Marked for Tomás Monua
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Jul 2028
113 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Salus lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market17 Jul 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Salus, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Nacional keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Ademir Silva 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 Salus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
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.
Squad17 Jul 2028
Words at Salus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luciano Di Candia 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 dugout17 Jul 2028
Thiago Santi 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.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
A loan enquiry to Nacional: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets17 Jul 2028
A loan enquiry to Villa Teresa: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad10 Jul 2028
Joaquín Rodríguez damages knee ligaments — 120 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 120 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.
Market10 Jul 2028
Ademir Silva 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 Salus can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
Everything agreed with Fenix, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A falling-out at Salus
Ademir Silva and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Transfer targets10 Jul 2028
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.
Squad10 Jul 2028
A row about effort at Salus
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luciano Di Candia was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom10 Jul 2028
Wages swallow 215% of the Salus income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Thiago Santi: “I am not a substitute”
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Salus will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
Boardroom10 Jul 2028
Salus 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad17 Apr 2028
The words a physio says slowly. 66 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.
Market17 Apr 2028
Ademir Silva 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 Salus can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Salus may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 25. 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.
Squad17 Apr 2028
A falling-out at Salus
Ademir Silva and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Words at Salus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Luciano Di Candia 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.
Boardroom17 Apr 2028
Wages eat 157% of everything Salus earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás Monua, and the manager let it.
The dugout17 Apr 2028
Half-satisfied: Franco Lopez on the draw
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Oct 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Emir Basabe commits to Salus for another 2 years.
Squad4 Oct 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Salus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom4 Oct 2027
Wages swallow 131% of the Salus income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
Squad4 Oct 2027
Ignacio Ratti 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 dugout4 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Agustín da Luz
“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 dugout4 Oct 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emiliano Millamán trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
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Match
Salus in the hunt for Europe
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Squad
Tomás Monua is put on a programme of his own
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Salus can pretend not to have heard.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Salus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Wages swallow 138% of the Salus income
Every club 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 it has been tried.
The dugout6 Sep 2027
The manager makes an example of Ignacio Ratti
“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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
A row about effort at Salus
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Tomás Monua was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market16 Aug 2027
Ademir Silva 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 Salus can pretend not to have heard.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Emir Basabe pulls a muscle — 16 days out
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 16 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Squad16 Aug 2027
A falling-out at Salus
Ernesto Aramburu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Tomás Monua 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 dugout16 Aug 2027
The manager makes an example of Agustín da Luz
“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 dugout16 Aug 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Aug 2027
Tempers go at Salus
Fabricio Roldán 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 Aug 2027
Tomás Monua 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.
Boardroom9 Aug 2027
Wages eat 160% of everything Salus earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
The dugout9 Aug 2027
Bruno Vera 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 dugout9 Aug 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.
Squad9 Aug 2027
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market26 Jul 2027
Fabricio Leal 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 Salus can pretend not to have heard.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Defensor Sporting; Salus go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
Window shuts: 0 in, 0 out at Salus
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 0 arrived, 0 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
Transfer targets26 Jul 2027
Everything agreed with Atenas, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Squad26 Jul 2027
Words exchanged at Salus
Ernesto Aramburu 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 dugout26 Jul 2027
The manager makes an example of Tomás Monua
“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.
Squad26 Jul 2027
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Salus will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
Boardroom26 Jul 2027
The numbers do not look good at Salus
Wages have outrun income and the accountants have started attending meetings they used to send apologies to. Ambition comes second in a season like this.
The dugout26 Jul 2027
Nicolás Quintana 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Salus may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
Everything agreed with Defensor Sporting, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Transfer targets19 Jul 2027
No thanks: Rafael Hornos rejects the move
Salus had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Liverpool Montevideo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A falling-out at Salus
Ernesto Aramburu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad19 Jul 2027
A row about effort at Salus
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ignacio Ratti was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Ignacio Ratti, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Jul 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Salus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Words at Salus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ignacio Ratti 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.
Boardroom12 Jul 2027
197% of the income goes out in wages at Salus
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.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Bruno Vera 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.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
A loan move for Fernando Souza is in the works
Salus have made the call to Atenas. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Transfer targets12 Jul 2027
Defensor Sporting 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.
Squad12 Jul 2027
Tomás Monua: “I am not a substitute”
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Salus will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
Ignacio Ratti 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 Salus, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout12 Jul 2027
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 Richard Rodríguez has written the date down.
In brief
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Match
Continental football is in reach for Salus
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Squad
The training reports on Thiago Vidal are not good
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad31 May 2027
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Salus will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Squad31 May 2027
Words exchanged at Salus
Ernesto Aramburu 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.
Squad31 May 2027
Tomás Monua 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.
Match29 May 2027
Three points for Salus, 2‑0 the final word against Villa Espanola in a contest settled by the finer margins.
Player ratings31 May 2027
Diego Bonilla was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.05. 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.
Player ratings31 May 2027
A performance of 8.00 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout31 May 2027
No place for Emir Basabe on the big day
He found out with everybody else, an hour before kick-off, from a sheet of paper on a wall. Nobody at Salus pretended it was anything other than a decision about him.
The dugout31 May 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 dugout31 May 2027
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Franco Lopez on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
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Boardroom
Salus counting the cost
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Player ratings
Nobody could get near Diego Silveira
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Squad
The division's best last weekend was a Salus man
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad8 Feb 2027
Tempers go at Salus
Ernesto Aramburu 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 Feb 2027
Too much change too quickly at Salus
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
The dugout8 Feb 2027
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Emiliano Millamán trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad1 Feb 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Salus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad1 Feb 2027
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.
The dugout1 Feb 2027
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Tempers go at Salus
Pablo Negro Villarreal 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 dugout16 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Pablo Martinez
“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 dugout16 Nov 2026
Brian Aguirre 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 Salus, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad26 Oct 2026
Ademir Silva 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 Salus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Oct 2026
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Salus know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
Market26 Oct 2026
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and Salus have gone and got theirs early.