Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Leganés is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leganés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Miguel De la Fuente and Leganés agree another 5 years.
Marked 8.02 — 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Leganés have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Leganés they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leganés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Son trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Leganés have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
A 2‑1 win over Real Sociedad B, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Marked 8.42 — 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Aarón Romero will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Leganés the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leganés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Leganés know it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Leganés have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Getafe paid $1.2M and Leganés took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leganés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Jorge Sáenz has his answer from Leganés; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Leganés can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leganés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Add another name to the list: Atlético Madrid have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Marvel. The answer from Leganés has not changed — yet.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Leganés has been clear about where Darío stands, which is more than many ever get.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Leganés that is a harder question to answer.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Leganés is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leganés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The offer from Elche for Rubén Pulido was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Leganés are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Leganés have had the benefit of it.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
20 goals in 39 games at Almería — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Leganés updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
Marked 8.62 — 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
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.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
Marked 9.07 — 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leganés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Dani Rodríguez. 1‑0 against Zaragoza, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Leganés, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Óscar De Marcos 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Leganés, and both men came out saying it was fine.
In brief
The terracesThe press have found their man in Jaime Mata
Óscar De Marcos 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.
Shots: 10. 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.
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Dani Rodríguez has let it be known that he does not like the way Leganés are using him. Managers hear this long before the press does.