It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Successful dribbles: 18. 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.
Nobody at Llaneros 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Néider Ospina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 0‑0, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
$250.0K on the table at Deportivo Pasto. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals in one match, Jhon Moreno on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Llaneros and Atletico Bucaramanga.
Llaneros asked and Real Santander said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Francisco Meza has his answer from Llaneros; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Jhon Moreno has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Llaneros will try not to make too much of it.
The dugout7 May 2029
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Kevin Gonzalez to a room that had heard them before.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Llaneros, another week without a signature from Dennys Quintero.
Successful dribbles: 13. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Kevin Gonzalez after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Squad30 Apr 2029
Nicolás Isaza 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.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Envigado in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
“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.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
Jhon Moreno, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.80
A mark of 7.80 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 14 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.
Nobody at Llaneros 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.
The dugout23 Apr 2029
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Kevin Gonzalez chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
SquadNicolás Isaza falls out with a teammate over standards
The dugoutKevin Caicedo asks for a word with the manager
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jhon Moreno did not need any: 7.75, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
8 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Patriotas were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Francisco Meza 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.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Llaneros have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
6 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and La Equidad were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Jhildrey Lasso 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.
Successful dribbles: 15. 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.
Squad5 Feb 2029
A place in the month's best eleven for Jhon Moreno
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jhon Moreno has come out of that comparison in the side, and Llaneros have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
The dugout5 Feb 2029
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Kevin Gonzalez kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
In brief
SquadWords at Llaneros training over how hard people work
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Daniel Rodriguez clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
“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.
James Gonzalez 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.
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Pablo Santos has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Ivan Martinez has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Llaneros is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Jhildrey Lasso 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 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Llaneros, another week without a signature from Juan Manuel Mosquera.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Llaneros. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The language is arriving, the jokes are landing, and there is somebody at the next peg to talk to. None of it appears in a scouting report and all of it shows up on the pitch.
Carlos Barreiro 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.
Something was said to Kevin Caicedo and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
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 Carlos Barreiro is on it.
The dugout18 Sep 2028
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Daniel Rodriguez chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Deportes Tolima in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Llaneros know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
14 days, the medical staff say, and medical staff are optimists by profession. The team sheet will look wrong without him.
The dugout11 Sep 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Daniel Rodriguez, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jhon Moreno, and the manager let it.
Squad11 Sep 2028
Nicolás Isaza 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.
Francisco Meza 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 Sep 2028
Jhon Moreno is the division's best young player this month
At 21 he has spent a month being better than everybody his age in the league, which is a different and harder thing than one good afternoon. Llaneros will try very hard not to make too much of it.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Juan David Pertúz has his answer from Llaneros; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
“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 dugout4 Sep 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Daniel Rodriguez was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Llaneros dressing room was either.
Squad4 Sep 2028
Nicolás Isaza 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.
19 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Llaneros lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Llaneros 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 Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A point taken on 93 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
Successful dribbles: 14. 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.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Daniel Rodriguez was not hiding it after 1‑1, and nobody in the Llaneros dressing room was either.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Deportivo Pereira in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
In brief
Player ratingsOff the bench and decisive: Jhon Moreno
34 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Llaneros lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Player ratings14 Aug 2028
Jhon Moreno, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.02
A mark of 8.02 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.87, and 2 involvements.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Daniel Rodriguez on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Llaneros, and both men came out saying it was fine.
48 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Llaneros lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Manuel López will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Llaneros the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Carlos Barreiro 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.
“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.
Squad31 Jul 2028
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Isaza 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.
55 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Llaneros lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Jhon Moreno, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.69
A mark of 7.69 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Boardroom24 Jul 2028
Llaneros close the window on a squad of their own making
0 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Llaneros can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Jhildrey Lasso 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.
He is 20 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.
Minute 92, against Atletico Nacional, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
78 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Llaneros lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Llaneros can pretend not to have heard.
Carlos Barreiro 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.
6 goals in one match, Carlos Barreiro on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Llaneros and Deportes Quindio.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Emilio Pardo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
100 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Llaneros lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Botafogo have kept their man, and Llaneros go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Isaza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
SquadJhon Moreno is the weekend's best young player
The words a physio says slowly. 107 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.
Successful dribbles: 29. 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.
Player ratings5 Jun 2028
Jhon Moreno, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.80
A mark of 7.80 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Santos have kept their man, and Llaneros go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Jhildrey Lasso 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.
He is 20 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.
Carlos Barreiro 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.
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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Daniel Rodriguez after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Isaza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Llaneros told Juan David Pertúz something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
Jhon Moreno is 20, and for one weekend he was the best of everybody his age in the division. Nobody should build a career on it and everybody quietly does.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Deportes Tolima in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Carlos Barreiro 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.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Juan Camilo Loaiza, and the manager let it.
The dugout1 May 2028
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 1‑3 defeat, delivered by Daniel Rodriguez to a room that had heard them before.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Néider Ospina trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad1 May 2028
Nicolás Isaza 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.
Deportivo Pasto next, and one man in the Llaneros dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Successful dribbles: 25. 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Llaneros this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Nicolás Isaza was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Juan David Pertúz scored, was marked 7.87, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Francisco Meza 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Juan David Pertúz has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑0, Daniel Rodriguez could afford to be generous.
“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 Depor, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Yovany García will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Depor the goodbyes have quietly begun.
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Andru Torres has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Jhonier Alomía and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad20 Dec 2027
Gabriel Eraso 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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Depor, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Depor are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Depor can pretend not to have heard.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Depor is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The deal with Llaneros is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Tigres keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Depor this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ronaldo Royero 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 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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Yayo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Mateo García reports back to Llaneros with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Depor waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Llaneros is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Francisco Meza 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.
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jhon Moreno commits to Llaneros for another 4 years.
Squad13 Dec 2027
Words at Llaneros training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Nicolás Isaza 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 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.
5 goals in 34 games at Deportivo Cali — numbers that travel home faster than he does. Somebody at Llaneros updates a spreadsheet every Monday, and it makes better reading each week.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Luis Marimón has written the date down.