Marked for Devan Tanton
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom8 Nov 2032
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Oscar Bacca has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Boardroom8 Nov 2032
Crisis meeting at Llaneros
The official line will be that it was routine. It was not routine, the timing says so, and every person in that room knows what the next bad result costs.
Market8 Nov 2032
“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 The request is on a desk at Llaneros, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout8 Nov 2032
Wilmer Castillo: 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.” Llaneros have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad8 Nov 2032
Franco Ojeda 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.
The dugout8 Nov 2032
This is not rotation. Ferney Rivadeneira has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Llaneros is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 Nov 2032
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yerry Murillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Nov 2032
The manager makes an example of Tomás Guidara
“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.
Market8 Nov 2032
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Nov 2032
Llaneros finish in position 14
36 points, and the season has a number on it. Whatever it felt like from the inside, this is what it will look like in a book.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Llaneros have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad1 Nov 2032
A falling-out at Llaneros
Yerry Murillo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match30 Oct 2032
Carlos Barreiro scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Junior, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Michael Barragán, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Nov 2032
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
Player ratings1 Nov 2032
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market1 Nov 2032
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout1 Nov 2032
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Oscar Bacca after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2032
Words exchanged at Llaneros
Michael Barragán 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 dugout11 Oct 2032
This is not rotation. Ferney Rivadeneira has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Llaneros is pretending otherwise.
The dugout11 Oct 2032
Franco Ojeda 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.
Squad11 Oct 2032
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Federico Ibáñez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad11 Oct 2032
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Leonardo Bacca and Llaneros agree another 3 years.
Market11 Oct 2032
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Llaneros, another week without a signature from Federico Ibáñez.
Looking ahead11 Oct 2032
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Independiente Medellin in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout11 Oct 2032
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market11 Oct 2032
3 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Llaneros money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces20 Sep 2032
Supporters organise against the Llaneros board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
Match18 Sep 2032
Beaten 0‑4 by Deportivo Pasto, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Squad20 Sep 2032
Yerry Murillo 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.
Squad20 Sep 2032
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Yefrín Castillo 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 dugout20 Sep 2032
The manager makes an example of Tomás Guidara
“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.
Boardroom20 Sep 2032
Nobody left the Llaneros dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market20 Sep 2032
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Llaneros, another week without a signature from Devan Tanton.
The dugout20 Sep 2032
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 0‑4 defeat, delivered by Oscar Bacca to a room that had heard them before.
Squad20 Sep 2032
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 5 saves does not settle it either way.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad6 Sep 2032
18 days out for Jhojan Escobar after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Llaneros will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Boardroom6 Sep 2032
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Market6 Sep 2032
“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.
Squad6 Sep 2032
A falling-out at Llaneros
Yerry Murillo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout6 Sep 2032
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Franco Ojeda, and the manager let it.
Market6 Sep 2032
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
The dugout6 Sep 2032
Franco Ojeda without the man who signed him
Every squad is half players the manager chose and half players he inherited. Franco Ojeda was chosen, the man who chose him has gone, and he starts again from nothing under the next one.
The dugout6 Sep 2032
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead6 Sep 2032
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Atletico Bucaramanga in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad9 Aug 2032
A fracture rules Jhojan Escobar out for 46 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Llaneros will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market9 Aug 2032
“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.
Squad9 Aug 2032
A falling-out at Llaneros
Yerry Murillo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match7 Aug 2032
Once Caldas left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout9 Aug 2032
Franco Ojeda 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.
Squad9 Aug 2032
A row about effort at Llaneros
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Federico Ibáñez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad9 Aug 2032
The decline has begun for Luis Cáceres
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 36 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Llaneros is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
Market9 Aug 2032
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
The dugout9 Aug 2032
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Oscar Bacca left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Jun 2032
Jhojan Escobar breaks a bone — 102 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 102 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Match12 Jun 2032
8 matches without a win for Llaneros
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Llaneros are no longer polite ones.
Market14 Jun 2032
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Llaneros people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market14 Jun 2032
“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.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2032
$140.0K settles it between the clubs for Efraín Ustariz
La Equidad have accepted the money. What Llaneros do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Player ratings14 Jun 2032
A defender's goal wins it for Llaneros — 7.72
1 for Dubán Ayala, marked 7.72, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Squad14 Jun 2032
A falling-out at Llaneros
Yerry Murillo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jun 2032
Everybody saw it before anybody said it. At 35 the numbers say 3 points down on what he was, and the question for Llaneros is how to handle a man they owe a great deal.
The dugout14 Jun 2032
“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
Squad17 May 2032
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.
Match15 May 2032
The wait goes on for Llaneros
4 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.
Squad17 May 2032
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Michael Barragán commits to Llaneros for another 3 years.
Match15 May 2032
The goals have deserted Llaneros
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Llaneros can tell you which week it ends in.
Squad17 May 2032
A falling-out at Llaneros
Michael Barragán and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 May 2032
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 36 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
Match15 May 2032
Atletico Nacional left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings17 May 2032
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 11 combined actions and a mark of 6.78, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Market17 May 2032
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad12 Apr 2032
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Llaneros lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Match10 Apr 2032
The wait goes on for Llaneros
8 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.
The dugout12 Apr 2032
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Llaneros may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Apr 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Apr 2032
0‑2 to Aguilas Doradas, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout12 Apr 2032
Devan Tanton 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.
Player ratings12 Apr 2032
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout12 Apr 2032
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 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Oscar Bacca to a room that had heard them before.
The dugout12 Apr 2032
The manager has not finished forgetting Devan Tanton's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad9 Feb 2032
A knee injury of the worst kind for Tití Rodríguez
103 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Llaneros lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The terraces9 Feb 2032
Supporters organise against the Llaneros board
A bad atmosphere can be waited out. A group of people meeting afterwards to decide what to do about it cannot, and everybody in the building knows which stage this is.
The dugout9 Feb 2032
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Llaneros may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market9 Feb 2032
“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.
Squad9 Feb 2032
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match7 Feb 2032
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Carlos Barreiro. 1‑0 against Leones, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The dugout9 Feb 2032
“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 ratings9 Feb 2032
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad9 Feb 2032
11 new faces, and Llaneros 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The terraces20 Jan 2031
Anger at Real Cartagena spills outside the ground
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Market20 Jan 2031
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Real Cartagena can pretend not to have heard.
Squad20 Jan 2031
Words at Real Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gustavo Reyes 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.
Market20 Jan 2031
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jaen Pineda’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Looking ahead20 Jan 2031
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Jaen Pineda’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Real Cartagena needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Market20 Jan 2031
6 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Real Cartagena money.
The dugout20 Jan 2031
David Barbosa 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 Real Cartagena, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout20 Jan 2031
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Real Cartagena. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market20 Jan 2031
Real Cartagena have made Devan Tanton available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market30 Dec 2030
The bid was some way short and Real Cartagena did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market30 Dec 2030
Devan Tanton 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 Real Cartagena can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout30 Dec 2030
This is not rotation. Toni Villa has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Real Cartagena is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets30 Dec 2030
The paperwork begins on César Ortiz
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Real Cartagena have done the hard part with America de Cali, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad30 Dec 2030
César Bravo 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 dugout30 Dec 2030
Something was said to Edison López and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad30 Dec 2030
Gustavo Reyes 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 dugout30 Dec 2030
César Bravo gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say César Bravo is on it.
The dugout30 Dec 2030
Luis Guevara 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 Luis Guevara trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.