134 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Argentino de Quilmes lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
1‑4 to Deportivo Armenio, 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Argentino de Quilmes they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Argentino de Quilmes had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Talleres, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Marked 7.81. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Argentino de Quilmes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad17 Jul 2028
A muscle injury sidelines Alex Morales for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Argentino de Quilmes will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
In brief
SquadRomán Barreto falls out with a teammate over standards
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Demián Núñez
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Alex Morales at his very best
“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 The request is on a desk at Argentino de Quilmes, and it is not being withdrawn.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Argentino de Quilmes have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Everything agreed with Defensa y Justicia, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Argentino de Quilmes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
9 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Román Barreto 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.
Successful dribbles: 20. 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Talleres have kept their man, and Argentino de Quilmes go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Chacarita Juniors waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Argentino de Quilmes is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Argentino de Quilmes 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 Argentino de Quilmes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Román Barreto 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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Sportivo Italiano have kept their man, and Argentino de Quilmes go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Player ratings19 Jun 2028
Alex Morales was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.32. 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.
A point taken on 96 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
There were 85 minutes on the clock and Villa San Carlos had all but banked the point. Football rarely reads the room, and Argentino de Quilmes did not stop to explain themselves.
“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 Argentino de Quilmes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Everything agreed with Racing Club, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Bruno Galván 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Román Barreto was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
2 behind and going nowhere, until Alex Morales decided otherwise. Flandria had done the hard part and then watched it come apart, and the noise at the final whistle was the sort a ground keeps.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Argentino de Quilmes can pretend not to have heard.
Franco Sosa 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.
6 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad29 May 2028
Román Barreto 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.
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.
Bruno Galván 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.
Squad15 May 2028
Román Barreto 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.
Successful dribbles: 17. 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.
It needed Ezequiel Madariaga to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Sportivo Italiano, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
“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.
“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 Argentino de Quilmes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Argentino de Quilmes they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Argentino de Quilmes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Román Barreto 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
2 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Argentino de Quilmes has to find a result from somewhere.
Franco Sosa 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Román Barreto 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 Argentino de Quilmes has been clear about where Valentino Di Marco stands, which is more than many ever get.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Deportivo Merlo scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
In brief
Player ratingsThe kick that got away from Joel Martínez
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Agustín Cecconato and Argentino de Quilmes agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Román Barreto was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Noah Flores after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Argentino de Quilmes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Argentino de Quilmes they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Agustín Cecconato 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.
Juan Cettou 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Román Barreto was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Noah Flores after 0‑1, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
“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 Argentino de Quilmes, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Joel Martínez and Argentino de Quilmes agree another 3 years.
Squad6 Mar 2028
Román Barreto 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.
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings6 Mar 2028
Agustín Obregón was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.03. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Agustín Cecconato is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Argentino de Quilmes has to find a result from somewhere.
“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 Argentino de Quilmes, and it is not being withdrawn.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Argentino de Quilmes will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Román Barreto 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.
“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 Argentino de Quilmes, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Argentino de Quilmes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Argentino de Quilmes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Enzo Zárate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Argentino de Quilmes asked and Deportivo Maldonado said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
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.
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Argentino de Quilmes lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Argentino de Quilmes can pretend not to have heard.
The last league game has been played and the table has stopped moving: 47 points. The summer begins on Monday, and so does the argument about what it all meant.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Argentino de Quilmes have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Argentino de Quilmes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Argentino de Quilmes asked and Fortaleza said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Deportivo Laferrere left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Lucio Nadalín 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.
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Argentino de Quilmes 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.
7 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.
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 7.70 for the rest of it.
Everything agreed with Nueva Chicago, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Franco Sosa 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.
“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 Argentino de Quilmes, and it is not being withdrawn.
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 7.70 for the rest of 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 Argentino de Quilmes this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Enzo Zárate was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑3, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
0‑1 against Agropecuario Argentino, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Argentino de Quilmes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nicolás Benavídez and Argentino de Quilmes agree another 2 years.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Enzo Zárate 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.