Marked for Alan Brítez
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market23 Aug 2027
Axel Encinas has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union La Calera they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Francisco Pozzo 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.
Squad23 Aug 2027
Juan Pablo Salomoni 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 ratings23 Aug 2027
Marked 7.89. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Axel Encinas
“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.
Match21 Aug 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Audax Italiano leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Alexis Aravena after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Jul 2027
0‑3 against Universidad Catolica, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Match17 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Union La Calera's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Union La Calera has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Union La Calera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Words at Union La Calera training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Pablo Salomoni 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.
Boardroom19 Jul 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout19 Jul 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 0‑3 defeat, delivered by Alexis Aravena to a room that had heard them before.
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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Bookings catch up with Yerko Leiva
One yellow too many, and a match watched from the stand. The most avoidable absence in football, and Union La Calera will feel it on Saturday.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 13. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.94 at 35, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Market21 Jun 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Union La Calera, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad21 Jun 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 Union La Calera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Jun 2027
Words at Union La Calera training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Pablo Salomoni 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.
Match19 Jun 2027
Iquique made Union La Calera work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑1 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Kevin Méndez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.36. 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.
Player ratings21 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout21 Jun 2027
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.” Alexis Aravena, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Looking ahead21 Jun 2027
Union La Calera take on the side everybody is chasing
Palestino arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match22 May 2027
A 0‑3 beating by Universidad de Chile was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Squad24 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 Union La Calera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 May 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Juan Pablo Salomoni was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout24 May 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.
Match24 May 2027
Position 5, 22 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Boardroom24 May 2027
Nobody left the Union La Calera dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑3 Alexis Aravena left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 14. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Alan Brítez's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad26 Apr 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 Union La Calera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad26 Apr 2027
Words at Union La Calera training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristián Gutiérrez 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.
Player ratings26 Apr 2027
The afternoon belonged to Kevin Méndez
A mark of 7.85, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
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.” Alexis Aravena, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nelson Espinoza, and the manager let it.
The dugout26 Apr 2027
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.
Looking ahead26 Apr 2027
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against San Marcos de Arica in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad29 Mar 2027
The words a physio says slowly. 38 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match27 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Union La Calera's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Union La Calera has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad29 Mar 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 Union La Calera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 Mar 2027
Marked 8.02 — 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.
Match27 Mar 2027
A 1‑1 draw with Huachipato leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jorge Peña, and the manager let it.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad22 Mar 2027
45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Union La Calera lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match17 Mar 2027
Audax Italiano go through and Union La Calera go home, 0‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Match20 Mar 2027
No end in sight to Union La Calera's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Union La Calera has to find a result from somewhere.
Match20 Mar 2027
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad22 Mar 2027
Words at Union La Calera training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Juan Pablo Salomoni 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.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad22 Mar 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 Union La Calera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match20 Mar 2027
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 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 Union La Calera this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout25 Jan 2027
The manager makes an example of Nelson Espinoza
“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 dugout25 Jan 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market21 Dec 2026
Huachipato come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Union La Calera did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Juan Pablo Salomoni 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.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Francisco Pozzo 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 dugout21 Dec 2026
“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.
Market21 Dec 2026
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Kevin Méndez’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Market21 Dec 2026
The shop window has Joaquín Soto in it
Union La Calera have let the market know Joaquín Soto can be had. No price in the advert, but everyone in the trade knows roughly what it says.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Union La Calera. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Valentino Torrente trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Nicolás Ferreyra has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match19 Aug 2026
Palestino go through and Union La Calera go home, 0‑2 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 28. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Nicolás Avellaneda 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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Juan Pablo Salomoni 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 dugout24 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nicolás Palma, and the manager let it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Union La Calera, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout24 Aug 2026
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Match22 Aug 2026
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Audax Italiano? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.