Iván Leguizamón 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad22 Apr 2030
Words at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Alfonso 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.
Gastón Olveira 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Juan Fernando Alfaro wants continental football; whether Olimpia can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
8.64. 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 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.
Player ratings25 Mar 2030
Alex Franco was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.41. 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.
Gastón Olveira 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad25 Feb 2030
Words at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Alfonso 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Alan Pereira wants continental football; whether Olimpia can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
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 words a physio says slowly. 23 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.
“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 Olimpia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Facundo Insfrán will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olimpia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Gustavo Vargas wants continental football; whether Olimpia can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
In brief
SquadFranco Alfonso falls out with a teammate over standards
“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 Olimpia, and it is not being withdrawn.
Gastón Olveira 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.
Squad24 Dec 2029
Words at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Alfonso 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 phone has started ringing about Hugo Quintana again, and this time the name on the line is General Caballero. Olimpia are listening politely and promising nothing.
The words a physio says slowly. 144 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 74 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Iván Leguizamón 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 Aug 2029
Words at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Alfonso 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Alan Pereira wants continental football; whether Olimpia can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
The words a physio says slowly. 160 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olimpia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Gastón Olveira 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 general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olimpia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Gastón Olveira 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
In brief
SquadWords at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Olimpia will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Olimpia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Olimpia can pretend not to have heard.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Aldo Morel has agreed terms with Sol de America for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
The offer from Sportivo Luqueno for Derlis Martínez was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Gastón Olveira 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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The name of Hugo Quintana has come up in conversations Olimpia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Franco Alfonso at his very best
SquadWords at Olimpia training over how hard people work
2‑3 away to the standard of Flamengo. Nobody will pretend this was a scandal; the gap is real, it is measurable, and closing it is a project rather than a team talk.
The offer from Cerro Porteno for Junior Barreto was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Olimpia they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Gastón Olveira 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.
Squad4 Dec 2028
Words at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Alfonso 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.
Add another name to the list: Cerro Porteno have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Alejandro Maciel. The answer from Olimpia has not changed — yet.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hugo Quintana will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olimpia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Gastón Olveira 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 general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
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.
1‑1 against Melgar, and a performance that will be described to people who were not there for the rest of the season. Franco Alfonso was at the centre of the description.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Olimpia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Gastón Olveira 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 Oct 2028
Words at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Franco Alfonso 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.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Alan Pereira wants continental football; whether Olimpia can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Olimpia, and 1 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Gastón Olveira: 1 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Olimpia have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hugo Quintana will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olimpia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“I watch every Olimpia game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Sportivo Luqueno runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hugo Quintana will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olimpia the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Aug 2028
Words at Olimpia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Javier Domínguez 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 words a physio says slowly. 30 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Olimpia can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olimpia is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Olimpia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 name of Alejandro Maciel has come up in conversations Olimpia were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.