Marked for Alejandro Leiva
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Aug 2027
Diego Romero in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rampla Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Diego Romero 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 Rampla Juniors, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad30 Aug 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Sebastián Jaume plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad19 Jul 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Rampla Juniors may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match17 Jul 2027
No end in sight to Rampla Juniors's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Rampla Juniors has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad19 Jul 2027
Sebastián Cal 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.
Squad19 Jul 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lautaro Rinaldi, and the manager let it.
Match17 Jul 2027
Tacuarembo left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Successful dribbles: 16. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Loan watch19 Jul 2027
“I did not go to Oriental to sit and watch. I want to come back to Rampla Juniors and fight for my place.” 4 appearances in 29 matches say the rest.
Squad19 Jul 2027
The team sheet said everything about Axel Vargas
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Axel Vargas.
Player ratings19 Jul 2027
Shots: 8, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match27 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Rampla Juniors's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Rampla Juniors has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad1 Mar 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rampla Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match27 Feb 2027
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Loan watch1 Mar 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Rampla Juniors, and 0 appearances in 9 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad1 Mar 2027
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Lautaro Rinaldi, and the manager let it.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
A performance of 8.63 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings1 Mar 2027
Successful dribbles: 15. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Sebastián Cal 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 Sebastián Cal trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad1 Mar 2027
Whether it was the goalkeeper or the ten in front of him is the argument that will fill every conversation in town this week. 2 saves does not settle it either way.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad25 Jan 2027
Ángel Llanes 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 Jan 2027
Augusto Scarone 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.
Squad25 Jan 2027
The message was aimed at the stands as much as the dressing room: Francisco Sagardia plays, and the argument is closed until the manager decides otherwise.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Rampla Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market21 Dec 2026
Oriental are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Rampla Juniors will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Somebody is after Kevin Alaniz’s shirt
A new face in his position, and Kevin Alaniz suddenly has to win back what he thought he owned. Rampla Juniors have promised nothing — clubs rarely do at this stage.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Sep 2026
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Match28 Sep 2026
14 points on the board and a place in the leading group. Nobody at the ground is saying the word out loud yet.
Squad28 Sep 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Argentinos Juniors this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 9.04, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
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.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Joaquín Gho, and the manager let it.
Match26 Sep 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Shots: 7, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.