Marked for Alejandro Ávalos
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout8 May 2028
Máximo Reyes: 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.” Santos Laguna have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 May 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Anthony Lozano commits to Santos Laguna for another 2 years.
The dugout8 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Carlos Acevedo
“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.
Squad8 May 2028
Alejandro Ávalos and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout8 May 2028
Haret Ortega 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 Santos Laguna, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom8 May 2028
Santos Laguna pull $6.9M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
The dugout8 May 2028
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.
Market8 May 2028
The name of Carlos Acevedo keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Santos Laguna say nothing, which says plenty.
Squad8 May 2028
“I will play as long as the body lets me and stop the day it does not.” He is 36, with 214 appearances behind him, and the club has to plan for a decision that is not yet made.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match17 Apr 2028
30 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market17 Apr 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Santos Laguna can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Alejandro Ávalos: 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.” Santos Laguna have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market17 Apr 2028
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. John Tolkin wants continental football; whether Santos Laguna can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Fernando Tapia 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 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Monarrez, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Something was said to Eduardo Aguirre and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Lucas Di Yorio 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 Lucas Di Yorio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Loan watch17 Apr 2028
32 appearances at Veracruz and the goals keep coming. Santos Laguna are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match20 Mar 2028
Position 16, 29 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.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
A brace, and Eduardo Aguirre takes the afternoon — 8.58
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Eduardo Aguirre provided it, and the 8.58 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Squad20 Mar 2028
7 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
The medical room confirms 18 days on the sidelines for Lucas Di Yorio, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Match18 Mar 2028
Pachuca made Santos Laguna work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Defensive actions: 17, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Alejandro Ávalos and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“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 dugout20 Mar 2028
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 Mar 2028
14 seasons and 247 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
Squad6 Mar 2028
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.
Market6 Mar 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Santos Laguna they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Mar 2028
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Carlos Acevedo commits to Santos Laguna for another 3 years.
Match4 Mar 2028
0‑2 to Tijuana, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Alex Valencia 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.
Loan watch6 Mar 2028
The goals keep arriving from Diego González’s exile
10 goals in 30 games at Cruz Azul — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Santos Laguna updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match29 Jan 2028
9 matches without a win for Santos Laguna
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Santos Laguna are no longer polite ones.
Market31 Jan 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Santos Laguna have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market31 Jan 2028
“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.
Market31 Jan 2028
Monterrey pay $550.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Transfer targets31 Jan 2028
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Toluca have kept their man, and Santos Laguna go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match29 Jan 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad31 Jan 2028
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Player ratings31 Jan 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market31 Jan 2028
Cruz Azul are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Santos Laguna will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market13 Dec 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 Santos Laguna, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
This is not rotation. Ezequiel Bullaude has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Santos Laguna is pretending otherwise.
Squad13 Dec 2027
John Tolkin 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.
Match11 Dec 2027
0‑1 to Toluca, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Alejandro Ávalos 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 dugout13 Dec 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 dugout13 Dec 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to José Javier Abella, and the manager let it.
Player ratings13 Dec 2027
Successful dribbles: 12. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
Eduardo Aguirre 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
Crisis
Match23 Oct 2027
8 matches without a win for Santos Laguna
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Santos Laguna are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings25 Oct 2027
A brace, and Lucas Di Yorio takes the afternoon — 8.40
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lucas Di Yorio provided it, and the 8.40 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match23 Oct 2027
Lucas Di Yorio scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Cruz Azul, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad25 Oct 2027
John Tolkin 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 dugout25 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Fernando Tapia, and the manager let it.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Simón Almeida and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Raul Marquez after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad25 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Alejandro Ávalos commits to Santos Laguna for another 2 years.
The dugout25 Oct 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
Crisis
Match19 Jun 2027
10 matches without a win for Excursionistas
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Excursionistas are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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 Excursionistas, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Agustín Medina 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
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.
Match19 Jun 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Willian Oliveira 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 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 dugout21 Jun 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Alejandro Russo after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Lucas Mulazzi
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Excursionistas lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Excursionistas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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 Excursionistas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Alan Pérez is not the player he was
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías Polvera, and the manager let it.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The manager makes Daniel Acosta a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Excursionistas. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad30 Nov 2026
82 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Excursionistas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.34, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
Alejandro Ávalos: 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.” Excursionistas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Mariano Arango 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.
Match28 Nov 2026
It finished 2‑1, and it was Matías Polvera’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Excursionistas.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
138% of the income goes out in wages at Excursionistas
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 dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Daniel Acosta, and the manager let it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Gonzalo Calabria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Oct 2026
Mariano Arango and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match17 Oct 2026
Liniers left with the points after a 2‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad19 Oct 2026
At 34, 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.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Horacio Igarzábal was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 2‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alejandro Ávalos, and the manager let it.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
Ignacio Maizarez is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.