Marked for Facundo Benítez
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
The dugout22 Feb 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Estudiantes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match20 Feb 2027
Still nobody has beaten Estudiantes
The unbeaten run reaches 7. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Franco Quinteros was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The terraces22 Feb 2027
He is 22 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 dugout22 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Rodrigo Melo
“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.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A mark of 7.95, and nobody in the ground would argue with it. He was involved in everything that mattered and most of what did not.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market4 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Estudiantes will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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 Jan 2027
The phone has started ringing about Ian Vera again, and this time the name on the line is Zaragoza. Estudiantes are listening politely and promising nothing.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Rodrigo Melo 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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Ian Vera is no longer first choice
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Ian Vera has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Facundo Castelli has moved up it.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
Tomás Blanco 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 Estudiantes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Market4 Jan 2027
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ezequiel Almirón signs something — a contract at Estudiantes or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Dec 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 82 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Delfor Minervino was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Fernando Duré 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 dugout7 Dec 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
Enzo Acosta told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Enzo Acosta has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Estudiantes.
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Facundo Benítez commits to Estudiantes for another 3 years.
Market7 Dec 2026
Estudiantes have made Jorge Correa available for transfer. A career at this club is over in all but paperwork.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
Federico Sena 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.
Market7 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ezequiel Almirón signs something — a contract at Estudiantes or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad2 Nov 2026
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 120 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Estudiantes may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Delfor Minervino 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.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
166% of the income goes out in wages at Estudiantes
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 dugout2 Nov 2026
Enzo Acosta 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.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Darío Rostagno was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Loan watch2 Nov 2026
Ian Vera wants to come home
“I did not go to Gimnàstic to sit and watch. I want to come back to Estudiantes and fight for my place.” 7 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Brian Farioli 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 Brian Farioli trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The manager makes Jorge Correa a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Estudiantes. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad12 Oct 2026
Delfor Minervino 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
The manager makes an example of Facundo Ardiles
“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.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Estudiantes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Darío Rostagno 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 dugout12 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Estudiantes, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Looking ahead12 Oct 2026
Defensores next, and one man in the Estudiantes dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Market12 Oct 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Ezequiel Almirón signs something — a contract at Estudiantes or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Jorge Benítez has seen what the next man earns
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room and never have. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and at Estudiantes that is a harder question to answer.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Estudiantes will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Estudiantes. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Sep 2026
Delfor Minervino 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Tomás Blanco commits to Estudiantes for another 4 years.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at Estudiantes training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Enzo Acosta 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.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Franco Fagúndez is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Darío Rostagno
“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 dugout7 Sep 2026
Brian Farioli 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.
Market7 Sep 2026
The name of Ezequiel Almirón keeps appearing in other people's back pages. Estudiantes say nothing, which says plenty.
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.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
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.