Marked for Tomás Ramírez
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Apr 2029
A 0‑3 beating by Sportivo Luqueno was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market9 Apr 2029
Juan Roldán 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 Cerro Porteno can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout9 Apr 2029
“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.
Market9 Apr 2029
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Cerro Porteno they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Fabricio Domínguez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match7 Apr 2029
After 6 games, Cerro Porteno finally taste it again
The first defeat in 6 matches. The manager will say it had to come; the dressing room will say it did not have to come against Sportivo Luqueno; the supporters will say both, in that order, all week.
Looking ahead9 Apr 2029
The fixture the rest of the division is looking forward to more than either of the sides in it. Both know a win changes the season and a defeat does not end it, which is what makes it hard to play.
Squad9 Apr 2029
Words at Cerro Porteno training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Tomás Ramírez 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.
Boardroom9 Apr 2029
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match19 Mar 2029
Position 2 and 19 points on the board. Nobody at the ground will say the word out loud yet, and everybody at the ground is thinking it.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Two goals and a mark of 8.28 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Match17 Mar 2029
Nobody wants to play Cerro Porteno right now
5 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.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Fabricio Domínguez 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.
Match17 Mar 2029
Libertad made Cerro Porteno work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Match17 Mar 2029
The run at home goes on for Cerro Porteno
8 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad19 Mar 2029
Tomás Ramírez 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.
Player ratings19 Mar 2029
Successful dribbles: 17. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Market19 Mar 2029
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market5 Mar 2029
Blás Riveros 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 Cerro Porteno can pretend not to have heard.
Match3 Mar 2029
Nobody wants to play Cerro Porteno right now
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.
Squad5 Mar 2029
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Fabricio Domínguez and Cerro Porteno agree another 3 years.
Squad5 Mar 2029
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cerro Porteno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match3 Mar 2029
Three points for Cerro Porteno, 1‑0 the final word against 2 de Mayo in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Market5 Mar 2029
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Ángel Martínez wants continental football; whether Cerro Porteno can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Market5 Mar 2029
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Tomás Ramírez has his answer from Cerro Porteno; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad5 Mar 2029
Mateo Klimowicz 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.
Player ratings5 Mar 2029
The afternoon belonged to Alan Soñora
A mark of 7.94, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager makes an example of Hugo Benítez
-
Squad
A place in the month's best eleven for Fabricio Domínguez
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad26 Feb 2029
Iván Leguizamón 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.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Marked 8.48 — 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.
Squad26 Feb 2029
Juan Salcedo 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.
Player ratings26 Feb 2029
Successful dribbles: 18. 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 dugout26 Feb 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Junior Barreto, and the manager let it.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
Jose Valdez: “That is the standard”
“That is what I want every week. Not the result, the way they went about it.” The manager, after 2‑0, already talking about the next one.
The dugout26 Feb 2029
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 Fabricio Domínguez is on it.
Squad26 Feb 2029
The division's best last weekend was a Cerro Porteno man
It is a small honour and it is not nothing: somebody watched every match in the division and decided that Luis Amarilla was the best thing in any of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match22 Jan 2029
52 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Market22 Jan 2029
“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.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Cerro Porteno may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Fabricio Domínguez 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.
Market22 Jan 2029
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Words at Cerro Porteno training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mateo Klimowicz 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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
“The easiest signature of my career.” Pablo Almiron and Cerro Porteno agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
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.
The dugout22 Jan 2029
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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market15 Jan 2029
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Cerro Porteno is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Fabricio Domínguez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad15 Jan 2029
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Ramírez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad15 Jan 2029
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jonás Rojas commits to Cerro Porteno for another 4 years.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
Tomás Ramírez gets picked when it counts
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 Tomás Ramírez is on it.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
José Devecchi 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.
The dugout15 Jan 2029
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.
Squad15 Jan 2029
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Cerro Porteno would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Nov 2028
Cerro Porteno announce themselves in Europe
5‑0 against Alianza Atletico, on a night that will be replayed at this club for a generation. Continental reputations are made in single evenings and this was the evening.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
A brace, and Iván Leguizamón takes the afternoon — 8.58
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Iván Leguizamón provided it, and the 8.58 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
Two goals and a mark of 8.35 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
Age has not caught Iván Ramírez yet — 7.89
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.89 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad13 Nov 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Cerro Porteno this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad13 Nov 2028
Blás Riveros 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.
Player ratings13 Nov 2028
Marked 8.24 — 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.
The dugout13 Nov 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.
The dugout13 Nov 2028
A player who expected to start watched it instead. The manager will call it a decision for the team; Tomás Ramírez will call it something else in private.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match7 Aug 2028
52 points, and the rest of the division looking up. Every side that finishes first spends the season pretending it is not thinking about it, and this one has started pretending.
Market7 Aug 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tobías Portillo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Cerro Porteno the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Fabricio Domínguez 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.
Squad7 Aug 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alejandro Maciel and Cerro Porteno agree another 3 years.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mateo Klimowicz was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Aug 2028
Abel Luciatti makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
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.
The dugout7 Aug 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Gabriel Molinas, and the manager let it.
Market7 Aug 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Alberto Mongelós has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Cerro Porteno.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market17 Jul 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings17 Jul 2028
A brace, and Thiago Lauro takes the afternoon — 8.23
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Thiago Lauro provided it, and the 8.23 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
$95.0K settles it between the clubs for Ignacio Cardozo
Vélez have accepted the money. What Morón do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market17 Jul 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Morón is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Market17 Jul 2028
Morón say no — this time
The offer from All Boys for Luciano Guaycochea 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.
Match15 Jul 2028
No end in sight to Morón's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Morón has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words exchanged at Morón
Iván Vaquero 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 dugout17 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Mauro Burruchaga has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Morón is pretending otherwise.
Match15 Jul 2028
2‑3 to Estudiantes, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
In brief
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Squad
A row about effort at Morón
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The terraces
Morón supporters have found a favourite in Thiago Lauro
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market3 Jul 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market3 Jul 2028
Morón say no — this time
The offer from Central Norte for Marcos Acuña 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.
The dugout3 Jul 2028
This is not rotation. Fernando Arce has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Morón is pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words exchanged at Morón
Tomás Ramírez 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.
Market3 Jul 2028
Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Morón will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Words at Morón training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mariano Bittolo 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.
Market3 Jul 2028
Mariano Bittolo is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Morón has been clear about where Mariano Bittolo stands, which is more than many ever get.
The dugout3 Jul 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.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 10 actions, 6.75, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
In brief
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Boardroom
Wages swallow 99% of the Morón income
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Boardroom
Morón sign 3 boys into the academy
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match17 Jun 2028
4‑1, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Market19 Jun 2028
“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.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.19, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Market19 Jun 2028
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Morón people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market19 Jun 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mauro Burruchaga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Morón the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Words exchanged at Morón
Iván Vaquero 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.
Squad19 Jun 2028
Santiago Kubiszyn 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 dugout19 Jun 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emanuel Iñíguez, and the manager let it.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Marked 8.21 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market12 Jun 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.11 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Transfer targets12 Jun 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Morón have done the hard part with Temperley, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Morón
Santiago Kubiszyn and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
This is not rotation. Valentino Huertas has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Morón is pretending otherwise.
Match10 Jun 2028
Three points for Morón, 3‑2 the final word against Central Norte in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Morón training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mariano Bittolo 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 terraces12 Jun 2028
He is 23 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.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market29 May 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Juan Martín Rojas will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Morón the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market29 May 2028
Fernando Arce 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 Morón can pretend not to have heard.
Player ratings29 May 2028
At 38 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.05 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad29 May 2028
A falling-out at Morón
Iván Vaquero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad29 May 2028
Santiago Kubiszyn 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.
Match27 May 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Gonzalo Berterame. 3‑1 against Colón, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings29 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout29 May 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Raúl Moreno, on a 3‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout29 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Valentino Huertas, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 May 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market22 May 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market22 May 2028
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Mauro Burruchaga will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Morón the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market22 May 2028
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Morón can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad22 May 2028
Mariano Bittolo 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.
Squad22 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Morón this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout22 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás Ramírez, and the manager let it.
Match20 May 2028
0‑1 to Chacarita Juniors, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout22 May 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Raúl Moreno after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market15 May 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad15 May 2028
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Age has not caught Franco Toloza yet — 8.22
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.22 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout15 May 2028
This is not rotation. Valentino Huertas has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Morón is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 May 2028
Mariano Bittolo 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.
Squad15 May 2028
A falling-out at Morón
Marcos Acuña and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match13 May 2028
A goal on 85 minutes turned three points into one and a good afternoon into an argument about game management that will run until Saturday.
Match13 May 2028
A 2‑2 draw with San Martín SJ leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout15 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Marcos Acuña
“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.
In brief
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Boardroom
The numbers do not look good at Morón
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The dugout
Tomás Ramírez asks for a word with the manager
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The dugout
Half-satisfied: Raúl Moreno on the draw
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 May 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match6 May 2028
At last: Morón win one
8 matches without a win, and then this, against Acassuso. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.
Squad8 May 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Mariano Bittolo and Morón agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout8 May 2028
This is not rotation. Fernando Arce has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Morón is pretending otherwise.
Squad8 May 2028
Words at Morón training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Santiago Kubiszyn 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 terraces8 May 2028
Morón supporters have found a favourite in Thiago Lauro
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Thiago Lauro 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.
Match6 May 2028
Acassuso made Morón work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings8 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad8 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Morón this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match29 Apr 2028
The wait goes on for Morón
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Market1 May 2028
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Morón is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad1 May 2028
Tempers go at Morón
Santiago Kubiszyn 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.
Squad1 May 2028
A row about effort at Morón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mariano Bittolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market1 May 2028
Samuel Chamorro is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Morón has been clear about where Samuel Chamorro stands, which is more than many ever get.
Market1 May 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Player ratings1 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. 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 dugout1 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Ramiro Paludi
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market27 Mar 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Morón they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market27 Mar 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Words exchanged at Morón
Iván Vaquero 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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Santiago Kubiszyn 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 dugout27 Mar 2028
Tomás Ramírez knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Morón, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market27 Mar 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Gonzalo Berterame signs something — a contract at Morón or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout27 Mar 2028
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.
Squad27 Mar 2028
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 Morón have no good answer.
Market27 Mar 2028
Morón have let the market know Juan Martín Rojas can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market20 Mar 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market20 Mar 2028
Morón may not be able to give Thiago Lauro what he wants
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Thiago Lauro wants continental football; whether Morón can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Mariano Bittolo 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.
Match18 Mar 2028
0‑2 to Nueva Chicago, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout20 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.
Squad20 Mar 2028
Tempers go at Morón
Ramiro Paludi 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 dugout20 Mar 2028
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.
The dugout20 Mar 2028
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Raúl Moreno after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match5 Feb 2028
Gonzalo Berterame wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Gonzalo Berterame found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Central Norte went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Market7 Feb 2028
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Morón they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market7 Feb 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
Mauro Schönfeld: 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.” Morón have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
An order from above at Morón: somebody has to go
Balance sheets do not care about form or about who the manager was planning to build around. The board have decided a sale is required, and the only question left is which name ends up carrying it.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Graduation day at Morón
5 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Mariano Bittolo 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Tempers go at Morón
Tomás Ramírez 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.
Match5 Feb 2028
Three points for Morón, 2‑1 the final word against Central Norte in a contest settled by the finer margins.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market31 Jan 2028
“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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Mariano Bittolo 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 dugout31 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás Ramírez, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Jan 2028
Words exchanged at Morón
Ramiro Paludi 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 dugout31 Jan 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Juan Martín Rojas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market31 Jan 2028
The name of Santiago Kubiszyn keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Morón say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Jan 2028
Marcos Acuña breaks a bone — 16 days out
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 16 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Market3 Jan 2028
Morón say no — this time
The offer from Instituto for Santiago Kubiszyn 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.
Market3 Jan 2028
Fernando Arce 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 Morón can pretend not to have heard.
Squad3 Jan 2028
A falling-out at Morón
Iván Vaquero and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Jan 2028
Santiago Kubiszyn 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.
Market3 Jan 2028
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad3 Jan 2028
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Market3 Jan 2028
He is 17, and nobody at Morón signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout3 Jan 2028
Thiago Lauro 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
Uneasy
Market20 Dec 2027
“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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Morón have had the benefit of it.
Squad20 Dec 2027
A row about effort at Morón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mariano Bittolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad20 Dec 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 Morón this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad20 Dec 2027
It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph a local paper has to write. 35 years old, 3 points down on where he was, and a body that has started charging interest on a career.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
The manager makes an example of Tomás Ramírez
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout20 Dec 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 Morón, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout20 Dec 2027
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.
Market20 Dec 2027
The name of Juan Martín Rojas keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Morón say nothing, which says plenty.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market13 Dec 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 Morón, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad13 Dec 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 Morón this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout13 Dec 2027
“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.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Tomás Ramírez 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 dugout13 Dec 2027
“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.
The dugout13 Dec 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 Mauro Schönfeld is on it.
Market13 Dec 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Maximiliano González’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Loan watch13 Dec 2027
5 shut-outs in 17 games. A goalkeeper’s loan is judged on the afternoons when nothing happened at all, and Marcos Acuña has been having a lot of them.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Questions about Luciano Guaycochea 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout29 Nov 2027
“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.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Mariano Bittolo 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.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Wages eat 87% of everything Morón earn
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.
Boardroom29 Nov 2027
Belts tighten at Morón
The accounts are being read more closely than the results. Wages before ambition is the order of business now, and the manager has been told so.
The dugout29 Nov 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 Elías Contreras is on it.
Market29 Nov 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Santiago Kubiszyn’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market1 Nov 2027
“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.
Squad1 Nov 2027
A row about effort at Morón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Santiago Kubiszyn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Tempers go at Morón
Elías Contreras 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 dugout1 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás Ramírez, and the manager let it.
Market1 Nov 2027
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Wages swallow 95% of the Morón income
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.
Boardroom1 Nov 2027
Morón counting the cost
The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Morón now.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Morón will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
“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
Uneasy
Squad11 Oct 2027
A row about effort at Morón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Santiago Kubiszyn was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Mauro Schönfeld, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Oct 2027
At 20 he was the best of everybody his age in the division for one weekend. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
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.
Market11 Oct 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Gonzalo Berterame’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Morón that is a harder question to answer.
The dugout11 Oct 2027
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Tomás Ramírez has written the date down.
Loan watch11 Oct 2027
4 clean sheets on loan for Marcos Acuña
16 appearances at Bhayangkara Presisi and the goals have stopped going in. Morón lent out a goalkeeper and are watching somebody else’s season get better every week.
Squad11 Oct 2027
“I want to stay in the game when I stop, and I am not going to wait until I stop to prepare for it.” At 31 the badges have begun, and every manager in the division remembers doing the same.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Morón may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market26 Jul 2027
Iván González 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 Morón can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 23 gone
That is the business done at Morón 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.
Market26 Jul 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Unión de Santa Fe moved on, Mauro Burruchaga reports back to Morón, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Morón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mariano Bittolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Morón
Elías Contreras and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emanuel Iñíguez, and the manager let it.
Match24 Jul 2027
0‑1 to Nueva Chicago, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Raúl Moreno after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad19 Jul 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Market19 Jul 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 Morón can pretend not to have heard.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Morón training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mariano Bittolo 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Morón
Elías Contreras 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 dugout19 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.
Match17 Jul 2027
It needed Gonzalo Berterame to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Estudiantes, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. 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 dugout19 Jul 2027
Franco Toloza knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Morón, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market31 May 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 Morón can pretend not to have heard.
Squad31 May 2027
A muscle injury and 16 days out for Franco Toloza
The most common injury in the game and the most rushed back from. Morón will quote 16 days and will be careful with it, because the second one is always worse than the first.
Squad31 May 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 Morón this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 May 2027
A row about effort at Morón
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mariano Bittolo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Mariano Bittolo ran the middle of the pitch — 6.89
He won it back and then made something of it, which is two jobs and the reason the scoreline looks the way it does. 9 combined actions and a mark of 6.89, and not one of them will make a highlights package.
Match29 May 2027
It needed Juan Cruz Esquivel to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Colón, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout31 May 2027
Franco Toloza 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.
The dugout31 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Raúl Moreno was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Morón dressing room was either.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Federico Díaz, and the manager let it.