Marked for Gianfranco Baier
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad15 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 May 2028
Walter 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.
Match13 May 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad15 May 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.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad15 May 2028
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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market8 May 2028
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Güemes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 May 2028
Tempers go at Güemes
Gianluca Pugliese 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.
Match6 May 2028
The run at home goes on for Güemes
10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tomás Oneto and Güemes agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Melillán 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.
Match6 May 2028
A 1‑0 win over Atlanta, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings8 May 2028
17 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Squad8 May 2028
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.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Marked 7.67. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market27 Mar 2028
Walter Juárez hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Güemes
Gianluca Pugliese 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.
Match25 Mar 2028
Whatever happens, Güemes 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Melillán 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.
Match25 Mar 2028
Güemes cannot find the net
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
16 times he got in the way of something. Centre-halves get written about when they make mistakes and ignored when they do not, so an afternoon like this needs saying out loud: he is the reason the scoreline reads as it does.
Boardroom27 Mar 2028
The numbers do not look good at Güemes
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
Match25 Mar 2028
Güemes and Arsenal cancel each other out
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Arsenal came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom17 Jan 2028
Pressure builds in the Güemes boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market17 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
David Veliz 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 Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Pugliese 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.
Squad17 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Maico Quiroz, and the manager let it.
Squad17 Jan 2028
Gianfranco Baier has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Güemes 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
Uneasy
Squad13 Dec 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Güemes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
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 Güemes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 2027
David Veliz 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 Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Melillán 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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Walter Juárez 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 Walter Juárez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market13 Dec 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with David Veliz’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Güemes boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Market22 Nov 2027
Franco Bergés hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Güemes
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Güemes is running low.
Market25 Oct 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.
Squad25 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 Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2027
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Facundo Melillán 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.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Milton Gerez 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
Crisis
Squad19 Jul 2027
Gianluca Pugliese 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 ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match17 Jul 2027
Quilmes left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Loan watch19 Jul 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Güemes, and 3 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad19 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
Uneasy
Squad12 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Güemes
Santiago Sala 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 Jul 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Pugliese 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.
Boardroom12 Jul 2027
Wages eat 141% of everything Güemes earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Match10 Jul 2027
A 2‑0 win over Los Andes, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Getting past Laureano Martínez has become the hardest job in the division
12 clean sheets and counting. Forwards used to back themselves here; now they shoot early, shoot wide, and look for somebody to blame.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Marked 8.15 — 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.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Facundo Rizzi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings12 Jul 2027
14 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
Crisis
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Güemes
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Güemes is running low.
The terraces5 Jul 2027
Supporters turn on the $1.1M sale of Thomás Amilivia
He is going to Adana Demirspor, the club has $1.1M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Market5 Jul 2027
Adana Demirspor pay $1.1M, 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.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Gianluca Pugliese 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 ratings5 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A muscle injury sidelines Gianfranco Baier for 16 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Güemes will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Match3 Jul 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Loan watch5 Jul 2027
Angel Uñates: I did not sign for Güemes to play for other people
“Every summer it is another club, another set of team-mates, another manager to convince. I have done all that. Now I want a pre-season at Güemes and a proper look at me.” He remains Chaco For Ever’s player until the spell runs out — but the argument is with the club that owns him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Jun 2027
There were 6 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.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Güemes
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Güemes is running low.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Up for the corner, and Franco Bergés delivers — 7.89
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Franco Bergés scored, was marked 7.89, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Squad7 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Güemes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Gianluca Pugliese 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 ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market7 Jun 2027
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.
Match5 Jun 2027
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Franco Bergés had Güemes level again within 4 minutes, and Argentinos Juniors never got to play with a lead at all.
Squad7 Jun 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
Uneasy
Squad17 May 2027
Tempers go at Güemes
Santiago Sala 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.
Squad17 May 2027
Words at Güemes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gianluca Pugliese 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.
Boardroom17 May 2027
142% of the income goes out in wages at Güemes
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Match15 May 2027
All Boys left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings17 May 2027
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.
Squad17 May 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Dec 2026
Milton Gerez hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Güemes can pretend not to have heard.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Facundo Melillán 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
251% of the income goes out in wages at Güemes
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Market28 Dec 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Güemes have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Facundo Rizzi
“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
Squad16 Nov 2026
Gianluca Pugliese 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Güemes
David Veliz was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Güemes
0‑0 against Defensa y Justicia, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Squad24 Aug 2026
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Market24 Aug 2026
Ohod come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Güemes did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 24, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Güemes
Leandro Finochietto 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.
Match22 Aug 2026
Still nobody has beaten Güemes
The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Facundo Melillán 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
The manager makes an example of Walter Juárez
“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 ratings24 Aug 2026
The kick that got away from Santiago Sala
Twelve yards, a goalkeeper guessing, and it still did not go in. He will take the next one, and every soul in the ground will hold their breath.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Fernando Godoy commits to Güemes for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Tempers go at Güemes
Fernando Godoy 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.
Market3 Aug 2026
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.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Gianluca Pugliese 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 ratings3 Aug 2026
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 20 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Facundo Melillán’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Marked 7.49 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Güemes had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.