Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The deal with Racing Club 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.
Luis Segura 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.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dock Sud will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“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 The request is on a desk at Dock Sud, and it is not being withdrawn.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Dock Sud may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Boardroom21 Jul 2036
Deadline passes with 2 signed and 2 gone
That is the business done at Dock Sud until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dock Sud have done the hard part with Banfield, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Franco Rodríguez 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 Luis Segura was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dock Sud will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dock Sud have done the hard part with Brown de Adrogué, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Fernando Di Massimo 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.
Squad14 Jul 2036
Words at Dock Sud training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Segura 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Brown de Adrogué have kept their man, and Dock Sud go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
A loan enquiry to Gimnasia La Plata: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Azael D'Alessandro had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dock Sud will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dock Sud have done the hard part with Barracas Central, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Luis Segura 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Sergio Moreno has, at Dock Sud, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Lautaro Morales has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Dock Sud have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dock Sud will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dock Sud this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Jun 2036
Luis Segura 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 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.
Player ratings30 Jun 2036
Kelvin Abad was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.11. 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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Dock Sud have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dock Sud will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dock Sud can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Dock Sud have done the hard part with Tigre, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Fernando Di Massimo 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.
Squad23 Jun 2036
Words at Dock Sud training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Segura 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dock Sud will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dock Sud can pretend not to have heard.
Everything agreed with Racing Club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Dock Sud this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Dock Sud asked and Defensa y Justicia said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad16 Jun 2036
Abel Amaya 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 87 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Azael D'Alessandro had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Dock Sud can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dock Sud have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dock Sud will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.90 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Franco Rodríguez 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Diego Mercapide and Dock Sud agree another 2 years.
Squad2 Jun 2036
Luis Segura 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dock Sud will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Dock Sud is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Luis Segura 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: Jorge Armoa. 1‑0 against Aldosivi, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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.
The dugout26 May 2036
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Squad26 May 2036
Words at Dock Sud training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Wilder Hurtado 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 108 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dock Sud have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fernando Di Massimo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 May 2036
Words at Dock Sud training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Segura 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dock Sud will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
3 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.
Fernando Di Massimo 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 Luis Segura was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Azael D'Alessandro. 2‑0 against Defensores Unidos, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.87 on the card, and the Dock Sud support went home talking about one name.
The dugout12 May 2036
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 2‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
In brief
BoardroomNobody arrives at Dock Sud until somebody leaves
The dugoutLuis Segura knocks on the manager’s door
Gimnasia y Esgrima will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Dock Sud were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Dock Sud will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.29 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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 Dock Sud, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 8.26 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Abel Amaya was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Dock Sud, another week without a signature from Luis Segura.
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
A 1‑1 win over Atlético Tucumán, a place in the next round, and the quiet arithmetic every supporter does on the walk home: how many more until a final?
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 129 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Estudiantes will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Dock Sud were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Azael D'Alessandro provided it, and the 8.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Dock Sud 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 Dock Sud, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings28 Apr 2036
Up for the corner, and Joaquín Nazar delivers — 7.97
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Joaquín Nazar scored, was marked 7.97, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 136 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
53 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Dock Sud lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Dock Sud will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The offer from Villa San Carlos for Azael D'Alessandro 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.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Dylan Arias reports back to Dock Sud with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Dylan Arias 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.
Luis Segura and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Jan 2036
Words at Dock Sud training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abel Amaya 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Dock Sud have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“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 Nov 2035
Luis Segura 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 club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Dock Sud this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.
2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Dock Sud could ask drops and the wages Marco Coronado can ask rise.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 52 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
13 seasons and 336 appearances, all of them here. Careers like this are not designed; they happen to a certain kind of man at a certain kind of club, and this town has one.
Thiago Salvatierra and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad8 Oct 2035
Abel Amaya 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 1‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
CF Montreal have a 21-year-old the division has just voted its finest young footballer. The club's next problem is that everybody else now knows it too.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bautista Agostinelli will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CF Montreal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Bautista Agostinelli 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.
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.
Héctor Long 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Colin Guske trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at CF Montreal is running low.
“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 CF Montreal, and it is not being withdrawn.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Colin Guske was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at CF Montreal, another week without a signature from Layousse Samb.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CF Montreal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
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.
The mood at CF Montreal 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CF Montreal can pretend not to have heard.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. David Aaronson will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CF Montreal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Evan Ibarolle 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Benyamin Akhandaf will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around CF Montreal the goodbyes have quietly begun.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what CF Montreal can pretend not to have heard.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Benyamin Akhandaf 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.
Squad20 Nov 2034
Words at CF Montreal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dagur Dan Þórhallsson 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.
Evan Ibarolle 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.
5 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee CF Montreal could ask drops and the wages Benyamin Akhandaf can ask rise.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CF Montreal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Nov 2034
Colin Guske 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at CF Montreal, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 CF Montreal, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CF Montreal have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad16 Oct 2034
Words at CF Montreal training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dagur Dan Þórhallsson 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.
Héctor Long 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.
Clubs make promises constantly and the page usually only hears about them when they are broken. This one was honoured, and the dressing room noticed that faster than any supporter did.
“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 CF Montreal, and it is not being withdrawn.
1 for Colin Guske, marked 7.97, 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” CF Montreal have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dagur Dan Þórhallsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Everybody at CF Montreal saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 34 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at CF Montreal this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Interim Coach on a 1‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
Position 15 and 11 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.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 4 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dagur Dan Þórhallsson was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bautista Agostinelli 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.
Both clubs in the mire, one fixture between them, and a ground that will be louder and more frightened than at any point in the season. CF Montreal know what is at stake and so does everybody in the away end.
Dagur Dan Þórhallsson and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Sep 2034
Colin Guske 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.
10 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at CF Montreal, another week without a signature from Bautista Agostinelli.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Shaft Brewer has his answer from CF Montreal; what he does with it is the next window’s story.