Edwin Zapata

Central Midfielder - Union Magdalena
14 Mar 2032
Sunday
Process

Marked for Edwin Zapata

280 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

8 Dec 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Juan Sebastián Toncel agrees terms with Tigres

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Union Magdalena people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Market

Union Magdalena turn down Junior for Joel Contreras

The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.

Market

Victor Gonzalez puts it in writing

“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 The request is on a desk at Union Magdalena, and it is not being withdrawn.

Transfer targets

Miguel Ortega turns down Union Magdalena

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Atletico Nacional keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Transfer targets

The paperwork begins on Máximo Gómez

A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Union Magdalena have done the hard part with Cerro Largo, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.

Squad

Ricardo Márquez signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Ricardo Márquez commits to Union Magdalena for another 2 years.

Squad

Ricardo Márquez 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 Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Union Magdalena training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fabian Giraldo 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.

Transfer targets

Union Magdalena rebuffed over Miguel Borja

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Atletico Nacional have kept their man, and Union Magdalena go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

Back issues
279 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

1 Dec 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Union Magdalena refuse to drop out of the race

Position 3, 38 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.

Market

Juan Sebastián Toncel 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 Union Magdalena can pretend not to have heard.

Squad

Tempers go at Union Magdalena

Ricardo Márquez 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Union Magdalena

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fabian Giraldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Market

No place for Christian Huérfano in the plan

“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Christian Huérfano has his answer from Union Magdalena; what he does with it is the next window’s story.

Boardroom

Union Magdalena counting the cost

The accounts make uncomfortable reading. Wages first and ambition second is the order of business at Union Magdalena now.

Market

Ruyery Blanco linked with a move away

The name of Ruyery Blanco keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Union Magdalena say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

Edwin Zapata 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 Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.

The dugout

Fabián Mosquera keeps his manager's vote

The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Fabián Mosquera plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.

In brief

272 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

13 Oct 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ricardo Márquez has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

The dugout

Dilan Ortiz keeps the receipts

“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Union Magdalena may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.

Squad

Tempers go at Union Magdalena

Jimmy Congo 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.

Squad

Fabian Giraldo 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 dugout

No hiding place for Yéiner Vargas

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yéiner Vargas, and the manager let it.

Squad

International call for Fabian Giraldo

Fabian Giraldo joins up with his country. Union Magdalena lose him for the window and would like him back in one piece.

In brief

266 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

1 Sep 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The dugout

Edwin Zapata says Union Magdalena went back on their word

“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.

Market

Yván Rojas is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

Words exchanged at Union Magdalena

Ricardo Márquez 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Union Magdalena

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fabian Giraldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Squad

Harold Santiago Mosquera slips down the pecking order

The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Harold Santiago Mosquera is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Santiago Duque

“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

265 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

25 Aug 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Union Magdalena

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

Juan Sebastián Toncel has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Ruyery Blanco pulls a muscle — 14 days out

The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.

Squad

Harold Santiago Mosquera 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 Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Union Magdalena

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fabian Giraldo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Boardroom

198% of the income goes out in wages at Union Magdalena

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

The dugout

A door opens for Jhohann Yabur

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 dugout

Juan Sebastián Toncel 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 Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

The Edwin Zapata story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Edwin Zapata signs something — a contract at Union Magdalena or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief

262 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

4 Aug 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Yván Rojas has one foot out of the door

Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Union Magdalena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.

Squad

Words exchanged at Union Magdalena

Ricardo Márquez 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.

Squad

Fabian Giraldo 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.

Squad

Christian Huérfano stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Christian Huérfano and Union Magdalena agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

A step back for Edwin Zapata at Union Magdalena

Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.

Market

Talks stall between Union Magdalena and José Cabrera

“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.

In brief

261 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

28 Jul 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

The silence upstairs is getting loud at Union Magdalena

Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.

Market

So close: Edwin Zapata’s move dies late

The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Fortaleza CEIF moved on, Edwin Zapata reports back to Union Magdalena, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.

Market

Juan Sebastián Toncel is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Boardroom

Yván Rojas has agreed to leave Union Magdalena for nothing

He will play here until the summer and then walk out of the door for free, having already signed elsewhere. Supporters will manage the first part of that sentence; it is the second they will struggle with.

Squad

A falling-out at Union Magdalena

Juan Diego Giraldo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Union Magdalena training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fabian Giraldo 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.

Boardroom

222% of the income goes out in wages at Union Magdalena

Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.

Market

Juan Esteban Gómez leaves for nothing

Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Juan Esteban Gómez leaves Union Magdalena the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.

The dugout

Santiago Duque 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 Union Magdalena, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

260 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

21 Jul 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Ricardo Márquez is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Transfer targets

No thanks: Renzo Giampaoli rejects the move

Union Magdalena had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Atletico Nacional, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.

Boardroom

Window shuts: 3 in, 7 out at Union Magdalena

The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 7 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.

Squad

Ricardo Márquez 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 Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Fabian Giraldo 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.

Transfer targets

The window shuts on the Kleyman Ochoa deal

Union Magdalena ran out of time with Alianza Petrolera. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.

Market

Fortaleza CEIF expected to open talks for Edwin Zapata

Both sides expect a conversation in the coming days. Union Magdalena will name a price, and everything after that is arithmetic.

The dugout

The manager makes Yéiner Vargas a promise

Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Union Magdalena. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.

Boardroom

Union Magdalena keep producing them

43 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.

In brief

259 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

14 Jul 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Juan Esteban Gómez agrees terms with Jaguares

The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Union Magdalena people have started saying his name in the past tense.

Match

Union Magdalena up to position 3

38 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.

Market

Union Magdalena say no — this time

The offer from Alianza Atletico for Juan Sebastián Toncel 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.

Transfer targets

Yefrín Castillo turns down Union Magdalena

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Alianza Petrolera keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Squad

Words exchanged at Union Magdalena

Harold Santiago Mosquera 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.

Squad

Fabian Giraldo 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.

Market

Bali United join the queue for Santiago Franco

Add another name to the list: Bali United have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Santiago Franco. The answer from Union Magdalena has not changed — yet.

The dugout

No hiding place for Juan Esteban Gómez

“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Esteban Gómez, and the manager let it.

Market

Ruyery Blanco linked with a move away

The name of Ruyery Blanco keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Union Magdalena say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

226 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

25 Nov 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Jimmy Congo 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 Union Magdalena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Fabian Giraldo 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 dugout

Yéiner Vargas 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.

In brief

211 Edition

The Union Magdalena Herald

12 Aug 2030
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Fabian Giraldo wants to know where this is going

“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Union Magdalena hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.

Market

Santiago Franco is on his way

The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Union Magdalena is pretending he will be back in the shirt.

Squad

A falling-out at Union Magdalena

Ricardo Márquez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Squad

Words at Union Magdalena training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Fabian Giraldo 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.

Squad

Union Magdalena count the cost of losing Manuel Ballesteros

41 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.

The dugout

Jhohann Yabur 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.

Boardroom

Wages swallow 108% of the Union Magdalena 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.

Market

Yéiner Vargas told to find a new club

“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Yéiner Vargas has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Union Magdalena.

The dugout

A door opens for Juan Esteban Gómez

He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.

In brief