Marked for Edison Unocc
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Nov 2027
58 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Ayacucho lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The terraces22 Nov 2027
The mood at Ayacucho has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom22 Nov 2027
Pressure builds in the Ayacucho boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad22 Nov 2027
65 days out for Diego Encinas after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ayacucho will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad22 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Alonso Tamariz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces25 Oct 2027
The mood at Ayacucho has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom25 Oct 2027
The scrutiny sharpens at Ayacucho
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Ayacucho is running low.
Squad25 Oct 2027
A fracture rules Diego Encinas out for 95 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ayacucho will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The terraces27 Sep 2027
The mood at Ayacucho has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Boardroom27 Sep 2027
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Ayacucho
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Squad27 Sep 2027
123 days out for Diego Encinas after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Ayacucho will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market27 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Ayacucho can pretend not to have heard.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Daniel Abello and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Yéiner Vargas was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Deyair Reyes
“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 dugout27 Sep 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ayacucho, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout27 Sep 2027
Edison Unocc has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ayacucho 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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
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 2027
Yéiner Vargas 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 Ayacucho can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Jorge Bosmediano 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Abello 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.
Loan watch6 Sep 2027
“I watch every Ayacucho game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Melgar runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Erick Chávez commits to Ayacucho for another 2 years.
Squad6 Sep 2027
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Santiago Ormeño is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
Kevin Ferreyra has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ayacucho 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 dugout6 Sep 2027
Edison Unocc loses the manager who believed in him
A change in the dugout is not one story, it is twenty-five of them. This is Edison Unocc's: he was somebody's player, and now he has to be somebody else's, starting from nothing.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match23 Aug 2027
Ayacucho are in real trouble now
Position 11, 15 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad23 Aug 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 Ayacucho this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kevin Ferreyra 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 dugout23 Aug 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Paolo Méndez, and the manager let it.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Ayacucho, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Edison Unocc has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Ayacucho 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Jul 2027
Every point is an argument now for Ayacucho
Position 11 and 15 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sporting Cristal is saying, and nobody at Ayacucho is enjoying the guessing.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Paul Bashi: 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.” Ayacucho have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Window shuts: 2 in, 1 out at Ayacucho
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Squad26 Jul 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 Ayacucho this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Daniel Abello 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
A stepping stone, not a home, for Daniel Abello
He is doing his job and he is not settling. Ayacucho were supposed to be a step up in his own reckoning, and his own reckoning has been adjusted since he arrived.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
The clock did what Cienciano would not, and ended it. Supporters who watched the countdown will spend the next window doing it again.
The dugout26 Jul 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Fee done, terms next for Andy Polo
Ayacucho and Universitario have settled on $700.0K. 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.
Match12 Jun 2027
No end in sight to Ayacucho's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Ayacucho has to find a result from somewhere.
Market14 Jun 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 Ayacucho, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
The deal with Cesar Vallejo is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Transfer targets14 Jun 2027
Ayacucho offered $100.0K; Universitario said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad14 Jun 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Paolo Méndez 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 dugout14 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Saúl Reyes
“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.
Looking ahead14 Jun 2027
A six-pointer for Ayacucho
Cesar Vallejo next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
The dugout14 Jun 2027
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Ayacucho pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Mar 2027
Carlos Jiménez wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Carlos Jiménez found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Cesar Vallejo went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan Neira and Ayacucho agree another 2 years.
Match6 Mar 2027
Ayacucho leaking at the back
5 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.
Match6 Mar 2027
Alianza Lima left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad8 Mar 2027
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Paolo Méndez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces8 Mar 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.
The dugout8 Mar 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 Mar 2027
A row about effort at Ayacucho
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jeisson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Jorge Bosmediano 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 dugout1 Feb 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Saúl Reyes, and the manager let it.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeisson 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.
Looking ahead1 Feb 2027
The leaders are next for Ayacucho
Deportivo Municipal top the table and they are coming into view. Nothing to lose, which is what every manager says before losing.
Looking ahead1 Feb 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Deportivo Municipal in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
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 Kevin Ferreyra is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad5 Oct 2026
A fracture rules Diego Encinas out for 15 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Ayacucho will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Market5 Oct 2026
“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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Manuel Olaya and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Saúl Reyes 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.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The captaincy has been taken off Alonso Tamariz. Ayacucho will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
Alonso Tamariz 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
A falling-out at Ayacucho
Manuel Olaya and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeisson 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
No place for Erick Chávez in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Ayacucho are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
Market7 Sep 2026
Ayacucho bring in an old head
Gianfranco Castellanos is 38 and has run out of things to prove. What he has left is where to stand, when to slow it down and what to say at half-time, and none of that is on a fitness chart.
Market7 Sep 2026
Experience through the door at Ayacucho
Erick Chávez arrives at 38 with nothing left to prove and plenty left to pass on. Legs are a young man's currency; knowing where to stand never ages.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Dick Ríos moves up the pecking order
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Ayacucho than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words exchanged at Ayacucho
Manuel Olaya 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Words at Ayacucho training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jeisson 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 dugout31 Aug 2026
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.