35 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Mirandés lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Mirandés will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
The deal with Burgos is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Thiago Milanese 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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Vasco Sousa 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.
Modena have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
The dugout17 Jul 2028
The manager has not finished forgetting Jack Perkins'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.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 92 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“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 The request is on a desk at Mirandés, and it is not being withdrawn.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Felipe Erviti has, at Mirandés, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Keanu Van Mieghem will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Mirandés the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Keanu Van Mieghem has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 114 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Mirandés have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mirandés can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mirandés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mirandés asked and River Plate said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“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.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Mirandés training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Leonardo Marchi 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.
0‑1 to Sevilla Atlético, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad15 May 2028
Elijah Owona 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Jesús Marín after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mirandés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Mickaël Malsa is on it.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Mirandés may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
A brace, and Pablo López takes the afternoon — 8.25
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Pablo López provided it, and the 8.25 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.86, and 2 involvements.
Aritz Arambarri 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Pablo López. 4‑3 against Marbella, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Mirandés and Marbella, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
He is 22 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.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Sabadell the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Mirandés will enjoy reviewing.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 2 arrived, 1 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
“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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Elijah Owona 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.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Thiago Milanese had Mirandés level again within 2 minutes, and CE Europa never got to play with a lead at all.
At 18 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Mirandés will try not to make too much of it.
Keanu Van Mieghem 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 clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: River Plate keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
4 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mirandés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Mirandés asked and Avellino said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Igor Nikić, and the manager let it.
Player ratings24 Jan 2028
Álvaro Djaló was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.00. 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.
In brief
The dugoutAritz Arambarri is still being punished for one mistake
“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 Mirandés, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Mirandés are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nil Santana has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Lucas Santiago has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Carlos Márquez had Mirandés level again within 3 minutes, and Sanluqueño never got to play with a lead at all.
Rarely has this fixture seen a display like it: 4‑1 against Marbella, and it could have been more.
Player ratings6 Dec 2027
A brace, and Álvaro Djaló takes the afternoon — 8.93
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Álvaro Djaló provided it, and the 8.93 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Carlos Márquez provided it, and the 8.93 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Aritz Arambarri 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Zobel Bakouma is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Carlos Márquez 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.
Sergio Postigo 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.
Sabadell left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Words at Mirandés training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Elijah Owona 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.
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Mirandés are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Aritz Arambarri, and the manager let it.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Igor Nikić'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.
The dugout18 Oct 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 0‑1 Jesús Marín left the room before anybody could ask which.
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.
Álvaro Djaló and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Elijah Owona 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.
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 Mickaël Malsa is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Mickaël Malsa trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 Mirandés that is a harder question to answer.
4 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.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Miguel Guzmán is living that version at Mirandés, and it tends to show in the first month.
A deal that was a phone call from completion at lunchtime was dead by midnight. Mirandés will try again when the window opens; Ibiza may not be selling by then.
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad13 Sep 2027
Elijah Owona 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.
“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 dugout13 Sep 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 1‑2 defeat, delivered by Jesús Marín to a room that had heard them before.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The words a physio says slowly. 22 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.
“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 Mirandés, and it is not being withdrawn.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Burgos have kept their man, and Mirandés go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Elijah Owona was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Filip Kujović 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.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mirandés can pretend not to have heard.
The deal with Sevilla is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The phone has started ringing about Mickaël Malsa again, and this time the name on the line is Lommel. Mirandés are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thiago Helguera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Mirandés asked and Albacete said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Mirandés have made the call to Barcelona. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Dinis Rodrigues scored, and precious little else went right: 2‑3 to Valladolid, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad28 Dec 2026
Words at Mirandés training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ali Houary 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Mirandés this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He is 21 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Mirandés told Alan Guzmán something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than David Muñoz
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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Almería in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
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 Thiago Helguera has written the date down.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thiago Milanese trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Next up on the road: Almería, position 2. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
The language has come, the shrug has gone, and he argues in training like a man who expects to be here next year. None of it shows up on a fee and all of it shows up on the pitch.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Boca Juniors keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Ali Houary 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.
Mirandés asked and Burgos said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Nicolás Ríos has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Every signing waits for it and every press conference asks about it until it comes. It has come, Mirandés have their man off the mark, and the second one is always easier.