Marked for Gianluca López
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Dec 2028
Cristian Lima 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 Uruguay Montevideo can pretend not to have heard.
Market18 Dec 2028
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Uruguay Montevideo have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Transfer targets18 Dec 2028
A medical, a signature, a shirt held up in front of a sponsor’s board. Uruguay Montevideo have done the hard part with Nacional, and the part that remains is the part supporters actually see.
Transfer targets18 Dec 2028
Uruguay Montevideo had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Nacional, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Cristian Lima and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Market18 Dec 2028
Luciano Minhondo has left for River Plate in a $130.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad18 Dec 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Facundo Silvestre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Market18 Dec 2028
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Uruguay Montevideo have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Squad18 Dec 2028
5 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad20 Nov 2028
117 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Uruguay Montevideo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market20 Nov 2028
“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 The request is on a desk at Uruguay Montevideo, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad20 Nov 2028
Sebastián Camacho 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 Nov 2028
Words at Uruguay Montevideo training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Facundo Silvestre 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 dugout20 Nov 2028
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Uruguay Montevideo, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The dugout20 Nov 2028
Something was said to Leandro Vilte and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Oct 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Benjamín Ilama
39 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Uruguay Montevideo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market23 Oct 2028
Cristian Lima 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 Uruguay Montevideo can pretend not to have heard.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Facundo Silvestre 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.
Squad23 Oct 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Ymbert was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout23 Oct 2028
Benjamín Ilama knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Benjamín Ilama trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad25 Sep 2028
A knee injury of the worst kind for Benjamín Ilama
69 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Uruguay Montevideo lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market25 Sep 2028
Cristian Lima 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 Uruguay Montevideo can pretend not to have heard.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Sebastián Camacho 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.
Squad25 Sep 2028
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Facundo Silvestre was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Alexander Vázquez, and the manager let it.
The dugout25 Sep 2028
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Facundo Silvestre trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Aug 2028
97 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Uruguay Montevideo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market28 Aug 2028
“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.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
Lucas Ortíz: 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.” Uruguay Montevideo have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Sebastián Camacho 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.
Squad28 Aug 2028
Facundo Silvestre 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.
Market28 Aug 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Alvaro Silva is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market28 Aug 2028
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Andres Ugarte 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.
Market28 Aug 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Camilo Pereira is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout28 Aug 2028
Benjamín Ilama asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad7 Feb 2028
59 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Uruguay Montevideo lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market7 Feb 2028
“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 Uruguay Montevideo, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Uruguay Montevideo may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Facundo Silvestre 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 Feb 2028
Cristian Lima 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.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Somebody has moved past him. It is not a dropping and it is worse than one, because a dropping is about a Saturday and this is about where he stands.