Marked for Brian Farioli
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Estudiantes
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
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 The request is on a desk at Estudiantes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market30 Aug 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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 Estudiantes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Delfor Minervino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match28 Aug 2027
1‑2 to Almirante Brown, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Facundo Vila
“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.
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
108% of the income goes out in wages at Estudiantes
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 Aug 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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Ricardo Luna to a room that had heard them before.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market16 Aug 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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 dugout16 Aug 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad16 Aug 2027
Words at Estudiantes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Delfor Minervino 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.
Match14 Aug 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Facundo Castelli. 2‑0 against Chacarita Juniors, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Match14 Aug 2027
The drought breaks for Estudiantes
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Chacarita Juniors were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Facundo Castelli was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.13. 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
31 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Ricardo Luna kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market19 Jul 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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 dugout19 Jul 2027
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets19 Jul 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Delfor Minervino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 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.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“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.
Match17 Jul 2027
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Talleres came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad10 May 2027
73 days out for Santiago Camacho after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Estudiantes will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market10 May 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 Estudiantes can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout10 May 2027
“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.
Squad10 May 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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 Estudiantes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 May 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.05, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad10 May 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tomás Núñez and Estudiantes agree another 3 years.
Squad10 May 2027
Words at Estudiantes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enzo Acosta 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 dugout10 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.
Match8 May 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 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 Estudiantes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match3 Apr 2027
4 matches without a win for Estudiantes
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Estudiantes are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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 Estudiantes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Delfor Minervino 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 dugout5 Apr 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.
Loan watch5 Apr 2027
“I watch every Estudiantes game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Persib runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Delfor Minervino
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.
Boardroom5 Apr 2027
Wages swallow 85% of the Estudiantes 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.
Match3 Apr 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Chaco For Ever leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Mar 2027
Chastening afternoon for Estudiantes
A 1‑4 beating by Mitre was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market15 Mar 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 Estudiantes can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Rodrigo Melo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Delfor Minervino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom15 Mar 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Ricardo Luna after 1‑4, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
The manager makes an example of Brian Farioli
“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.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Beaten 4 times: a bad day for Facundo Vila
3 saves does not settle the argument about whose fault it was, and the argument will run all week. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines whoever caused them.
The dugout15 Mar 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 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.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Estudiantes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Words at Estudiantes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Quinteros 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 ratings1 Mar 2027
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.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
Ian Vera wants to come home
“I did not go to Persib to sit and watch. I want to come back to Estudiantes and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 6 matches say the rest.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Sena, and the manager let it.
Match27 Feb 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Facundo Vila slips down the pecking order
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Facundo Vila is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market28 Dec 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.
The dugout28 Dec 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Rodrigo Melo 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.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Delfor Minervino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages swallow 200% of the Estudiantes 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 dugout28 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Brian Farioli
“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 dugout28 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ezequiel Almirón trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market28 Dec 2026
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Estudiantes know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Market28 Dec 2026
Estudiantes have let the market know Federico Sena can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.