Two goals and a mark of 9.05 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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 The request is on a desk at Gimnasia La Plata, and it is not being withdrawn.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.” Gimnasia La Plata have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Day 37 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Doffo 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.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Interim Coach after 2‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
In brief
Squad5 new faces, and Gimnasia La Plata are still learning each other
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 23 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
1‑9 to River Plate, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
23 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Gimnasia La Plata lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Nahuel Galardi 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.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 10 goals between Gimnasia La Plata and River Plate, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
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.” 1‑9, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Gimnasia La Plata lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
9 days since the seat came open, a list of names doing the rounds, and nobody has signed anything. Every week this drags on the shortlist gets shorter.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Agustín Doffo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout10 Feb 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 Interim Coach left the room before anybody could ask which.
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Gimnasia La Plata, another week without a signature from Agustín Doffo.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Jeremías Merlo signs something — a contract at Gimnasia La Plata or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
In brief
The dugoutThe plan did not have a place for Ezequiel Gerez
51 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Gimnasia La Plata 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 Gimnasia La Plata can pretend not to have heard.
Jeremías Merlo 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Agustín Doffo 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 not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Gimnasia La Plata told Nahuel Galardi something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
He is not being dropped. There is simply nowhere in the formation Gimnasia La Plata are playing to put a man who does what he does, which is a harder thing to be told than any team sheet.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Brian Nievas trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Gimnasia La Plata know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
A mark of 7.68 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.
Everything agreed with Newell's Old Boys, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.
Chacarita Juniors had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Huracán, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
In brief
Player ratingsEzequiel Gerez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
The 2-goal deficit was real and so was the recovery. Maximiliano Meléndez was at the centre of it, Nueva Chicago were at the end of it, and everybody who left early will hear about this one for years.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Alexis Domínguez provided it, and the 9.42 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Maximiliano Meléndez provided it, and the 8.59 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Add another name to the list: Güemes have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Ezequiel Gerez. The answer from Chacarita Juniors has not changed — yet.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Chacarita Juniors is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Belgrano have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Ezequiel Gerez provided it, and the 9.12 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Chacarita Juniors has been clear about where Santino Ortiz stands, which is more than many ever get.
2 goals inside twenty minutes with Ezequiel Gerez in the middle of it, and Gimnasia y Esgrima unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
0‑3 to San Martín SJ, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
The clubs have shaken hands with Rosario Central; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Huracán 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 Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Boca Juniors have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
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.
“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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Lucas Toffoletti and Chacarita Juniors agree another 4 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Chacarita Juniors have lost him in all but the paperwork.
4 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Temperley the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that Chacarita Juniors will enjoy reviewing.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Chacarita Juniors is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Newell's Old Boys said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 9 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Defensores kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Chacarita Juniors will be asked about the last half hour all week.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ezequiel Esquivel did not need any: 7.62, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.07 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
The name of Ezequiel Gerez has come up in conversations Chacarita Juniors were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Marked 10.00 — 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.
A 4‑3 win over Agropecuario Argentino, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Chacarita Juniors and Agropecuario Argentino, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad20 May 2030
Luca Acevedo 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.
“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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
Marked 9.92 — 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.
A 3‑2 win over Ferro Carril Oeste, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Santino Ortiz 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Chacarita Juniors will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Acevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Chacarita Juniors will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 8 goals between Chacarita Juniors and Chaco For Ever, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Luca Acevedo 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 ratings22 Apr 2030
Ezequiel Gerez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
9.80. 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 15-year-old it feels ownership of. Noah García 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 31 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Successful dribbles: 23. 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.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bruno Lucero will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chacarita Juniors the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
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 Gonzalo Mottes is on it.
The dugout15 Apr 2030
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.” Miguel Quiroga chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutLuca Acevedo knocks on the manager’s door
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 13 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 10.00 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
“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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bruno Lucero will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chacarita Juniors the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Chacarita Juniors and Almirante Brown, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Going 2 down does something to a side, and what it usually does is finish them. Not here. Chacarita Juniors rebuilt the afternoon goal by goal, and Gimnasia y Esgrima had no answer to any 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 Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
1‑5 against San Martín SJ, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about Chacarita Juniors and San Martín SJ in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
Ezequiel Gerez 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 Luca Acevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
The dugout25 Feb 2030
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 1‑5 defeat, delivered by Miguel Quiroga to a room that had heard them before.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 11 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Successful dribbles: 28. 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chacarita Juniors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Luca Acevedo 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.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Chacarita Juniors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 10.00 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
At 23 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.
Match9 Feb 2030
Another one collected away from home
3 on the bounce on the road for Chacarita Juniors. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Luca Acevedo 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.
Nobody at Chacarita Juniors 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luca Acevedo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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 Ezequiel Esquivel is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Luca Acevedo trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Chacarita Juniors know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
His past walked in ahead of him. Players who have been where he has been get a hearing in a dressing room before they have earned one, and he has it for as long as his form does.
Chacarita Juniors opened the door and nobody walked through it. So Ezequiel Gerez stays — listed, trained, and available — while both sides mark the days to January on the same calendar.
The deal with Banfield 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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chacarita Juniors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Independiente Rivadavia have kept their man, and Chacarita Juniors go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Ezequiel Gerez 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 had been thinking. Luca Acevedo 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.
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 Gonzalo Mottes is on it.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Chacarita Juniors will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
Chacarita Juniors had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at River Plate, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Colón said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Gimnasia La Plata pay $390.0K, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
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 nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
The rules permit it and it stings anyway. Misael Jaime has agreed terms with San Lorenzo for the summer, and until then he pulls on this shirt as a player who has already chosen his next one.
$5.0K on the table at Sarmiento. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Chacarita Juniors asked and Atlético Tucumán said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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 Jeremías Sabbatini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chacarita Juniors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ezequiel Esquivel 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.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
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 Gonzalo Mottes is on it.
What was a back-page link has become a chant, and the chant is not friendly. Chacarita Juniors would rather it were settled quietly, and it has stopped being quiet.
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 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 speculation has reached the stands, and the stands have answered. Chacarita Juniors would like this settled before it becomes the only thing anybody asks about.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Rashid Al Suwaidi trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ezequiel Esquivel 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.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
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 message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Alexis Domínguez plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Chacarita Juniors they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ezequiel Esquivel 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.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
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 Gonzalo Mottes is on it.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Misael Jaime trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
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 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 Jeremías Sabbatini trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
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.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Chacarita Juniors would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Ezequiel Esquivel 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.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Alexis Domínguez has come out of that comparison in the side, and Chacarita Juniors have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
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.
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Chacarita Juniors would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bruno Lucero will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chacarita Juniors the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
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.
A clause somebody insisted on years ago, in a negotiation nobody remembers, has just paid Chacarita Juniors $8.0K. Luciano Perdomo left a long time ago; the paperwork stayed.
The words a physio says slowly. 26 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.
A mark of 7.61 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Level with 90 minutes on the clock, after an afternoon Chacarita Juniors had all but put away. Agropecuario Argentino will call it a point earned; the home dressing room will call it two given away, and both of them are right.
33 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Two goals and a mark of 10.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“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 ratings10 Sep 2029
A brace, and Misael Jaime takes the afternoon — 8.51
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Misael Jaime provided it, and the 8.51 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
A mark of 8.32 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.
41 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
2 goals to the good, and then a slow surrender of everything that had been earned. Ezequiel Gerez will not be the one blamed for it, but nobody at Chacarita Juniors escapes the conversation that follows a collapse like this.
Two goals and a mark of 9.57 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
48 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
1‑4 to Estudiantes, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Ezequiel Esquivel did not need any: 7.88, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Chacarita Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody's fault and entirely his: a goal that goes into the book with his name against it and nothing about it intended. Chacarita Juniors deserved better, and so did he.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
55 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Chaco For Ever will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Chacarita Juniors were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
8.44. 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.
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.
69 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Bruno Lucero will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Chacarita Juniors the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
Minute 92, against Estudiantes, 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.
76 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Chacarita Juniors 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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 17-year-old it feels ownership of. Facundo Luna 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.
83 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Alvarado waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Chacarita Juniors is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
5 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.
5 in and 6 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.
90 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 11 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
“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 Chacarita Juniors, and it is not being withdrawn.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Chacarita Juniors has to find a result from somewhere.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 7 goals between Chacarita Juniors and Almirante Brown, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Ezequiel Gerez 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 words a physio says slowly. 111 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.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Chacarita Juniors have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Terms were offered and declined. Whether it was the wages, the role or the town, nobody at Sarmiento is saying, and nobody at Chacarita Juniors is enjoying the guessing.
Successful dribbles: 22. 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.
Chacarita Juniors have gone to Newell's Old Boys with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
118 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 9 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Two goals and a mark of 8.42 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Chacarita Juniors had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at River Plate, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
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.
Player ratings18 Jun 2029
Ezequiel Gerez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.19. 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.
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.
In brief
MarketA stepping stone, not a home, for Luca Acevedo
133 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Chacarita Juniors lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Defensores kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Chacarita Juniors will be asked about the last half hour all week.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Chacarita Juniors can pretend not to have heard.
3 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.
Ezequiel Gerez 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.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings21 May 2029
Misael Jaime was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.49. 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.
2 goals before the ground had finished arriving. Agropecuario Argentino spent the rest of the afternoon playing a match that had already been decided, and everybody in the stadium knew it.
Successful dribbles: 31. 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.
8.66. 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.
Player ratings14 May 2029
Ezequiel Gerez was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.55. 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.
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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Miguel Quiroga could afford to be generous.
Ezequiel Gerez 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 supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
It is a specific kind of quiet, a ground watching a winning position dissolve. Estudiantes kept coming because nothing stopped them, and Chacarita Juniors will be asked about the last half hour all week.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ezequiel Esquivel was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
Player ratingsThe cruellest goal, and it is Liam Alonso's
Central Córdoba SdE are out and Chacarita Juniors go through, 4‑4 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.
Two goals and a mark of 10.00 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
A brace, and Liam Alonso takes the afternoon — 8.99
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Liam Alonso provided it, and the 8.99 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
1 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.
Player ratings23 Apr 2029
A brace, and Misael Jaime takes the afternoon — 8.09
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Misael Jaime provided it, and the 8.09 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
8.89. 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.
3 on the bounce on the road for Chacarita Juniors. The coaches leave early, arrive at unlovely grounds in the dark, and keep coming home with three points.
Marked 8.54 — 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.
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.