“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Huracán can pretend not to have heard.
Enzo Guerrero 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Guillermo Enrique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“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; Huracán are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
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.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Estudiantes have kept their man, and Huracán go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Huracán have had the benefit of it.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Boca Juniors keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Huracán offered $160.0K; River Plate said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
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 have tried. I have really tried, and every day I wake up in the wrong place.” Nobody at Huracán can coach that out of a man, and nobody there is pretending to.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Lautaro Morlas
The words a physio says slowly. 39 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 The request is on a desk at Huracán, and it is not being withdrawn.
Guillermo Enrique 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Edwin Asamoah was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Huracán, another week without a signature from Lautaro Morlas.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Huracán 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 Huracán 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 Huracán 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.
“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; Huracán are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
“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 dugout24 Oct 2033
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Interim Coach was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Huracán dressing room was either.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Huracán is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Guillermo Enrique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Racing Club will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Hugo Quintana has pre-agreed a move to Huracán, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
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.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Huracán have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Huracán 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 Huracán is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Guillermo Enrique 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 phone has started ringing about Nehemías Portillo again, and this time the name on the line is Gimnasia La Plata. Huracán are listening politely and promising nothing.
The tie is over and the right side of it is theirs. 4‑3 on the night, a dressing room that will not come down for a day and a half, and a next round nobody has thought about yet.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Huracán have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Two goals and a mark of 8.21 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
6 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Huracán can pretend not to have heard.
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Huracán have done the hard part with Newell's Old Boys, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
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.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Huracán know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 14 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Huracán 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Argentinos Juniors next, and one man in the Huracán dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
14 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Huracán lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“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 Huracán, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Huracán have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad4 Apr 2033
Words at Huracán training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guillermo Enrique 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 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.
21 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Huracán lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Huracán this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Matías Bazzi is living that version at Huracán, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Guillermo Enrique was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Huracán has been clear about where Leonel Juárez stands, which is more than many ever get.
Tigre next, and one man in the Huracán dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
In brief
The dugoutMatías Budiño knocks on the manager’s door
28 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Huracán lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Huracán can pretend not to have heard.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Huracán they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Guillermo Enrique 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.
“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; Huracán are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Fernando Prado was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout21 Mar 2033
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑1 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Matías Budiño
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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Fernando Prado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Huracán the goodbyes have quietly begun.
1 for Nahuel Ríos, marked 7.72, and a centre-half's name in the part of the report he normally only reaches by mistake. He will not be allowed to forget it in the dressing room for a month.
Day 41 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
Nahuel Ríos 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 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.
56 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Huracán lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
4 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Huracán is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Nahuel Ríos 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 Feb 2033
Words at Huracán training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guillermo Enrique 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.
Player ratings21 Feb 2033
Óscar Cortés was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.40. 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.
Marked 8.09 — 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.
In brief
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Marcelo Pérez at his very best
The dugoutMatías Budiño dropped after a run of poor form
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Hinneh Listowell will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Huracán 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 Huracán this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Nov 2032
Words at Huracán training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Guillermo Enrique 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.
“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.
Squad15 Nov 2032
5 new faces, and Huracán are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Huracán is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Hinneh Listowell has agreed terms with Tigre for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
Matías Budiño 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Huracán and Argentinos Juniors in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Huracán 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 Huracán this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Alejandro Torres is living that version at Huracán, and it tends to show in the first month.
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.
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 Óscar Cortés is on it.
Squad11 Oct 2032
5 new faces, and Huracán are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Nobody will confirm this and nothing else explains the last month of selections. A costly error buys a player a period of being second choice that is always longer than the error was.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Lucas Maciel has his answer from Huracán; what he does with it is the next window’s story.