Marked for Neco Celorio
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Jun 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Córdoba may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Neco Celorio is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Dani Requena 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market14 Jun 2027
Levante come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Córdoba did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market14 Jun 2027
Kauê puts it in writing
“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 The request is on a desk at Córdoba, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market14 Jun 2027
Business is business: Rubén Alves goes
Elche paid $2.9M and Córdoba took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Market14 Jun 2027
The chase for Neco Celorio ended with $390.0K changing hands and Racing Santander out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Real improvement from Kauê at Córdoba
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Kauê is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Dani Requena 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 Córdoba this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Córdoba training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Gutiérrez 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.
Squad14 Jun 2027
A late step up for Theo
At 25 the improving is meant to be over. It is not: 3 points better than the mark taken at the start of the year, which is the sort of thing that happens to players who take the boring parts of the job seriously.
Loan watch14 Jun 2027
41 appearances away from home and 5 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Jun 2027
Simon Eriksson is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Pablo Ramón 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 Racing Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Canales 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
Córdoba pay $390.0K, 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.
Squad14 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.
Market14 Jun 2027
No place for Raúl Navarro in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Raúl Navarro has his answer from Racing Santander; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings31 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market31 May 2027
Neco Celorio has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Racing Santander they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad31 May 2027
Pablo Ramón 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 Racing Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Canales 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 ratings31 May 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 May 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 27 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 27 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.
Player ratings3 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 32. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match1 May 2027
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Racing Santander are no longer polite ones.
Market3 May 2027
Only the photograph left for Neco Celorio
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Neco Celorio will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Santander the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad3 May 2027
Juan Martín Rojas 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.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marco Sangalli 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
Steady
Squad5 Apr 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 58 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 58 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.
Match3 Apr 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Racing Santander did not have in the autumn.
Market5 Apr 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Racing Santander is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings5 Apr 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.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Pablo Ramón 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 Apr 2027
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. George Murray-Jones is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Mar 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 90 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 90 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.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Manex Lozano, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.84
A mark of 7.84 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Market8 Mar 2027
Only the photograph left for Neco Celorio
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Neco Celorio will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Santander the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Sergio Canales and Racing Santander agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Pablo Ramón 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.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Martín 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 ratings8 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Match6 Mar 2027
2‑2, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
Player ratings8 Mar 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad8 Feb 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 120 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 120 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.
Market8 Feb 2027
Only the photograph left for Neco Celorio
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Neco Celorio will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Racing Santander the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad8 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 Racing Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match6 Feb 2027
Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 Feb 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.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Marco Sangalli 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 129 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 129 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
Ruly puts it in writing
“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 Racing Santander, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Pablo Ramón 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 Racing Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Andrés Martín 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.
Market1 Feb 2027
Trento are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Racing Santander will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
“I did not go to Valencia to sit and watch. I want to come back to Racing Santander and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 24 matches say the rest.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jorge Salinas, and the manager let it.
Match30 Jan 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Granada leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Jan 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 136 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 136 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.
Player ratings25 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market25 Jan 2027
The bid was some way short and Racing Santander did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Match23 Jan 2027
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad25 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 Racing Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Martín 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 terraces25 Jan 2027
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Market25 Jan 2027
The name of Neco Celorio has come up in conversations Racing Santander were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Jan 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 150 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 150 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.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market11 Jan 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 Racing Santander, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market11 Jan 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Squad11 Jan 2027
Pablo Ramón 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 Jan 2027
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Martín 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.
Match9 Jan 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Suleiman Camara. 1‑0 against Eibar, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings11 Jan 2027
7.89, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Racing Santander had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad4 Jan 2027
Sergio Canales damages knee ligaments — 157 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 157 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
No end in sight to Racing Santander's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Racing Santander has to find a result from somewhere.
Boardroom4 Jan 2027
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Neco Celorio has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Pablo Ramón 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 Racing Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Andrés Martín 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Pablo Ramón 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.
Match2 Jan 2027
Cultural Leonesa left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Dec 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 Racing Santander this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Canales 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.
Match5 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings7 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad7 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Ruly
“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.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A place in the month's best eleven for Jorge Salinas
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jorge Salinas has come out of that comparison in the side, and Racing Santander have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Juan Martín Rojas 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 Sep 2026
Words at Racing Santander training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Sergio Canales 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.
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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
9 new faces, and Racing Santander are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Match12 Sep 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Deportivo La Coruña came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.