Marked for Peter Grance Martínez
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Jan 2027
Facundo Cardozo damages knee ligaments — 59 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 59 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” San Miguel may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Jonathan Bay in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at San Miguel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
A row about effort at San Miguel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Daniel Juárez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Damián Adín and San Miguel agree another 3 years.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Peter Grance Martínez, and the manager let it.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Iván Ramírez 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 Iván Ramírez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market4 Jan 2027
The clock runs on Damián Adín's contract
36 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
The dugout4 Jan 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 Juan Manuel Lungarzo is on it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
66 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. San Miguel lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces28 Dec 2026
San Miguel sell a favourite for $1.4M
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Daniel Sappa was one of the reasons people came, and $1.4M does not replace that by itself.
Market28 Dec 2026
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what San Miguel can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Lucas Brochero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 128% of everything San Miguel earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Jorge Ferrero
“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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at San Miguel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Benítez 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
Facundo Cardozo damages knee ligaments — 103 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 103 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
The dugout23 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Jonathan Bay pulls a muscle — 19 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 19 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Jonathan Bay 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.
Squad23 Nov 2026
A row about effort at San Miguel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Ferrero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
Máximo Oses 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad9 Nov 2026
117 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. San Miguel lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Daniel Sappa in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at San Miguel this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Tomás Díaz Grassano falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
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 dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager makes Bruno Nasta a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at San Miguel. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Nov 2026
Facundo Cardozo damages knee ligaments — 124 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 124 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 19 days on the sidelines for Peter Grance Martínez, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at San Miguel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Juárez 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
Wages swallow 139% of the San Miguel 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.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Dixon Rentería, and the manager let it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Tiago Gordillo 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
The dugout26 Oct 2026
David Muller: 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.” San Miguel have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Oct 2026
32 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad26 Oct 2026
28 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Bruno Nasta, and the manager let it.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A row about effort at San Miguel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Ferrero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Too much change too quickly at San Miguel
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad5 Oct 2026
47 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Jonathan Bay and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Daniel Juárez 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.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
195% of the income goes out in wages at San Miguel
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 dugout5 Oct 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Leandro Desábato has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 25. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Daniel Sappa 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Whatever happens, San Miguel 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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at San Miguel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Juárez 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Peter Grance Martínez, and the manager let it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
San Miguel 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 dugout28 Sep 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout28 Sep 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.
Match26 Sep 2026
Point won or two lost for San Miguel?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Colegiales? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market21 Sep 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Chornomorets had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Daniel Sappa 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.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A row about effort at San Miguel
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Ferrero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jorge Ferrero, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
7.68, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. San Miguel had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
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.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Half-satisfied: Juan Aguirre on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
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
Steady
Market31 Aug 2026
Dila come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and San Miguel did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match29 Aug 2026
3 matches without a goal for San Miguel
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexis Cruz, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at San Miguel training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Díaz Grassano 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
San Miguel 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
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.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
13 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A brace, and Gustavo Fernández takes the afternoon — 9.17
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Gustavo Fernández provided it, and the 9.17 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Match8 Aug 2026
There were 87 minutes on the clock and Almagro had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and San Miguel did not stop to explain themselves.
Market10 Aug 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Hapoel Kiryat Shmona had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Daniel Sappa 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.
Match8 Aug 2026
Almagro made San Miguel work for it, but the scoreboard read 3‑2 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Tito joins the San Miguel first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tito is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
One of our own: Brujo joins the San Miguel first team
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Brujo is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Carlos Alberto Blanco has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
The dugout10 Aug 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑2, Juan Aguirre could afford to be generous.