“I did not go to Tacuarembo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Central Espanol and fight for my place.” 12 appearances in 53 matches say the rest.
The competition arrived without a word said to him about it. Marcos Montiel keeps the shirt for now, at Central Espanol's convenience rather than his own.
“I did not go to Tacuarembo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Central Espanol and fight for my place.” 12 appearances in 49 matches say the rest.
“I did not go to Tacuarembo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Central Espanol and fight for my place.” 12 appearances in 45 matches say the rest.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Central Espanol have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I did not go to Tacuarembo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Central Espanol and fight for my place.” 12 appearances in 41 matches say the rest.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Central Espanol have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
“I did not go to Tacuarembo to sit and watch. I want to come back to Central Espanol and fight for my place.” 12 appearances in 37 matches say the rest.
The club looked outside for a month, found nothing it preferred, and handed the job to the man who had been doing it anyway. He knows the building; now he has to prove he knows the rest.
“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 Central Espanol, and 11 appearances in 33 say he has earned the hearing.
Central Espanol spent a month trying to move him and nobody rang back. He trains with a squad that has told him where he stands, and both sides start counting down to the next one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Espanol, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“Somebody has to pick the team on Saturday, and this week that is me.” An interim appointment with no promises attached, which is how most of them start.
“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 Central Espanol, and 7 appearances in 29 say he has earned the hearing.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
“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 Central Espanol, and 5 appearances in 25 say he has earned the hearing.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Espanol, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“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 Central Espanol, and 5 appearances in 21 say he has earned the hearing.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Espanol, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He is the name in every column and on every phone-in, which is a heavy thing to carry at any age. Some footballers thrive on it; others are quietly finished by it.
Shifted about, taken off before the hour, asked to do somebody else's running — Máximo Alonso has had enough of being useful and would like to be picked. Central Espanol know, and have known for weeks.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Espanol can pretend not to have heard.
“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 Central Espanol, and 4 appearances in 17 say he has earned the hearing.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Espanol, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Asked to play a role that is not his, or taken off before the hour once too often — Máximo Alonso has let it be known that he does not like the way Central Espanol are using him. Managers hear this long before the press 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 Central Espanol can pretend not to have heard.
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
The shirt still fits. Miguel Godoy is back at Central Espanol, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The shirt still fits. Marcelo Rossi is back at Central Espanol, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
The shirt still fits. Jorge Fernandez is back at Central Espanol, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Espanol can pretend not to have heard.
“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 Central Espanol, and 0 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Central Espanol know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Espanol can pretend not to have heard.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Central Espanol, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Espanol can pretend not to have heard.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ignacio Gonella and Central Espanol agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.