Jenluis Pérez 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.
Squad22 Jan 2029
Diego Arroyo 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
BoardroomThe numbers do not look good at Nueva Chicago
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nueva Chicago have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The offer from San Martín for Lucas Bersce 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Emiliano Méndez and Nueva Chicago agree another 2 years.
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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Nueva Chicago has been clear about where Alejandro Almaraz stands, which is more than many ever get.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matías Bergara signs something — a contract at Nueva Chicago or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Cristian Caicedo clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
“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 The request is on a desk at Real Cartagena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Real Cartagena have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Juan David Rodríguez and Real Cartagena agree another 2 years.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nueva Chicago is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Nueva Chicago 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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matías Bergara signs something — a contract at Nueva Chicago or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tiziano Pasquarelli will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Nueva Chicago the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Dylan Gissi 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.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Words at Nueva Chicago training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Arroyo 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.
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.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Matías Bergara signs something — a contract at Nueva Chicago or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Juan David Rodríguez 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 easiest signature of my career.” Didier Pino and Real Cartagena agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Oct 2028
Ronaldo Lora 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 chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 10 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Nueva Chicago is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nueva Chicago, and both men came out saying it was fine.
10 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Nueva Chicago training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gonzalo Trindade 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.
Evelio Cardozo 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Nueva Chicago told Leonel Ortíz something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Morón defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Jenluis Pérez wins it after the whistle should have gone
91 minutes played. Jenluis Pérez found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Aguilas Doradas went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
“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 Real Cartagena, and it is not being withdrawn.
Juan David Rodríguez 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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Words at Real Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Graciano 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.
Day 9 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jenluis Pérez. 1‑0 against Aguilas Doradas, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Leonardo Rodriguez clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
The terraces3 Jul 2028
The mood at Real Cartagena has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
The board had gone up, the arguing had started, and then the ball was in the net in the 91th minute. Llaneros will replay every second of the added time for a week.
“Somebody picks the team on Saturday. This week it is me, and that is as far as I have thought.” No promises were made in either direction, which is how these usually begin.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Cartagena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
1‑4 to America de Cali, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
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 6.71 for the rest of it.
Juan David Rodríguez 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.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Words at Real Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Graciano 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Real Cartagena they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Cartagena this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
1‑2 to Deportivo Pasto, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad22 May 2028
Words at Real Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Flórez 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.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Cartagena has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Up for the corner, and Joiner Moreno delivers — 7.36
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Joiner Moreno scored, was marked 7.36, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Juan David Rodríguez 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.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Words at Real Cartagena training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Cristian Graciano 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.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Real Cartagena has been clear about where Mario Torres stands, which is more than many ever get.
In brief
Player ratingsJenluis Pérez changes it off the bench
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.04 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
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. 7.97, and 2 involvements.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Evelio Cardozo and Nueva Chicago agree another 4 years.
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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A 2‑0 win over San Martín SJ, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Nueva Chicago can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Nueva Chicago they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
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 easiest signature of my career.” Braian Toloza and Nueva Chicago agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nueva Chicago, and 0 appearances in 0 say he has earned the hearing.
The captaincy has been taken off Rodrigo Ramírez. Nueva Chicago will call it a decision about the team; a dressing room reads it as a verdict on a man.
The offer from Gimnasia y Tiro for Jenluis Pérez 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.
Dylan Gissi 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.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Words at Nueva Chicago training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Ambrogio 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Nueva Chicago can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nueva Chicago can pretend not to have heard.
Dylan Gissi 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.
Squad6 Dec 2027
Words at Nueva Chicago training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Ambrogio 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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nueva Chicago, and 9 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
Everyone has stopped pretending: San Martín will make the call about Jenluis Pérez this week. Nueva Chicago have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Dylan Gissi 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.
Squad8 Nov 2027
Words at Nueva Chicago training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Ambrogio 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.
“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.
Market8 Nov 2027
Jenluis Pérez returns from a loan that gave him nothing
2 appearances and 0 goals is not a season, it is a year somebody has lost. Whether that is his fault, the borrowing club's or the people who arranged it is the argument the next few weeks will have.
Nobody at Nueva Chicago 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nueva Chicago 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 Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Nueva Chicago, and 2 appearances in 15 say he has earned the hearing.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
88% of the income goes out in wages at Nueva Chicago
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Matías Romero
Boardroom$3.1K taken back off the Nueva Chicago table
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Dylan Gissi 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.
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.
San Martín SJ made Nueva Chicago work for it, but the scoreboard read 1‑0 at the end and the table does not ask how.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Matías Vera 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.
Marked 8.09 — 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Jorge Morel wants continental football; whether Cerro Porteno can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Clayton 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.
In brief
SquadMatías Espinoza falls out with a teammate over standards
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 5 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
The offer from IF Elfsborg for Lucas Bersce 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.
Dylan Gissi 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.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Words at Nueva Chicago training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Ambrogio 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.
Lucas Ambrogio wins it after the whistle should have gone
92 minutes played. Lucas Ambrogio found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Chaco For Ever went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Nueva Chicago is running low.
The offer from Werder Bremen for Alejandro Almaraz 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 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 name of Julián Sardinas has come up in conversations Nueva Chicago were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Words at Nueva Chicago training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Matías Vera 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 ratings28 Jun 2027
Lucas Ambrogio was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.14. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nueva Chicago this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Matías Bergara 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.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Matías Romero was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. 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.