Marked for Lucas Chiozza
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Sep 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 The request is on a desk at Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market13 Sep 2027
Only the photograph left for Franco Cima
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Franco Cima will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Alvarado the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Emanuel Bilbao 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.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
A performance of 9.37 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Loan watch13 Sep 2027
16 appearances away from home and 14 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
Match11 Sep 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Marco Miori’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Alvarado.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.52, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings13 Sep 2027
Defensive actions: 16. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom30 Aug 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Alvarado
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Alan Palavecino: 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.” Alvarado have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match28 Aug 2027
The wait goes on for Alvarado
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.
Market30 Aug 2027
Matías Mela 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings30 Aug 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Emanuel Bilbao 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 Aug 2027
0‑1 to Patronato, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Tomás Berra left out for the big one
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Tomás Berra will call it something else in private.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás Fernández, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match9 Aug 2027
Alvarado sink to position 18
21 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
Market9 Aug 2027
Mateo Ostachi 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Alvarado may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Matías Mansilla 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.
Match7 Aug 2027
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.81 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas Monzón, and the manager let it.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
140% of the income goes out in wages at Alvarado
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.
Player ratings9 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market26 Jul 2027
Tomás Berra 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad26 Jul 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match24 Jul 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Marco Miori’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Alvarado.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.45, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings26 Jul 2027
Defensive actions: 19, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad26 Jul 2027
No place for Tomás Berra on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Alvarado pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
In brief
-
Squad
The manager makes an example of Nahuel Speck
-
Boardroom
The numbers do not look good at Alvarado
-
Market
The window shut and Marco Miori is still in the building
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market28 Jun 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.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Germán Sosa: 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.” Alvarado have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Match26 Jun 2027
4 matches without a win for Alvarado
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Matías Mansilla 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.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Marked 8.35 — 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 ratings28 Jun 2027
A performance of 8.30 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad28 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Tomás Fernández
“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.
Market28 Jun 2027
Gimnasia y Tiro are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Alvarado will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match14 Jun 2027
Every point is an argument now for Alvarado
Position 18 and 13 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Market14 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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad14 Jun 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.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad14 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match12 Jun 2027
Germán Cervera scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Güemes, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Boardroom14 Jun 2027
Wages eat 175% of everything Alvarado 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.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Loan watch14 Jun 2027
13 appearances at Ararat-Armenia and the goals keep coming. Alvarado are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Gustavo Ramos has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom7 Jun 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Alvarado
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Alvarado is running low.
Market7 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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad7 Jun 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Emanuel Bilbao 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.
Match5 Jun 2027
2‑3 to San Martín, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings7 Jun 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Cristian Gorgerino, and the manager let it.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
A performance of 8.13 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings31 May 2027
A defender's afternoon for Lucas Monzón
Defensive actions: 33. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market31 May 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.
Squad31 May 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 May 2027
A 1‑0 win over Arsenal, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings31 May 2027
A mark of 7.90, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Squad31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Nahuel Speck
“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.
Boardroom31 May 2027
The numbers do not look good at Alvarado
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.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad31 May 2027
Tomás Fernández 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
Match22 May 2027
No end in sight to Alvarado's wait for a win
11 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alvarado has to find a result from somewhere.
Market24 May 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 ratings24 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 May 2027
Emanuel Bilbao 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 May 2027
All Boys left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Marked 8.80 — 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.
Squad24 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.
Squad24 May 2027
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad24 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Tomás Fernández trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match8 May 2027
No end in sight to Alvarado's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alvarado has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad10 May 2027
Germán Cervera 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.
Squad10 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.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.97 on the card, and the Alvarado support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings10 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Loan watch10 May 2027
9 appearances at Ararat-Armenia and the goals keep coming. Alvarado are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 May 2027
8 matches without a win for Alvarado
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.
Squad3 May 2027
There were 8 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.
Market3 May 2027
Tomás Berra 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 May 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Alvarado may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad3 May 2027
Lucas Chiozza 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.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Matías Mansilla
“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.
Match1 May 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Boardroom3 May 2027
The numbers do not look good at Alvarado
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match19 Apr 2027
Alvarado sink to position 18
9 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.
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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match17 Apr 2027
5 matches without a win for Alvarado
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Emanuel Bilbao 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 Apr 2027
Lucas Chiozza scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Maipú, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Boardroom19 Apr 2027
185% of the income goes out in wages at Alvarado
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.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Germán Cervera, and the manager let it.
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.59 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings19 Apr 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market22 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.
Squad22 Mar 2027
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Alvarado have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Germán Cervera 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.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom22 Mar 2027
Wages eat 196% of everything Alvarado 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.
Squad22 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.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Marked 7.68 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Alvarado had the best player on the pitch.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Shots: 7. Goals: none. The chances were there and they were good ones, and they went into the stand, the goalkeeper's arms and the side netting in roughly that order.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Feb 2027
Chastening afternoon for Alvarado
A 0‑3 beating by Güemes was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match13 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Alvarado's wait for a win
8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alvarado has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad15 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Boardroom15 Feb 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.
Loan watch15 Feb 2027
“I watch every Alvarado game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Ararat-Armenia runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Tomás Federico
“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 Feb 2027
Shots: 5, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad15 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 Alvarado, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Dec 2026
Franco Pinoni: 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.” Alvarado have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Germán Cervera 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.
Squad14 Dec 2026
21 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Squad14 Dec 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.
Market14 Dec 2026
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Joaquín González has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Alvarado.
Market14 Dec 2026
A season-long audition: All Boys still own him, but the shirt and the minutes are Alvarado's to give. A loan is a bet both clubs believe they are winning.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 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.
Squad16 Nov 2026
The medical room confirms 49 days on the sidelines for Lucas Chiozza, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Emanuel Bilbao 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
Squad19 Oct 2026
The medical room confirms 77 days on the sidelines for Lucas Chiozza, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad19 Oct 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Nahuel Speck
“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
Match19 Sep 2026
5 matches without a win for Alvarado
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Sep 2026
105 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Emanuel Bilbao 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.
Match19 Sep 2026
1‑2 to Almagro, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
A performance of 8.79 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Germán Cervera, and the manager let it.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Shots: 8, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Ramiro Makarte 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 Alvarado, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match12 Sep 2026
4 matches without a win for Alvarado
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.
Squad14 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 8.72 — 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bautista Casas Medina and Alvarado agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
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.
Squad14 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.
Match12 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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Alvarado, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Marked 5.64, and generously at that. Nothing came off, and by the end the crowd had stopped expecting it to.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match26 Aug 2026
The cup run ends for Alvarado
1‑1 against Rosario Central, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Tomás Berra 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match29 Aug 2026
A bad afternoon for Alvarado against Racing
1‑2 to Racing, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.91 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad31 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás Berra, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Aug 2026
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Emanuel Bilbao: 3 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Emanuel Bilbao 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
Maipú made Alvarado work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Marked 8.43 — 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 ratings24 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.23 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nahuel Speck, and the manager let it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
32 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
Steady
Squad17 Aug 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.37, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.19 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad17 Aug 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad10 Aug 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 9.31 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match8 Aug 2026
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Lucas Chiozza. 2‑1 against San Martín, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings10 Aug 2026
A performance of 8.26 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad10 Aug 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.
Market10 Aug 2026
48 months to run and not a word offered. A club that lets the calendar negotiate for it usually ends up losing to the calendar.
Squad10 Aug 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
Squad10 Aug 2026
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Alvarado have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.