Jonathan Ledesma

Right Midfielder - Alvarado
5 Sep 2032
Sunday
Process

Marked for Jonathan Ledesma

316 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

16 Aug 2032
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Juan Ruíz Díaz breaks a bone — 38 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 38 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

9 matches without a win for Alvarado

The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.

Match

The goals have deserted Alvarado

5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Alvarado can tell you which week it ends in.

The dugout

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Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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 ratings

Jonathan Ledesma runs at them all day

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.

Squad

A row about effort at Alvarado

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

Match

A bad afternoon for Alvarado against Güemes

0‑1 to Güemes, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

The dugout

João Vítor 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

Back issues
315 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

9 Aug 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Juan Ruíz Díaz breaks a bone — 45 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

Match

8 matches without a win for Alvarado

The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.

Match

The goals have deserted Alvarado

4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Alvarado can tell you which week it ends in.

Squad

Cristian Gorgerino 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Jonathan Ledesma

“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.

Squad

Lucas Chiozza is carrying Alvarado

8 goals and a season average of 7.21. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Boardroom

Nobody arrives at Alvarado until somebody leaves

The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Alvarado this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.

In brief

314 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

2 Aug 2032
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

52 days out for Juan Ruíz Díaz after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Alvarado will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

João Vítor asks to leave Alvarado

“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.

Match

No end in sight to Alvarado's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alvarado has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

A falling-out at Alvarado

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

Match

Alvarado cannot find the net

3 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.

Transfer targets

Alvarado rebuffed over Augusto Levrand

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Gimnasia y Esgrima have kept their man, and Alvarado go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Match

Alvarado come up short against All Boys

All Boys left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Leonel Müller

“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 dugout

Interim Coach answers for it

“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.

In brief

310 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

5 Jul 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Market

Cristian Britos is on his way

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

Squad

A falling-out at Alvarado

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

Squad

Lautaro Núñez signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Lautaro Núñez commits to Alvarado for another 3 years.

Squad

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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

Door shut on Yoel Gerez

Alvarado asked and Central Córdoba SdE said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza takes the honours

Marked 7.46 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Alvarado had the best player on the pitch.

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma is no longer first choice

The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Jonathan Ledesma has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.

Boardroom

4 new boys at the Alvarado academy

Signed today, seen by nobody for years, and one of them may one day be the reason the club exists. That is the whole of the argument for an academy, and it is a good one.

The dugout

When it matters, Lucas Monzón plays

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.

In brief

308 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

21 Jun 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucas Chiozza

Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Transfer targets

Gimnasia y Esgrima tell Alvarado: Agustín Nieto is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

The dugout

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Squad

100 appearances for David López Garcete

100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

Match

Late, late show earns Alvarado a point

Minute 85, against Madryn, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.

Match

Alvarado share the spoils with Madryn

A 1‑1 draw with Madryn leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.

The dugout

João Vítor 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.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Interim Coach on the draw

“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.

In brief

307 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

14 Jun 2032
From our football correspondent Upbeat

Match

Alvarado run riot against San Martín

3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.

Player ratings

A brace, and Lucas Chiozza takes the afternoon — 8.55

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Lucas Chiozza provided it, and the 8.55 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Vintage Germán Cervera — 9.03

At 35 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 9.03, and nobody on the pitch better.

Market

Eduardo Varela 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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Germán Cervera 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Alvarado rebuffed over José Luis Ponce

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

Squad

Franco Cima 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

100 appearances for Franco Cima

100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.

Transfer targets

A loan move for Agustín Nieto is in the works

Alvarado have made the call to Gimnasia y Esgrima. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
  • Boardroom Alvarado can only buy what they sell
  • The dugout Jonathan Ledesma knocks on the manager's door
306 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

7 Jun 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma damages knee ligaments — 15 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 15 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.

Market

João Vítor asks to leave Alvarado

“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.

Market

Cristian Britos is on his way

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

Transfer targets

Ricardo Costa turns down Alvarado

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.

Squad

Cristian Gorgerino stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Cristian Gorgerino and Alvarado agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza runs at them all day

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.

Squad

A falling-out at Alvarado

Cristian Gorgerino 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 Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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

Alvarado try to borrow José Luis Ponce

Lanús 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.

In brief

305 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

31 May 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma damages knee ligaments — 22 days out

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.

Match

No mercy from Alvarado

Los Andes will want this one forgotten quickly: 6‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Alvarado were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.

Player ratings

Both of them Germán Cervera's — 9.12

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 9.12, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

3 goals for Lucas Chiozza

The match ball belongs to Lucas Chiozza, whose 3 goals turned a difficult afternoon into a procession.

Market

Only the photograph left for Luiz Paulo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luiz Paulo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Alvarado the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Match

Lucas Chiozza among the goals in a wild afternoon

7 goals in one match, Lucas Chiozza on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Alvarado and Los Andes.

Player ratings

A masterclass from Lucas Chiozza

Marked 8.51 — 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 dugout

No hiding place for Andrés Costa

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

In brief

304 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

24 May 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 44. 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.

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma damages knee ligaments — 29 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 29 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.

Player ratings

Age has not caught Santiago Gutiérrez yet — 8.21

At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.21 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.

Match

Alvarado end the wait against Atlanta

It had gone 7 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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 terraces

The crowd has taken to Jorge Alonso

At 19 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 dugout

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Match

Santiago Gutiérrez sends Alvarado past Atlanta

It finished 1‑0, and it was Santiago Gutiérrez’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Alvarado.

Squad

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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.

In brief

303 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

17 May 2032
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma damages knee ligaments — 36 days out

The words a physio says slowly. 36 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.

Match

No end in sight to Alvarado's wait for a win

7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alvarado has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 26. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Market

Benjamín Ríos 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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Germán Cervera 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Match

Alvarado come up short against Colegiales

Colegiales left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

Squad

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Costa 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 dugout

The manager makes an example of Lucas Castillo

“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 dugout

Interim Coach: “No excuses”

“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 1‑2, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.

In brief

302 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

10 May 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Jonathan Ledesma

43 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Alvarado lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

6 matches without a win for Alvarado

The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.

Market

Eduardo Varela asks to leave Alvarado

“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.

Market

Only the photograph left for Cristian Britos

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Cristian Britos will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Alvarado the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

A falling-out at Alvarado

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

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 20. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

Luiz Paulo makes it 200

200 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.

Squad

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luiz Paulo 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 ratings

Santiago Gutiérrez stands above it all

Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.50 on the card, and the Alvarado support went home talking about one name.

In brief

301 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

3 May 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The knee: Jonathan Ledesma out for 50 days

50 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Alvarado lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Market

Luiz Paulo has one foot out of the door

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

Match

The wait goes on for Alvarado

5 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.

Player ratings

Lucas Monzón goes up and wins it — 7.75

A defender on the scoresheet, which happens rarely enough that everybody in the ground remembers who took the corner. 1 for him, and a mark of 7.75 for the rest of it.

Boardroom

Cristian Britos has agreed to leave Alvarado 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.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Lucas Chiozza

Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Squad

Santiago Gutiérrez signs a new deal

“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Santiago Gutiérrez commits to Alvarado for another 2 years.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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 dugout

No hiding place for Jonathan Ledesma

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

In brief

297 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

5 Apr 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Andrés Costa asks to leave Alvarado

“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.

Market

Luiz Paulo is on his way

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

Player ratings

Vintage Santiago Gutiérrez — 8.16

At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.16, and nobody on the pitch better.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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 terraces

The crowd has taken to Jorge Alonso

At 19 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.

Match

Alvarado get the job done against All Boys

A 2‑0 win over All Boys, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.

Match

At last: Alvarado win one

5 matches without a win, and then this, against All Boys. Relief is a strange noise in a football ground and it was the only noise at the end.

Squad

Franco Cima 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 ratings

Jonathan Ledesma in the eights

A performance of 8.06 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.

In brief

296 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

29 Mar 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

No end in sight to Alvarado's wait for a win

5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Alvarado has to find a result from somewhere.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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 ratings

Lucas Chiozza beats them one at a time

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 dugout

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Squad

Appearance number 200 for Lucas Chiozza

200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.

The dugout

Franco Cima 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.

Match

Honours even between Alvarado and Almagro

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

The dugout

Interim Coach: “We have to be better”

“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.

Market

Santiago Gutiérrez linked with a move away

The name of Santiago Gutiérrez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Alvarado say nothing, which says plenty.

In brief

295 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

22 Mar 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 31. 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.

Match

The wait goes on for Alvarado

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.

Squad

Germán Cervera 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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.

Match

Honours even between Alvarado and San Miguel

1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.

Boardroom

Alvarado have to sell first

The manager has a list and the board has a condition attached to it. That is not a crisis — half of football works this way — but it decides which of the two of them gets his way in August.

The dugout

Half-satisfied: Interim Coach on the draw

“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 dugout

No hiding place for Walisson Nem

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

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma is off the mark for Alvarado

The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.

In brief

292 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

1 Mar 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Squad

7 saves: Nahuel González was the team

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 7 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.

Squad

Germán Cervera 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

The dugout

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Player ratings

Ninety minutes of Lucas Chiozza at his very best

Marked 8.40. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Alvarado.

Match

Lucas Chiozza rescues a point for Alvarado

It needed Lucas Chiozza to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Ferro Carril Oeste, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.

Squad

Walisson Nem is no longer first choice

The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Walisson Nem has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.

Market

Still no ink between Alvarado and Jonathan Ledesma

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Alvarado, another week without a signature from Jonathan Ledesma.

The dugout

Interim Coach on the point

“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Interim Coach after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.

Squad

A row about effort at Alvarado

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

In brief

291 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

23 Feb 2032
From our football correspondent Steady

Player ratings

Both of them Lucas Chiozza's — 8.48

2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.48, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Match

Alvarado find a way past Madryn

Madryn made Alvarado work for it, but the scoreboard read 2‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.

Squad

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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 dugout

Luiz Paulo 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.

The dugout

A satisfied Interim Coach

“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑0, Interim Coach could afford to be generous.

Boardroom

Nobody arrives at Alvarado until somebody leaves

The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Alvarado this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.

Squad

Young player of the week: Jorge Alonso

At 19 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.

Player ratings

Jonathan Ledesma was unplayable

Successful dribbles: 12. 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.

In brief

290 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

16 Feb 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Match

Jorge Alonso leads the rout of San Martín

4‑0, and Jorge Alonso took the headlines on an afternoon when everything Alvarado tried came off. Days like this are retold all winter.

Player ratings

A brace, and Jorge Alonso takes the afternoon — 9.18

There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jorge Alonso provided it, and the 9.18 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.

Player ratings

Vintage Germán Cervera — 8.06

At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 8.06, and nobody on the pitch better.

Player ratings

Franco Cima pops up at the right end — 7.89

7.89, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Player ratings

Jonathan Ledesma runs at them all day

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.

The terraces

The crowd has taken to Jorge Alonso

At 19 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.

Match

Alvarado end the wait against San Martín

It had gone 5 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.

The dugout

The manager’s verdict

“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Interim Coach kept it short after the 4‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.

In brief

289 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

9 Feb 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Luiz Paulo

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luiz Paulo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Alvarado the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Player ratings

Germán Cervera, 34, rolls back the years — 7.87

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.87 at 34, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Match

The wait goes on for Alvarado

5 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.

Market

Benjamín Ríos 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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

A falling-out at Alvarado

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

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma signs on for more

“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jonathan Ledesma and Alvarado agree another 4 years.

Squad

A muscle injury sidelines Juan Ruíz Díaz for 15 days

Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Alvarado will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.

Squad

Franco Cima 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

No place for Bruno Borda in the plan

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

In brief

288 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

2 Feb 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Boardroom

Alvarado told to sell

The instruction came from the boardroom and the dugout did not agree with it. Somebody will go, the fee will be called good business, and the manager will spend the season rebuilding around the space.

The dugout

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Squad

Germán Cervera 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Graduation day at Alvarado

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.

Squad

Jonathan Ledesma stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Jonathan Ledesma and Alvarado agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Market

Alvarado promote Gabriel Sosa from within

The academy exists for exactly this morning. Gabriel Sosa 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.

Market

One of our own: Tomás Ibáñez joins the Alvarado first team

Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Tomás Ibáñez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.

Market

Benjamín Ríos steps up from the Alvarado academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Benjamín Ríos 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.

Market

Daniel Navarro steps up from the Alvarado academy

There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Daniel Navarro 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.

In brief

  • Squad A row about effort at Alvarado
  • Boardroom Alvarado board go back on their word
  • Boardroom Alvarado say no to the training-ground money
286 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

19 Jan 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Only the photograph left for Jonathan Ledesma

Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jonathan Ledesma will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Alvarado the goodbyes have quietly begun.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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

Words at Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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.

Market

The Lucas Chiozza talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Alvarado know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

The dugout

Juan Ruíz Díaz 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 Alvarado, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Boardroom

The Alvarado production line keeps running

46 graduates out of an academy now rated 4 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.

In brief

285 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

12 Jan 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Luiz Paulo has one foot out of the door

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

Boardroom

Luiz Paulo has agreed to leave Alvarado 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 Alvarado

Cristian Gorgerino 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 Alvarado training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Cima 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 dugout

Juan Ruíz Díaz 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.

Market

The Germán Cervera story refuses to die

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

Market

Talks stall between Alvarado and Juan Ruíz Díaz

“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.

Market

The clock does Jonathan Ledesma’s negotiating for him

5 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Alvarado could ask drops and the wages Jonathan Ledesma can ask rise.

The dugout

Jorge Benítez knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jorge Benítez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

284 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

5 Jan 2032
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

Belgrano come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Alvarado did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Squad

Nahuel González is named among the best

There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Alvarado will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.

Boardroom

Jonathan Ledesma has agreed to leave Alvarado 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.

The dugout

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Squad

Germán Cervera 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Transfer targets

Alvarado rebuffed over Massimo Saliszewski

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

The dugout

Luiz Paulo 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.

Squad

A step back for Jorge Alonso at Alvarado

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.

Squad

Walisson Nem 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.

In brief

282 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

22 Dec 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

The division’s best young player: Jorge Alonso

A whole season of being the finest 19-year-old anybody in this league could put on a pitch. Alvarado have him, and everybody else now knows it.

Market

Walisson Nem asks to leave Alvarado

“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.

Squad

Nahuel González honoured for the season

The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Alvarado had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.

Market

Defensores come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Alvarado did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

Juan Carlos Arias will not be coming to Alvarado

Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Independiente is saying, and nobody at Alvarado is enjoying the guessing.

Squad

Words exchanged at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Transfer targets

Lanús tell Alvarado: José Luis Ponce is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

A row about effort at Alvarado

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

Market

The Lucas Chiozza talk will not go away

Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Alvarado know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.

In brief

281 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

15 Dec 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Market

João Vítor 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 Alvarado, and it is not being withdrawn.

Market

Alvarado say no — this time

The offer from Gimnasia y Esgrima for Ignacio Martínez 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.

Squad

Valentín Núñez out for 14 days

The medical room confirms 14 days on the sidelines for Valentín Núñez, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.

Squad

A falling-out at Alvarado

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

Transfer targets

Central Córdoba SdE tell Alvarado: Yoel Gerez is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Juan Ruíz Díaz 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

The manager makes an example of Maximiliano Zelaya

“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 dugout

Alvarado keep their word to Eduardo Varela

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.

Market

The Germán Cervera story refuses to die

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

In brief

277 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

17 Nov 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Germán Cervera breaks a bone — 35 days out

Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 35 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.

The dugout

Jorge Benítez keeps the receipts

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

Squad

A falling-out at Alvarado

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

Squad

Franco Cima 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

The Germán Cervera story refuses to die

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

Market

Jonathan Ledesma runs his contract down

7 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Alvarado money.

The dugout

Gordo 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 Alvarado, and both men came out saying it was fine.

Market

Alvarado put Roberto Ojeda up for sale

The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Roberto Ojeda may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.

Market

Another notebook out for Nahuel González

Huracán watched Nahuel González again at the weekend, and this time they did not bother hiding it. Clubs only stop hiding when they want the price to start moving.

In brief

275 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

3 Nov 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

A fracture rules Germán Cervera out for 49 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Alvarado will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

Market

Roberto Ojeda asks to leave Alvarado

“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.

Squad

Cristian Gorgerino stays put

“The easiest signature of my career.” Cristian Gorgerino and Alvarado agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Boardroom

Nobody arrives at Alvarado until somebody leaves

The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Alvarado this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.

Market

Still no ink between Alvarado and Jonathan Ledesma

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Alvarado, another week without a signature from Jonathan Ledesma.

Market

Santiago Gutiérrez linked with a move away

The name of Santiago Gutiérrez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Alvarado say nothing, which says plenty.

Market

The clock does Maximiliano Zelaya’s negotiating for him

2 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Alvarado could ask drops and the wages Maximiliano Zelaya can ask rise.

The dugout

Luiz Paulo 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 Alvarado, and both men came out saying it was fine.

In brief

271 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

6 Oct 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

77 days out for Germán Cervera after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Alvarado will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Cristian Gorgerino 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 Alvarado

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

The dugout

No hiding place for Luiz Paulo

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

Boardroom

Nobody arrives at Alvarado until somebody leaves

The club is not barred from spending; it simply has nothing to spend that it has not first raised. Every name linked with Alvarado this window arrives with a name leaving in the same sentence.

Market

Still no ink between Alvarado and Jonathan Ledesma

“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Alvarado, another week without a signature from Jonathan Ledesma.

Squad

Cristian Giménez slips down the pecking order

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

Market

Santiago Gutiérrez linked with a move away

The name of Santiago Gutiérrez keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Alvarado say nothing, which says plenty.

The dugout

Juan Ruíz Díaz knocks on the manager’s door

“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Juan Ruíz Díaz trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.

In brief

268 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

15 Sep 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

98 days out for Germán Cervera after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Alvarado will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

The dugout

Luiz Paulo keeps the receipts

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

Squad

Germán Cervera 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 Alvarado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

Alvarado counting the cost

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

Match

Lucas Chiozza’s goal not enough for Alvarado

Lucas Chiozza scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Atlanta, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Nahuel 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.

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza was on a different afternoon to everybody else

8.15. 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.

Squad

A row about effort at Alvarado

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

Squad

Defences have started doubling up on Lucas Chiozza

7 goals and a season average of 7.31 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.

In brief

259 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

14 Jul 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

26 days out for Maximiliano Zelaya after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Alvarado will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Market

Maximiliano Zelaya asks to leave Alvarado

“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.

Match

5 matches without a win for Alvarado

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Alvarado are no longer polite ones.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Transfer targets

Lanús tell Alvarado: José Luis Ponce is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

A bad afternoon for Alvarado against San Miguel

1‑2 to San Miguel, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.

Squad

Franco Cima 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

Jonathan Ledesma 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.

Player ratings

Lucas Chiozza was unplayable

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.

In brief

258 Edition

The Alvarado Gazette

7 Jul 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

A fracture rules Maximiliano Zelaya out for 33 days

Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Alvarado will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.

The dugout

Jonathan Ledesma keeps the receipts

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

Squad

A one-man rearguard from Nahuel González

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.

Market

Aldosivi come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Alvarado did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Market

Eduardo Nogueira 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 Alvarado can pretend not to have heard.

Match

The wait goes on for Alvarado

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.

Squad

Tempers go at Alvarado

Germán Cervera 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.

Transfer targets

Alvarado rebuffed over Ramiro Gatica

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

Match

Estudiantes take the points off Alvarado

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief