Marked for Lautaro Vázquez
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad25 Oct 2027
A falling-out at Atenas
Maicol Ferreira and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad25 Oct 2027
Agustín Navarro 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 dugout25 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Maicol Borba
“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 Oct 2027
Danilo Lerda has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Atenas will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
The dugout25 Oct 2027
Agustín Acosta 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.
Market25 Oct 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Brian González signs something — a contract at Atenas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Aug 2027
A fracture rules Facundo Briñón out for 68 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Atenas will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Atenas
Facundo Perdomo 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.
Squad30 Aug 2027
A row about effort at Atenas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maicol Ferreira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Aug 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.
Market30 Aug 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Emilio Crespo has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Atenas.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Danilo Lerda 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 Danilo Lerda is on it.
The dugout30 Aug 2027
Maicol Borba 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 dugout30 Aug 2027
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.
Market30 Aug 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Brian González signs something — a contract at Atenas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match31 Jul 2027
Whatever happens, Atenas do not lose
11 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad2 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Atenas
Maicol Ferreira and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Agustín Navarro 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 terraces2 Aug 2027
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.
The dugout2 Aug 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.
Match31 Jul 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Maicol Ferreira’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Atenas.
Player ratings2 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.04 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Market2 Aug 2027
Signings arrive with a picture of the club in their head, and this one’s picture was bigger than the building. He will play well and he will be gone, in that order, and everybody knows it.
In brief
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Squad
A place in the month's best eleven for José Arbío
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The dugout
No place for Maicol Borba on the big day
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The dugout
The view from the dugout
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jul 2027
Albion come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Atenas did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
Danilo Lerda: 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.” Atenas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
$180.0K settles it between the clubs for Maximiliano Rios
Mar de Fondo have accepted the money. What Atenas do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Market5 Jul 2027
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Colon moved on, Ezequiel Berriel reports back to Atenas, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Match3 Jul 2027
Still nobody has beaten Atenas
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad5 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Atenas
Maicol Ferreira and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match3 Jul 2027
It finished 2‑1, and it was Facundo Perdomo’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Atenas.
The terraces5 Jul 2027
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.
Player ratings5 Jul 2027
Ninety minutes of Facundo Perdomo at his very best
Marked 8.33. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Atenas.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market28 Jun 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.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
Sebastián Flores: 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.” Atenas have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market28 Jun 2027
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atenas is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Player ratings28 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad28 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 Atenas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match26 Jun 2027
Whatever happens, Atenas do not lose
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad28 Jun 2027
Words at Atenas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ferreira 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.
Match26 Jun 2027
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
The dugout28 Jun 2027
The manager makes an example of Amaro García
“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
Market7 Jun 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 Atenas can pretend not to have heard.
Market7 Jun 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Platense waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Atenas is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Player ratings7 Jun 2027
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
Tempers go at Atenas
Facundo Perdomo 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 Jun 2027
Maicol Ferreira 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 dugout7 Jun 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.
Squad7 Jun 2027
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.
The dugout7 Jun 2027
Maicol Ferreira 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 dugout7 Jun 2027
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Fernando Coates was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Atenas dressing room was either.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Market31 May 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.
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 Atenas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The dugout31 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lucas Bassadone, and the manager let it.
The dugout31 May 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 Coates chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
The dugout31 May 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Francisco Coirolo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout31 May 2027
Danilo Lerda 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 Danilo Lerda is on it.
Squad31 May 2027
One booking too many, and Fernando Souza sits out. Atenas lose him for the sort of avoidable reason that makes a manager's week longer.
Match29 May 2027
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Basanez defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings24 May 2027
Two goals and a mark of 8.47 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Market24 May 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Tempers go at Atenas
Maicol Ferreira 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.
Squad24 May 2027
Words at Atenas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Perdomo 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 terraces24 May 2027
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.
Match22 May 2027
A 2‑0 win over Bella Vista, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings24 May 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.
Player ratings24 May 2027
Lautaro Vázquez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.12. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The dugout24 May 2027
The manager makes an example of Brian González
“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
Crisis
Match15 May 2027
Chastening afternoon for Atenas
A 0‑3 beating by Cerro was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match17 May 2027
Every point is an argument now for Atenas
Position 12 and 16 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
The dugout17 May 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.
Squad17 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 Atenas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 May 2027
A row about effort at Atenas
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Maicol Ferreira was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings17 May 2027
Successful dribbles: 19. 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.
Player ratings17 May 2027
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, 6.78, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Looking ahead17 May 2027
A six-pointer for Atenas
Bella Vista next, and both sides can do the sum. Win and the table looks different; lose and it looks the way everybody has been fearing.
The dugout17 May 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Danilo Lerda, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match26 Aug 2026
The small margins put Atenas out
Out, 0‑2 to Penarol, and the long argument about which of the small moments decided it. The league is all there is now, and everybody knows it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.
Player ratings31 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout31 Aug 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.
Squad31 Aug 2026
A falling-out at Atenas
Francisco Coirolo and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
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.
The dugout31 Aug 2026
Ferreira 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 Ferreira is on it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
At 28 he has made the position his own, and the man he took it from has to find something to say about it. Atenas have a decision that made itself.