Marked for Iván González
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market30 Jun 2031
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Racing waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Deportivo Maldonado is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Market30 Jun 2031
“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.
Market30 Jun 2031
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.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Elías de León 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.
Player ratings30 Jun 2031
Successful dribbles: 21. 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.
Squad30 Jun 2031
Mariano Aguilera 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 dugout30 Jun 2031
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Transfer targets30 Jun 2031
Deportivo Maldonado asked and Deportivo Lara said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Match28 Jun 2031
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market23 Jun 2031
Iván González 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 Deportivo Maldonado can pretend not to have heard.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Jacinto Andrada arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Jacinto Andrada has, at Deportivo Maldonado, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Elías de León 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.
Squad23 Jun 2031
Andrés Romero 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.
Match21 Jun 2031
Artigas left with the points after a 1‑3 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Transfer targets23 Jun 2031
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Deportivo Riestra have kept their man, and Deportivo Maldonado go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Squad23 Jun 2031
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jacinto Andrada and Deportivo Maldonado agree another 3 years.
Player ratings23 Jun 2031
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 dugout23 Jun 2031
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 1‑3 Fernando Torres left the room before anybody could ask which.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match7 Jun 2031
3‑0, and the margin flattered nobody — it could have carried another goal or two without complaint. Afternoons like this are why people keep coming.
Squad9 Jun 2031
3 goals in one afternoon from one man. The other players were also present, a witness confirmed.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Deportivo Maldonado may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Market9 Jun 2031
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Market9 Jun 2031
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alexis Carvallo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo Maldonado the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The dugout9 Jun 2031
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad9 Jun 2031
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Maldonado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Jun 2031
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.71, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad9 Jun 2031
Sebastian Morales arrives at the club he grew up with
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Sebastian Morales has, at Deportivo Maldonado, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom2 Jun 2031
Fernando Torres has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Deportivo Maldonado can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom2 Jun 2031
The whole football department in one room on a weekday morning. Nothing was announced afterwards, which is what a board announces when it has run out of patience.
Squad2 Jun 2031
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.
Player ratings2 Jun 2031
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Elías de León 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.
Squad2 Jun 2031
Words at Deportivo Maldonado training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Romero 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.
Match31 May 2031
Miramar Misiones left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Market2 Jun 2031
Add another name to the list: Atenas have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Iván González. The answer from Deportivo Maldonado has not changed — yet.
Player ratings2 Jun 2031
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.11, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market26 May 2031
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Franco González will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Deportivo Maldonado the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad26 May 2031
Elías de León 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.
Squad26 May 2031
Andrés Romero 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.
Match24 May 2031
Plaza Colonia left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad26 May 2031
100 games in these colours. Service of that kind gets rarer every season, and the crowd knows it.
Squad26 May 2031
“The easiest signature of my career.” Tomás González and Deportivo Maldonado agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout26 May 2031
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 Fernando Torres left the room before anybody could ask which.
Player ratings26 May 2031
Successful dribbles: 14. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout26 May 2031
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 Joaquín Fernández is on it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad7 Apr 2031
47 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Deportivo Maldonado lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Squad7 Apr 2031
Elías de León 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 Apr 2031
Words at Deportivo Maldonado training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mariano Aguilera 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 ratings7 Apr 2031
Marked 7.92. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Squad7 Apr 2031
Andrés Romero named in the team of the month
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Andrés Romero is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Match5 Apr 2031
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout7 Apr 2031
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
The dugout7 Apr 2031
The manager makes an example of Iván 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad27 Jan 2031
Elías de León and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad27 Jan 2031
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andrés Romero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad27 Jan 2031
33 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Rodrigo Sena, and the manager let it.
The dugout27 Jan 2031
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 Franco González is on it.
Market27 Jan 2031
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emiliano Mozzone signs something — a contract at Deportivo Maldonado or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market6 Jan 2031
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around Deportivo Maldonado people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Market6 Jan 2031
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Deportivo Maldonado they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Elías de León 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.
Squad6 Jan 2031
Andrés Romero 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.
Transfer targets6 Jan 2031
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Transfer targets6 Jan 2031
The window shuts on the Brian Rivero deal
Deportivo Maldonado ran out of time with Liverpool Montevideo. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
The dugout6 Jan 2031
The manager makes an example of Brayan Fagúndez
“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 dugout6 Jan 2031
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 Cristian Olivera is on it.
Market6 Jan 2031
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Andrew Zamorano may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout23 Dec 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Market23 Dec 2030
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Deportivo Maldonado can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mariano Aguilera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets23 Dec 2030
Deportivo Maldonado asked and Union Magdalena said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad23 Dec 2030
Franco Marino 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.
Squad23 Dec 2030
“The easiest signature of my career.” Maicol Rodríguez and Deportivo Maldonado agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad23 Dec 2030
A muscle injury sidelines Iván González for 14 days
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. Deportivo Maldonado will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
The dugout23 Dec 2030
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 dugout23 Dec 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tomás González, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Dec 2030
Elías de León 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.
Squad16 Dec 2030
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andrés Romero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets16 Dec 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Lumezzane have kept their man, and Deportivo Maldonado go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout16 Dec 2030
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 dugout16 Dec 2030
The manager makes Iván González a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Deportivo Maldonado. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Market16 Dec 2030
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Jose Mendez leaves Deportivo Maldonado the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Market16 Dec 2030
Contract settled, hands shaken, no fee changing hands. Bruno Castro leaves Deportivo Maldonado the quiet way, and the wage bill breathes a little easier.
Boardroom16 Dec 2030
35 graduates from an academy now rated 9 out of 20. A club this size does not survive any other way, and every name on that list is known in the town.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad2 Dec 2030
Elías de León and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad2 Dec 2030
Mariano Aguilera 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.
Transfer targets2 Dec 2030
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Atletico Venezuela have kept their man, and Deportivo Maldonado go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Market2 Dec 2030
The name of Iván González has come up in conversations Deportivo Maldonado were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
The dugout2 Dec 2030
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 Franco González is on it.
Boardroom2 Dec 2030
A month in which every rumour is possible and most of them are nonsense. The manager has a list, the board has a number, and neither is telling the other the whole of it.
Market2 Dec 2030
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Emiliano Mozzone signs something — a contract at Deportivo Maldonado or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
The dugout2 Dec 2030
Rodrigo Sena 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 Deportivo Maldonado, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout2 Dec 2030
The manager comes out for Martín Ginzo
Public backing, and the sort that costs a manager something if it turns out to be wrong. Martín Ginzo has been told in front of everybody that the shirt is his.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout25 Nov 2030
news_b_frozen_out_of_the_side
Squad25 Nov 2030
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Deportivo Maldonado this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad25 Nov 2030
Words at Deportivo Maldonado training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Andrés Romero 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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad4 Nov 2030
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andrés Romero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad4 Nov 2030
Brayan Fagúndez and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout4 Nov 2030
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Brayan Fagúndez, and the manager let it.
Squad4 Nov 2030
Deportivo Maldonado will explain it as a decision about the team, and it may well be one. A dressing room has never once read it that way.
The dugout4 Nov 2030
Franco González has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Deportivo Maldonado 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.
Squad4 Nov 2030
A strip of cloth that decides nothing on the pitch and tells the dressing room whose opinion counts. The manager has made a statement without making one.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout14 Oct 2030
Rodrigo Sena: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Deportivo Maldonado have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market14 Oct 2030
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Deportivo Maldonado is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Elías de León and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad14 Oct 2030
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Andrés Romero was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout14 Oct 2030
“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 dugout14 Oct 2030
Cristian Olivera has become a man the manager trusts
Nobody at Deportivo Maldonado 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.
Boardroom14 Oct 2030
35 graduates out of an academy now rated 9 out of 20. Clubs this size survive on exactly that, and the town knows every name.
Squad14 Oct 2030
The comeback has moved again. The medical staff will not give a new date and the manager has stopped asking for one.