Marked for Iván Spoljaric
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 Nov 2027
Gaspar Duarte 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 Nov 2027
Words at Sol de America training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Ángel Díaz 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 dugout15 Nov 2027
“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 dugout15 Nov 2027
Ángel Aguayo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Sol de America 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.
Market15 Nov 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Tulio Schwarz’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Pablo Fernández trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout15 Nov 2027
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
Squad15 Nov 2027
He looks like a man who lives here now rather than one who is working here. It took most of a season, and at Sol de America the difference is visible from the back of the stand.
Boardroom15 Nov 2027
The Sol de America board put their names to it
A statement of support, which is cheap, and a conversation about the next window, which is not. The second one is the part the manager wanted.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad1 Nov 2027
Gaspar Duarte and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad1 Nov 2027
Luis Ángel 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 dugout1 Nov 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Emanuel Kovacs, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Esteban Crucci is on it.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Sol de America. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The dugout1 Nov 2027
Iván Spoljaric 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 Sol de America, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad20 Sep 2027
Gaspar Duarte 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 Sep 2027
Words at Sol de America training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luis Ángel Díaz 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 dugout20 Sep 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Ángel Aguayo gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Ángel Aguayo is on it.
Market20 Sep 2027
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Iván Spoljaric has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Sol de America.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Juan Patiño asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market20 Sep 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Tulio Schwarz’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
Loan watch20 Sep 2027
29 starts and a season average of 6.93. The loan is doing exactly what it was arranged to do.
The dugout20 Sep 2027
Luis Rolón has been promised minutes
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Luis Rolón has written the date down.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Nov 2026
Juan Patiño 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 Nov 2026
Words at Sol de America training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Brahian Fernández 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 dugout9 Nov 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Market9 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Sol de America, another week without a signature from Carlos Samudio.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Carlos Samudio 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 Carlos Samudio trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
When it matters, Enzo Rotela 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Sol de America may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Sol de America training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Óscar Romero 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.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Alejandro Samudio has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means Sol de America have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Alan Pereira 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.
Market14 Sep 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Hugo Fernandez is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Match12 Sep 2026
Sportivo San Lorenzo left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Boardroom14 Sep 2026
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
“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.
Squad14 Sep 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Iván Spoljaric commits to Sol de America for another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad7 Sep 2026
Iván Spoljaric gets the move he always wanted
Footballers are asked about their boyhood club so often that nobody listens to the answer. Iván Spoljaric has just signed for Sol de America, and for once the answer mattered.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Brahian Fernández was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Fernando Román and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Iván Spoljaric commits to Sol de America for another 3 years.
Market7 Sep 2026
He is 20, and nobody at Sol de America signed him for this season. Deals like this are judged in four years, by people who may not still be in the building.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Mathías Suárez is on it.
Looking ahead7 Sep 2026
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Sportivo San Lorenzo in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Market7 Sep 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tulio Schwarz signs something — a contract at Sol de America or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Market7 Sep 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.