fe, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout16 Aug 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 0‑1 Benicio Rey left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout16 Aug 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
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 The request is on a desk at Mitre, and it is not being withdrawn.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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
Mitre asked and Almirante Brown said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad21 Jun 2027
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.
Transfer targets21 Jun 2027
A loan enquiry to River Plate: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
When it matters, Enzo Avaro plays
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.
Market21 Jun 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Oscar Garrido signs something — a contract at Mitre or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout21 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.
Market21 Jun 2027
Mitre have made José María Ingratti available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market24 May 2027
Daniel Abello 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 Mitre can pretend not to have heard.
Squad24 May 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.
Squad24 May 2027
A row about effort at Mitre
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Alessandroni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 May 2027
Rodrigo González 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 dugout24 May 2027
“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.
Market24 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Rodrigo González’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match21 Apr 2027
Cup ties wait for somebody to seize them, and Gianfranco Lillo obliged against San Telmo. 2‑1 on the night, and the name in the next round’s hat is Mitre.
Match21 Apr 2027
The 88th minute, half the ground already edging towards the exits, and Gianfranco Lillo decided nobody was going anywhere. San Telmo had no time left to answer.
Squad26 Apr 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Marked 7.60 at 21, 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 ratings26 Apr 2027
A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.53 for the rest of it.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Apr 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
A row about effort at Mitre
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Alessandroni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces26 Apr 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Nicolás Ruiz Paz has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
A brace, and José María Ingratti takes the afternoon — 8.97
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. José María Ingratti provided it, and the 8.97 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Market19 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 Mitre, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match17 Apr 2027
No end in sight to Mitre's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mitre has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Apr 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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Mitre rescue it on 95 minutes
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 95. Defensa y Justicia had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
Match17 Apr 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mateo Montenegro, and the manager let it.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mitre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market22 Mar 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. 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.
Squad22 Mar 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.
Squad22 Mar 2027
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.
The dugout22 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.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Benicio Rey after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout22 Mar 2027
Daniel Abello 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
Uneasy
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 31. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match6 Mar 2027
The wait goes on for Mitre
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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Favio Cabral pulls a muscle — 15 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 15 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
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 Mitre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad8 Mar 2027
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.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rodrigo González, and the manager let it.
Match6 Mar 2027
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Benicio Rey after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Daniel Abello
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market22 Feb 2027
Daniel Abello 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 Mitre can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Feb 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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Mitre
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Alessandroni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match20 Feb 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout22 Feb 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 Benicio Rey left the room before anybody could ask which.
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Pablo Zárate, and the manager let it.
The dugout22 Feb 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 Mitre, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead22 Feb 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Talleres in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad8 Feb 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Santiago Rosales commits to Mitre for another 3 years.
Squad8 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 Mitre this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match6 Feb 2027
Whatever happens, Mitre do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad8 Feb 2027
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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.16 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match6 Feb 2027
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Oscar Garrido had Mitre level again within 1 minutes, and Estudiantes never got to play with a lead at all.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
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.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
Enzo Avaro runs at them all day
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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad2 Nov 2026
51 days out for Favio Cabral after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mitre will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market2 Nov 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.
Squad2 Nov 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.
Squad2 Nov 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
170% 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Martín Rodríguez and Mitre agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout2 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 dugout2 Nov 2026
Favio Cabral 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 Mitre, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market2 Nov 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Rodrigo González’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Favio Cabral out for 58 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Mitre will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mitre may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad26 Oct 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.
Squad26 Oct 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.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rodrigo González, and the manager let it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Sep 2026
Favio Cabral breaks a bone — 93 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 93 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 37. 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.
Market21 Sep 2026
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Agustín Ramírez will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Mitre the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Boardroom21 Sep 2026
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Daniel Abello 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 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 dugout21 Sep 2026
Somebody else is better right now than Valentino Pérez
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
Match19 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.