Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Camilo Arturo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Leones 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 Leones this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad29 Mar 2032
Antonio Díaz 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.
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 ratings29 Mar 2032
Bryan Caicedo was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Leones told Leyner Palacios something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Leones lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
7 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
0‑1 to Valledupar, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout16 Feb 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 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Interim Coach to a room that had heard them before.
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
27 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Leones lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
6 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.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Diego Ceballos and Leones agree another 2 years.
Juan Diego Ceballos 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.
Squad9 Feb 2032
Antonio Díaz 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.
Nobody at Leones will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Johan Muñoz
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leones lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Once Caldas kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Leones will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Camilo Arturo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Leones the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Juan Diego Ceballos 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 words a physio says slowly. 41 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.
0‑3 to Santa Fe, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jeycob Zabaleta will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Leones the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Leones can tell you which week it ends in.
9 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad26 Jan 2032
Words at Leones training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Díaz 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.
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leones lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at Leones will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The words a physio says slowly. 55 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Leones people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Alexis Zapata 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 pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Héctor Long, and the manager let it.
Squad12 Jan 2032
Nickolas Pino 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.
Leones spent the window trying to move Alexis Zapata on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Leones. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The words a physio says slowly. 62 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.
“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 Leones, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Camilo Arturo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Leones the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Squad5 Jan 2032
Words at Leones training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Héctor Long 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 manager has re-ordered his thinking and Fabián Caicedo has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Leones, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Leones spent the window trying to move Gian Cabezas on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leones lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Leones have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“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 Leones, and it is not being withdrawn.
Antonio Díaz 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 phone has started ringing about Jeycob Zabaleta again, and this time the name on the line is Barranquilla. Leones are listening politely and promising nothing.
76 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leones lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Leones can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Leones people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Leones and Junior have settled on $930.0K. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.
Antonio Díaz 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.
Leones have gone to Independiente Medellin with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
The chase for Cristian Quiñónes ended with $83.0K changing hands and Tigres out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Cristian Quiñónes has, at Leones, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nickolas Pino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
83 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Leones lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Patriotas waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Leones is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Leones had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at São Paulo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Juan Diego Ceballos 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.
Squad15 Dec 2031
Antonio Díaz 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Once Caldas have kept their man, and Leones go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Leones can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Alexis Zapata 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 name of Jordan Ferrín has come up in conversations Leones were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
97 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leones lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Leones is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Antonio Díaz 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 manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Alexis Zapata has his answer from Leones; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Leones have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Leones is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“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 Leones, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Óscar Segura will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Leones 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 Leones this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Nov 2031
Antonio Díaz 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.
In brief
The dugoutAntonio Díaz has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Johan Muñoz
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Leones they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.
Juan Diego Ceballos 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.
Squad15 Sep 2031
Words at Leones training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Antonio Díaz 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.
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leones lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Leones have lost him in all but the paperwork.
6 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.
“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 Leones, and it is not being withdrawn.
Alexis Zapata 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 board was up, the win was priced in, and then Fortaleza CEIF scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Brandon Hinestroza and Leones agree another 3 years.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Antonio Díaz 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.
146 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Leones lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Alexis Zapata 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 easiest signature of my career.” Alejandro Gutiérrez and Leones agree another 1 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad28 Apr 2031
Antonio Díaz 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Leones have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leones this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
8.36. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Level with 87 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Leones had all but put away. Barranquilla will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Cristian Rodríguez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Leones has been clear about where Óscar Segura stands, which is more than many ever get.
“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 Leones, and it is not being withdrawn.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Leones have done the hard part with Atletico Nacional, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Leones is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Leones will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
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.
In brief
The dugoutJordi Cortizo knocks on the manager’s door
“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 Leones, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Leones have lost him in all but the paperwork.
0-5, and long before the end the away end had switched from encouragement to something considerably more pointed. Nobody rings a phone-in about losing narrowly.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 6 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Leones can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Leones this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Antonio Díaz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Leones ran out of time with Once Caldas. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 24 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 Leones, and it is not being withdrawn.
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad20 May 2030
Roinner Fruto 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.
Nickolas Pino 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Leones told Alejandro Lopera something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
“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.
The dugout20 May 2030
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Leones dressing room was either.