Marked for Julio Díaz
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jul 2028
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Aleksa Purić had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Market10 Jul 2028
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Atlético Madrileño can pretend not to have heard.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Manuel Suárez is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 16 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Júnior Firpo 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Julio Díaz and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Ilias Kostis and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market29 May 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad29 May 2028
Júnior Firpo 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.
Squad29 May 2028
Ilias Kostis 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.
Market29 May 2028
A season away well spent by Arnau Ortiz
39 games, 2 goals, and a squad option that has arrived without a fee attached. The interesting question at Atlético Madrileño now is not whether he plays but who he displaces.
The dugout29 May 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market29 May 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Javier Boñar’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad29 May 2028
Questions about Carlos Giménez on the training pitch
The standards have slipped, and in a building where everybody watches everybody it has not gone unremarked. This is how a player loses a place before he loses one.
The dugout29 May 2028
Julio Díaz keeps his manager's vote
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Julio Díaz plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 50. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
This is not rotation. Rayane Belaid has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending otherwise.
Market24 Apr 2028
Jorge Rajado has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Words at Atlético Madrileño training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Bri 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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Pablo Pérez 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 terraces24 Apr 2028
The crowd has taken to Julio Díaz
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.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Appearance number 100 for Julio Díaz
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.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.52 on the card, and the Atlético Madrileño support went home talking about one name.
The dugout24 Apr 2028
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad27 Mar 2028
A fracture rules Javi Serrano out for 37 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Atlético Madrileño will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market27 Mar 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Ilias Kostis in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Mar 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Javi Morcillo and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
Javi Serrano knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Javi Serrano trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Koke
“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.
Market27 Mar 2028
The Javier Boñar story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Javier Boñar signs something — a contract at Atlético Madrileño or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
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Market
The clock does Jorge Rajado’s negotiating for him
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Looking ahead
Looking ahead: the trip to Algeciras
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The dugout
The manager comes out for Julio Díaz
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad6 Mar 2028
Javi Serrano breaks a bone — 60 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Julio Díaz is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Ilias Kostis in trouble away from the ground
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Aleksa Purić 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 dugout6 Mar 2028
“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.
Market6 Mar 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Jano Monserrate’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout6 Mar 2028
Manuel Suárez 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.
Market6 Mar 2028
4 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Atlético Madrileño money.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad29 Nov 2027
The step up is real for Julio Díaz
At 22 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Words at Atlético Madrileño training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Bri 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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Pablo Pérez in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 Nov 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad29 Nov 2027
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Ilias Kostis 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.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
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 Fernando Gómez to a room that had heard them before.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Somebody else is better right now than Horaţiu Moldovan
The team sheet says it in public every week until it changes. The only version of being dropped a footballer cannot argue with, and the one he takes hardest.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Aug 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Juventud Torremolinos waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Koke 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.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Diego Bri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Julio Díaz and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years.
Market16 Aug 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Rayane Belaid signs something — a contract at Atlético Madrileño or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Diego Bri wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Atlético Madrileño have no good answer.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 May 2027
Juan Musso 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.
Market31 May 2027
The shop window has Juan Musso in it
Atlético Madrileño have let the market know Juan Musso can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Jorge Castillo
“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.
Squad31 May 2027
Words at Atlético Madrileño training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dani Martínez 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 May 2027
Salvi Esquivel knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Salvi Esquivel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market31 May 2027
The Javier Boñar story refuses to die
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Javier Boñar signs something — a contract at Atlético Madrileño or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Apr 2027
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Atlético Madrileño are no longer polite ones.
Match24 Apr 2027
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.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Rafa Llorente and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The terraces26 Apr 2027
The crowd has taken to Julio Díaz
At 22 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.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ilias Kostis was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Nobody on the pitch touched Arnau Ortiz
7.78, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Atlético Madrileño had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.47 on the card, and the Atlético Madrileño support went home talking about one name.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Fernando Gómez was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Atlético Madrileño dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings19 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Apr 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Javier Boñar and Atlético Madrileño agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Ilias Kostis 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.
Market19 Apr 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Salvi Esquivel has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Atlético Madrileño.
The dugout19 Apr 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.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Fernando Gómez chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad19 Apr 2027
Words at Atlético Madrileño training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Dani Martínez 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.
Match17 Apr 2027
Ninety minutes, two goalkeepers with clean gloves, and not one finish worth keeping. Juventud Torremolinos will be the happier side with the point.
The dugout19 Apr 2027
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match2 Jan 2027
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad4 Jan 2027
The step up is real for Julio Díaz
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Jan 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 Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Marked 8.05 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Match2 Jan 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Betis Deportivo leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Fernando Gómez after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad4 Jan 2027
He used to be one of the options. He is now one of the men the options are picked around, and the change happened quietly enough that only the dressing room noticed on the day.
Player ratings4 Jan 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.