Marked for Tomás Lavezzi
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 May 2036
A knee injury of the worst kind for Jesús Hidalgo
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Eibar lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Match17 May 2036
A hiding for Eibar
Beaten 1‑5 by Real Sociedad B, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market19 May 2036
“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.
Market19 May 2036
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Eibar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad19 May 2036
Sten Kremers 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 Eibar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match17 May 2036
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between Eibar and Real Sociedad B, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad19 May 2036
Words at Eibar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ege Bilsel 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 dugout19 May 2036
The manager makes an example of César Fernández
“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.
Boardroom19 May 2036
Nobody left the Eibar dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
In brief
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
-
The dugout
Lautaro Aquino is still being punished for one mistake
-
Squad
Beaten 5 times: a bad day for Sten Kremers
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market21 Apr 2036
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Eibar can pretend not to have heard.
Market21 Apr 2036
Only the photograph left for Tomás Lavezzi
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Tomás Lavezzi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Eibar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Match19 Apr 2036
5 matches without a win for Eibar
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Eibar are no longer polite ones.
Squad21 Apr 2036
Tempers go at Eibar
Nil Cabrera 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.
Squad21 Apr 2036
Words at Eibar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ege Bilsel 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.
Match19 Apr 2036
A bad afternoon for Eibar against Cádiz
0‑2 to Cádiz, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Apr 2036
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 0‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Player ratings21 Apr 2036
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
The dugout21 Apr 2036
Davit Hakobyan 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 Eibar, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Mar 2036
“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.
Player ratings24 Mar 2036
Successful dribbles: 29. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Market24 Mar 2036
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Eibar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad24 Mar 2036
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ege Bilsel and Eibar agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad24 Mar 2036
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Eibar are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad24 Mar 2036
Sten Kremers 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 Eibar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Mar 2036
Words at Eibar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ege Bilsel 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.
Match22 Mar 2036
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
The dugout24 Mar 2036
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad25 Feb 2036
30 days out for Mateo Torrisi after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Eibar will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match23 Feb 2036
Chastening afternoon for Eibar
A 0‑3 beating by Villarreal B was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market25 Feb 2036
“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.
Market25 Feb 2036
Tomás Lavezzi has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Eibar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad25 Feb 2036
Sten Kremers 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 Eibar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Feb 2036
A row about effort at Eibar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ege Bilsel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Feb 2036
“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.
Boardroom25 Feb 2036
Inquest at Eibar
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad25 Feb 2036
Too much change too quickly at Eibar
7 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.
In brief
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
The dugout
A promise honoured at Eibar
-
Market
Eibar and Tomás Lavezzi are talking past each other
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Jan 2036
A fracture rules Mateo Torrisi out for 58 days
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Eibar will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Boardroom28 Jan 2036
Pressure builds in the Eibar boardroom
The directors have stopped offering the manager public warmth. In football that is usually the stage before the short statement.
Squad28 Jan 2036
20 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Eibar lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market28 Jan 2036
“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 Eibar, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market28 Jan 2036
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Eibar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Transfer targets28 Jan 2036
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Athletic Bilbao is saying, and nobody at Eibar is enjoying the guessing.
Squad28 Jan 2036
Sten Kremers 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 Eibar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Transfer targets28 Jan 2036
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Real Madrid have kept their man, and Eibar go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match26 Jan 2036
Whatever happens, Eibar do not lose
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.
In brief
-
Squad
A row about effort at Eibar
-
The dugout
No hiding place for Ege Bilsel
-
Player ratings
The afternoon belonged to Ege Bilsel
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Dec 2035
86 days out for Mateo Torrisi after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Eibar will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Market31 Dec 2035
“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.
Boardroom31 Dec 2035
The silence upstairs is getting loud at Eibar
Nobody on the board has said anything against the manager, which is the point — they have stopped saying anything for him either.
Market31 Dec 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Eibar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Boardroom31 Dec 2035
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.
Squad31 Dec 2035
Sten Kremers 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 Eibar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Dec 2035
Words at Eibar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ege Bilsel 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 dugout31 Dec 2035
The manager makes an example of Marc 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.
The dugout31 Dec 2035
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad17 Dec 2035
100 days out for Mateo Torrisi after a fracture
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Eibar will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Match12 Dec 2035
The cup run ends for Eibar
1‑2 against Valencia, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Market17 Dec 2035
Luken Castillo has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Eibar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad17 Dec 2035
Words exchanged at Eibar
Sten Kremers 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.
Squad17 Dec 2035
Ege Bilsel 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.
Match15 Dec 2035
It finished 2‑0, and it was Nil Cabrera’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Eibar.
Player ratings17 Dec 2035
Marked 8.04 — 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.
Player ratings17 Dec 2035
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout17 Dec 2035
“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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match6 Nov 2035
Eibar through in the cup
A 2‑1 win over Málaga, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Market12 Nov 2035
Bobby Moore has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Eibar they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings12 Nov 2035
Reda Benchaa goes up and wins it — 7.57
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 7.57 for the rest of it.
Squad12 Nov 2035
Tempers go at Eibar
Lautaro Aquino 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.
Squad12 Nov 2035
A row about effort at Eibar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mateo Torrisi was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match10 Nov 2035
Eibar come up short against Alavés
Alavés left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad12 Nov 2035
100 times in these colours, in all weathers and under four or five different managers. That kind of service is quietly disappearing from the game.
The dugout12 Nov 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás Lavezzi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings12 Nov 2035
Nobody on the pitch touched Juan Puglisi
7.89, and no serious argument from anybody who was there. Eibar had eleven men on the pitch and one of them decided how it went.
In brief
-
Squad
Too much change too quickly at Eibar
-
The dugout
The view from the dugout
-
The dugout
Eibar keep their word to Marc González
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market5 Nov 2035
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Luka Aaker-Saldanha will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Eibar the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Player ratings5 Nov 2035
Marc González, 21, steals the show — 7.98
Marked 7.98 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
Boardroom5 Nov 2035
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Luka Aaker-Saldanha has agreed terms with Osasuna for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad5 Nov 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Eibar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Nov 2035
A row about effort at Eibar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lautaro Amarelle was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match30 Oct 2035
Granada left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The terraces5 Nov 2035
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The dugout5 Nov 2035
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lautaro Aquino, and the manager let it.
Player ratings5 Nov 2035
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.51 on the card, and the Eibar support went home talking about one name.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market8 Oct 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Eibar is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The dugout8 Oct 2035
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Boardroom8 Oct 2035
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Bille Jepsen has agreed terms with Elche for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Squad8 Oct 2035
Tempers go at Eibar
Mateo Torrisi 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 Oct 2035
Words at Eibar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lautaro Aquino 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.
Match6 Oct 2035
0‑2 to Bilbao Athletic, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad8 Oct 2035
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
The dugout8 Oct 2035
The manager makes an example of Tomás Lavezzi
“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.
Squad8 Oct 2035
No place for Davit Hakobyan in the new shape
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Eibar are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match22 Sep 2035
A hiding for Eibar
Beaten 0‑3 by Alcorcón, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Match22 Sep 2035
5 matches without a win for Eibar
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Eibar are no longer polite ones.
Squad24 Sep 2035
The medical room confirms 39 days on the sidelines for Lautaro Amarelle, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad24 Sep 2035
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Eibar this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad24 Sep 2035
Mohamed Hafid 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 dugout24 Sep 2035
The manager makes an example of Mateo Torrisi
“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.
Squad24 Sep 2035
The medical room confirms 33 days on the sidelines for Vicente Rey, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Boardroom24 Sep 2035
Inquest at Eibar
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout24 Sep 2035
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑3, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad11 Dec 2034
114 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Monagas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market11 Dec 2034
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Monagas people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market11 Dec 2034
The bid was some way short and Monagas did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market11 Dec 2034
Tomás Lavezzi 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 Monagas can pretend not to have heard.
Squad11 Dec 2034
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Monagas this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad11 Dec 2034
Words at Monagas training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Christian Camarillo 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.
Market11 Dec 2034
“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.
The dugout11 Dec 2034
Rico Browne 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.
The dugout11 Dec 2034
Jeremías Perdomo has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Monagas 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad4 Dec 2034
121 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Monagas lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market4 Dec 2034
“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.
Market4 Dec 2034
John Mercado wants to know where this is going
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Monagas hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Squad4 Dec 2034
Junior Paredes 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.
Market4 Dec 2034
“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.
Transfer targets4 Dec 2034
A loan enquiry to Estudiantes de Merida: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout4 Dec 2034
“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 dugout4 Dec 2034
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
Squad6 Nov 2034
Theo Casavalle damages knee ligaments — 35 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 35 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.
Boardroom6 Nov 2034
The Monagas board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad6 Nov 2034
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Matías González and Monagas agree another 3 years.
Squad6 Nov 2034
A falling-out at Monagas
Fernando Basante and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad6 Nov 2034
Christian Camarillo 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.
Market6 Nov 2034
“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.
The dugout6 Nov 2034
“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.
The dugout6 Nov 2034
Tomás Lavezzi has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Monagas 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.
Market6 Nov 2034
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Fernando Basante signs something — a contract at Monagas or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad9 Oct 2034
Theo Casavalle damages knee ligaments — 63 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 63 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.
Market9 Oct 2034
“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.
Squad9 Oct 2034
“The easiest signature of my career.” Junior Paredes and Monagas agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad9 Oct 2034
A falling-out at Monagas
Fernando Basante and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Oct 2034
Christian Camarillo 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 dugout9 Oct 2034
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Matías González, and the manager let it.
Market9 Oct 2034
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Monagas, another week without a signature from Yuneiker Ríos.
The dugout9 Oct 2034
Yuneiker Ríos 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 Yuneiker Ríos trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market9 Oct 2034
Jader Córdoba is free to find somewhere else
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Monagas has been clear about where Jader Córdoba stands, which is more than many ever get.