Jabes Saralegui 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 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.
Rosario Central will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Lucas Ramos López has pre-agreed a move to Tigre, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Nobody at Tigre 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.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Emiliano Campos after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Something was said to Francisco Facello and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
A 4‑2 win over Central Córdoba SdE, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Marked 7.90. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chacarita Juniors and Central Córdoba SdE in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lisandro Montenegro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mario Sanabria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Milton Leyendeker 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.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
24 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
There is no crueller way to lose a football match. Chacarita Juniors scored in the 90th minute, the restart barely happened, and the away end was still standing when the whistle went.
“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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from IFK Mariehamn for Misael Jaime 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Alexis Domínguez. 2‑1 against San Telmo, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
38 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
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.
Francisco Facello 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.
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Successful dribbles: 39. 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Calderara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A touch he did not mean and a goal that goes in the book with his name against it. Chacarita Juniors will not blame him tonight and he will not need them to.
The words a physio says slowly. 66 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.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
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 offer from KAMAZ for Pablo Ortiz 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.
Francisco Facello 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 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 words a physio says slowly. 73 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.
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.
A 3‑1 win over Defensores Unidos, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
3 straight away victories. Sides that win away are usually sides that can defend and can counter, and the table has begun to reflect what those journeys have earned.
Add another name to the list: KAMAZ have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Pablo Ortiz. The answer from Chacarita Juniors has not changed — yet.
The words a physio says slowly. 80 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Chacarita Juniors have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Doxa had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.
Player ratings8 Feb 2027
A brace, and Álvaro Cuello takes the afternoon — 8.25
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Álvaro Cuello provided it, and the 8.25 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Successful dribbles: 27. 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.
“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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
The instruction came from the boardroom and the dugout did not agree with it. Somebody will go, the fee will be called good business, and the manager will spend the season rebuilding around the space.
The words a physio says slowly. 87 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.
Francisco Facello 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 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chacarita Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Gonzalo Mottes’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Chacarita Juniors needing him to play as if none of it matters.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Alexis Domínguez signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 94 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lisandro Montenegro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Federico Losas signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The words a physio says slowly. 101 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 last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Chacarita Juniors have lost him in all but the paperwork.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors 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 Lisandro Montenegro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Gastón Fernández has his answer from Chacarita Juniors; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lisandro Montenegro trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
108 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The offer from AZAL for Misael Jaime 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lisandro Montenegro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lisandro Montenegro trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gonzalo Mottes signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
111 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Ezequiel Gerez had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Francisco Facello 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lisandro Montenegro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The words a physio says slowly. 118 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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Chacarita Juniors people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lisandro Montenegro 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.
Francisco Facello 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 has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Federico Losas signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
126 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors 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. Chacarita Juniors have lost him in all but the paperwork.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Chaco For Ever keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Miguel Mellado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chacarita Juniors the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Miguel Mellado has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Lisandro Montenegro wants continental football; whether Chacarita Juniors can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Axel Guerra 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
Add another name to the list: Aragua have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Francisco Facello. The answer from Chacarita Juniors has not changed — yet.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Temperley have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Axel Guerra 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Chacarita Juniors has been clear about where Miguel Mellado stands, which is more than many ever get.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chacarita Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Ezequiel Gerez had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brian Calderara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Francisco Facello 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.” Brian Calderara has his answer from Chacarita Juniors; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
The registration window is open and the phone has started. Between now and the deadline this club will be linked with forty players and sign three, which is the usual ratio.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Misael Jaime trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Chacarita Juniors. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Calderara 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Axel Guerra trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lisandro Montenegro 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
29 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chacarita Juniors know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Chacarita Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Axel Guerra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Milton Leyendeker 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.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
In brief
The dugoutEzequiel Moya asks for a word with the manager
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lisandro Montenegro was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Francisco Facello 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 demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Francisco Facello is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Lisandro Montenegro trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Federico Losas signs something — a contract at Chacarita Juniors or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Chacarita Juniors than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
14 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Axel Guerra 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.
29 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Axel Guerra was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
100 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.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
In brief
The dugoutAxel Guerra knocks on the manager’s door
The words a physio says slowly. 19 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.
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Mario Sanabria. 2‑0 against Almirante Brown, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Luis Castillo has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Felipe Gutiérrez has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Iván Méndez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Miguel Sosa has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Alexis Domínguez at his very best
26 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Francisco Facello 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brian Calderara 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.
“I watch every Chacarita Juniors game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Fehervar runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Diego Álvarez was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Chacarita Juniors dressing room was either.
40 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Lisandro Montenegro wants continental football; whether Chacarita Juniors can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Maximiliano Meléndez has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Milton Leyendeker was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Sergio Vittor and Chacarita Juniors agree another 2 years.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Francisco Facello 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Milton Leyendeker 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.
49 months left and silence from upstairs — no offer, no talks, nothing for his people to answer. Clubs that let a calendar do their negotiating usually end up negotiating with the calendar.
31 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
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 Diego Álvarez to a room that had heard them before.