Leandro Umpiérrez

Attacking Midfielder (R) - Penarol
10 Jan 2028
Monday
Process
71 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

6 Dec 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Nacional come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Penarol did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Jesús Trindade 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 Penarol can pretend not to have heard.

Market

Eduardo Darias wants to know where this is going

“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Penarol hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Squad

Sebastián Britos signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Sebastián Britos commits to Penarol for another 1 years.

Boardroom

Penarol release $2.0M for the manager

The board have put money on the table rather than an encouraging word. What happens to it now is somebody else's problem, and somebody else's job.

Market

Cerrito expected to open talks for Renzo Cupla

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Penarol will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

In brief

Back issues
67 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

8 Nov 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Still nobody has beaten Penarol

The unbeaten run reaches 9. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Match

Penarol get the job done against Huachipato

A 3-1 win over Huachipato, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Squad

Matías Arezo 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; Matías Arezo will call it something else in private.

Squad

Luis Miguel Ángulo is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.26 with 4 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

Stiven Muhlethaler 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.

Squad

Javier Cabrera finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Penarol have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Market

Tomás Gemelli leaves Penarol for nothing

No fee, no negotiation, no argument: Tomás Gemelli moves on to another club with his contract settled and the wage bill a little lighter.

The terraces

The press cannot get enough of Gastón Togni

Praise is not points and never has been. It is, however, the fastest way for a valuation to move, and everybody in the game reads the same pages.

Boardroom

Penarol board back the manager

A public word of support from the board and, more usefully, an understanding about what the next window will look like.

In brief

64 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

18 Oct 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Đorđe Nikolić asks to leave Penarol

“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.

Squad

Penarol lose Abel Hernández

17 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

Brandon Álvarez stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Brandon Álvarez and Penarol agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

In brief

60 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

20 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Đorđe Nikolić asks to leave Penarol

“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.

Match

Still nobody has beaten Penarol

The unbeaten run reaches 6. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.

Match

Penarol see off Alianza Lima

Three points for Penarol, 2-0 the final word against Alianza Lima in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Squad

Nahuel Herrera is in the form of his life

A season average of 7.42 with 7 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.

Squad

Đorđe Nikolić 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.

Loan watch

Leandro Umpiérrez first choice at Fenix

30 starts and a season average of 7.03. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.

In brief

58 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

6 Sep 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Penarol are in among the leaders

Position 1 and 59 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.

Market

Eduardo Darias wants more than Penarol are offering

“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Nicolás 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.

Boardroom

$2.0M on the table at Penarol

The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.

Match

No goals between Penarol and Plaza Colonia

Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Plaza Colonia will be the happier side with the point.

Squad

Matías Arezo 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 Penarol, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Squad

International call for Nahuel Herrera

Nahuel Herrera joins up with his country. Penarol lose him for the window and would like him back in one piece.

Squad

Is this Jesús Trindade’s last season?

“I will know when it is time. I am not there yet.” Jesús Trindade is 34, with 10 appearances behind him, and Penarol will have to plan for whichever answer comes.

Loan watch

3 goals on loan for Franco González

30 appearances at Cerro and the goals keep coming. Penarol are watching this more closely than the borrowing club would like.

In brief

55 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

16 Aug 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Penarol find a way past Liverpool Montevideo

Liverpool Montevideo made Penarol work for it, but the scoreboard read 2-1 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Penarol lose Facundo Álvez

45 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Đorđe Nikolić

“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.

Squad

Gastón Togni is carrying Penarol

3 goals and a season average of 7.28. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Squad

Eduardo Darias finally opens his account

He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Penarol have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.

Loan watch

Fenix cannot leave Leandro Umpiérrez out

27 starts and an average of 7.02. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.

In brief

51 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

19 Jul 2027
From our football correspondent Triumph

Market

Đorđe Nikolić 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 Penarol can pretend not to have heard.

Match

Penarol make it 4 in a row

Momentum is a hard thing to buy and an easy thing to lose, and right now Penarol have 4 straight wins of it.

Market

Penarol sell Mauricio Lemos for $760.0K

Mauricio Lemos has left for Plaza Colonia in a $760.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Match

Penarol see off Miramar Misiones

Three points for Penarol, 1-0 the final word against Miramar Misiones in a contest settled by the finer margins.

Market

Cerrito watching Renzo Cupla

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Penarol have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Squad

No place for Abel Hernández 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 Penarol pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Đorđe Nikolić

“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.

Market

Fenix are about to pick up the phone

A conversation is coming this week. Penarol will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.

Squad

Gastón Togni suspended

One booking too many, and Gastón Togni sits out. Penarol lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.

In brief

47 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

21 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Franco Escobar asks to leave Penarol

“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.

Market

Emiliano Márquez is a Penarol player

The fee is $1.5M, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Central Espanol drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.

Match

8 unbeaten for Penarol

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Penarol did not have in the autumn.

Market

another club watching Emiliano Márquez

The interest is real enough to have reached print. Penarol have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.

Market

Penarol sell Francisco Fernández for $33.0K

Francisco Fernández has left for Plaza Colonia in a $33.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Julián 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.

Squad

Eduardo Darias suspended

One booking too many, and Eduardo Darias sits out. Penarol lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.

Squad

Abel Hernández 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 Penarol, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Match

Penarol draw a blank against Nacional

The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Nacional defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.

In brief

45 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

7 Jun 2027
From our football correspondent Triumph

Market

Đorđe Nikolić 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 Penarol can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Đorđe Nikolić: 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.” Penarol have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Market

Penarol turn down Rampla Juniors for Leonardo Fernández

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Eduardo Darias wants to know where this is going

“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Penarol hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Market

Facundo Batista moves on

Rentistas pay $1.6M, 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.

Match

Penarol find a way past Juventud

Juventud made Penarol work for it, but the scoreboard read 3-2 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Match

6 unbeaten for Penarol

Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 6 matches without defeat is a foundation Penarol did not have in the autumn.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Eduardo Darias

“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.

Squad

Nahuel Herrera is carrying Penarol

5 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

In brief

42 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

17 May 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Penarol up to position 3

24 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Market

Franco Escobar 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 Penarol can pretend not to have heard.

Match

Penarol find a way past Cerro Largo

Cerro Largo made Penarol work for it, but the scoreboard read 1-0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Mauricio Lemos 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.

Market

Nobody mentions the fee for Marius Tanase any more

9 appearances at 6.85 and a dressing room that has quietly stopped counting. The hardest weeks of any transfer are the ones nobody writes about.

Squad

Tomás Gemelli 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 Penarol, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Loan watch

Alexander Machado keeps scoring at Defensor Sporting

13 appearances away from home and 1 goals to show for them. Every one of them makes next summer's conversation a little more expensive.

Loan watch

Fenix cannot leave Leandro Umpiérrez out

14 starts and an average of 6.88. He went there to play and he is playing, which is the only thing a loan was ever for.

Squad

Eduardo Darias named in the team of the week

A rating of 6.86 was enough for the selectors, and nobody who watched the match is going to argue with them.

In brief

30 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

22 Feb 2027
From our football correspondent Steady

Match

Juventud take the points off Penarol

Beaten 0-1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Emanuel Gularte

“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.

Boardroom

Inquest at Penarol

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 watch

Leandro Umpiérrez has seen enough of Fenix

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Penarol, and 2 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Nicolás 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.

Squad

Renzo Cupla makes his debut at 18

At 18 years old, Renzo Cupla became the latest name off the academy production line to be handed a senior shirt.

In brief

26 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

25 Jan 2027
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Loan watch

Leandro Umpiérrez has seen enough of Fenix

“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Penarol, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.

Squad

Facundo Batista 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.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Tiago Glattli

“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.

In brief

22 Edition

The Penarol Chronicle

28 Dec 2026
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Market

Mauricio Lemos 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 Penarol can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

The manager makes an example of Mauricio Lemos

“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.

Market

Penarol put Jesús Trindade up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Jesús Trindade may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

Squad

Matías González 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 Penarol, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Leandro Umpiérrez leaves on loan

Leandro Umpiérrez joins Fenix on loan in search of the minutes he could not find at Penarol.

Market

Nobody is asking about Matías González any more

A fortnight of speculation and then nothing at all — no bid, no talks, no move. He is a Penarol player, and the column can go back to the football.

In brief